I'm a huge fan of Gamelyn Games Tiny Epic series. I also backed their Kickstarter for the Ultra Tiny Epic games. The one thing about these games is they pack a LOT of little pieces into the box. I like to 3D print organizers for them so things are tidy and they just look cooler. Hey. I've got two 3D printers so I'm gonna use them.
I printed the insert for Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms without any changes. I will have to paint three of the little tracking cubes because what was supposed to be red is actually 'barely darker shade of orange'. No biggie to pull out the Testors and a throwaway brush but still.
The cards fit below the organizer and the little castle meeple fits in front of the blue row when the insert is in the box. This insert is not meant to come out again once it's in place. Or if it is then it's a really tight fit. I had to put clear tape around the end of the flap to keep it from catching on the tops of the slots.
But now that it's done you can see how much easier it is to use. Slide out the rows you want by putting your finger over the ones you don't. Slide the cubes back in. So much nicer than a little plastic bag you have to dig through every time.
For those who can make one the file is here and I recommend printing it upright on the backing piece with a brim, parallel to the Y axis movement. It's a flimsy thing until supported by the card box.
Onward!
I also have Ultra Tiny Epic Galaxies. That's what the Kickstarter was for. UTEK was something I could add on since it's been out for a while. There's a very nice storage system already out there but I didn't like how the dice cubes rattled around in the tray. There's fewer of them than the player tokens. So I designed a tray with the right size opening for just the dice cubes. It's at the bottom of the first photo and the upper left of the second. My design is just that tray so you still need the original for the other stuff.
As you can see I also like printing the trays in the same color as the tokens. It's a thing of mine. I'm a little worried because the blue that matches so well is discontinued and I'm almost out of it. I may have found another one that's going to have to be close enough. Yes. I'll buy filament just to make sure my game organizers match the pieces. Sue me.
Finally we get to my original design!
There's already options out there for Tiny Epic Kingdoms but they don't work if you put the cards in plastic sleeves. There's just not enough room for everything. I refused to accept this and after far too many test prints (anyone need little plastic boxes?) I made one that fits nicely in the box and allows the sleeved cards to sit on top.
You can see the organizers around the edges of the cards in the first photo. I need to trim the card sleeves because they're too long but that's a project for when I'm bored and have a fresh blade in the craft knife. They work as-is.
The player token trays mean setting up is easier - just hand the tray to the player. When the game is over they dump it all back into the tray. Done! I know there's a lot of extra room in the box with the tokens but I needed to fill that top space to hold the last tray in place. Extra room isn't bad.
And an observant eye will notice I took a black Sharpie to the edges of the cardboard tokens so they look better. It's a habit I got into doing cardstock terrain. Otherwise it's that kind of brownish-grey of the cardboard and it's not attractive to me. Smooth off the nubs from where they attached to the backing board, color them in, and sit back with a smile. The cards are also edged in black, as if I would forget that.
These aren't very exciting designs. They're very useful designs. Board game organizers are very popular all around and people make them out of foamcore and other materials. Go look at BoardGameGeek if you don't believe me. I may have to see if people have made organizers for another (not Tiny Epic) game I have that has more parts than the molded plastic will hold due to Kickstarter stretch goals.
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