Our story
About BoardGameMeta
We are a husband & wife team that loves to play board games.
We’re not just about games, we focus on the meta of the hobby, more specifically the components and the organization of them. Thousands of board games are published every year, so there is absolutely no shortage of fantastic ones. For us, what sets the best above the rest is amazing graphic design and incredible production quality when it comes to components. Board games are a work of art and their pieces shouldn’t be left to fly around loose inside their box. So, for us, we're already going to play the best designed games, but we want to make sure the entire experience is amazing.
About the designer
Hi! My name is Peter.
I'm a Graphic/Motion Designer who gets a little too into my hobbies. I’ve been into modern board games for over a decade and if there is one thing I’ve learned it is that there isn’t enough space for all the games. I had a bunch of expansions that I knew I needed to fit into their base game boxes but I didn’t want it to be a jumbled mess… so I started designing and constructing inserts out of foamcore.
I had to measure, design, cut the foamcore sheets with an x-acto knife, glue the pieces, hold them together with pins until they dried, and hope for the best. Then I got my first 3D printer and I started printing other people’s insert designs… until I couldn’t find what I needed. So, like a normal person, I had to learn how to use professional CAD software.
Jump forward to today, years later, and here I am, creating inserts for games and sharing my designs with you!
Just like how I appreciate the look and feel of board game components, I also want our inserts to look and feel good. That is why I always do my best to prioritize aesthetics over saving some weight. Gaming is about the holistic experience that helps us get away from our screens and spend time with loved ones.
I'm super passionate about the look and feel of board games and so hopefully I can design stuff that contributes to the enjoyment of the hobby!
The better half
And I'm Amy!
While Peter designs the inserts and creates prototypes, I help create every order, pack them up, and I make sure every box that leaves our house is one we’d be happy to open ourselves.
When we’re not working, we’re playing. My favorite game right now is The Grimm Forest. I've painted the minis in our copy, of course. I'd also like to say that we have over 50 games of Hive logged, and while we're pretty even on wins, I currently have the most!
How we design
Design Philosophy
No Lid-Lift
Boxes are meant to close… all the way. I don’t ever want one of my inserts to change that. All of our inserts feature no-lid lift because your games deserve to still look good on your shelf.
Store the Box in Any Orientation
Sometimes I store my games horizontally, sometimes vertically. Sometimes I store them diagonally. The point is, a good insert should keep all those beautiful components organized no matter how you store your game. So I make sure every insert I design can be turned upside down, shaken, whatever, and all the pieces stay in their trays. One caveat: you have to keep the lid on tight. That’s my only rule. Because if you don’t, of course things can get loose.
Expansions!
I have a love/hate relationship with expansions. I often love what they can do to a game: expand it, make it better, offer more choices, and more. I often don’t love what they can do to a game: make it more bloated, make it more difficult to organize, take up more space. So when it comes to expansions, I always want to make sure they fit in the base box and be organized in a way that makes them easy to integrate or combine with the base game. Sometimes fitting the expansion(s) in the base box means things get a little cramped, and sometimes compromises have to be made (losing sleeve support) but our goal is always to keep the expansion inside the base box.
Set-Up/Gameplay Features
Whenever possible I try to design inserts to make setup faster. This often means specific trays to hand to players that have all their pieces, card deck trays that go on the board to keep cards in place, resource token trays, market card displays, and more. The goal is to make setup quick and help organize gameplay. Anyone can design an insert to just keep the components from bouncing around but what makes an organizer truly useful is when it enhances gameplay. Because of this, BoardGameMeta inserts will often prioritize this above other considerations.
Card Sleeves
Protection from your greasy fingered friends can be invaluable. Most people don’t use card sleeves but if you’re someone who likes to protect their game components with an insert you’re more likely to be someone who likes to sleeve. So because of that, whenever I can, as long as the above criteria are met, as long as there is enough room, I make sure to have space for sleeved cards.
What they're saying
my husband goes out of his way to look at your inserts first, and has also ordered expansions based on how well everything fits.
BGM will make it fit. Even if it defies physics. Have faith! Haha.
How we compare
Why BoardGameMeta inserts?
Foam, wood and other 3D inserts all have their place. Here’s how ours stack up.
| Feature | Foam insertsFoam | Wood insertsWood | Other 3D insertsOther 3D | BoardGameMetaOurs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No glue or assembly | ||||
| Won’t dent, tear or crumble | ||||
| 50+ color choices | ? | |||
| LightweightWe choose looks over saving a few grams. | ? | |||
| Premium quality plastic | ? | |||
| Designer w/10 years experience | ? | ? | ? | |
| Made with love | ? | ? | ? |
? = Varies