I've always held the firm believe that the storage solutions included in Flying Frog's games are a solid part of an attractive packaged whole. After opening, sorting, and playing Dark Gothic however, I am at a loss. This is the first time I am actually tempted to chuck the plastic insert and just rubber band everything together.
It all comes back to functionality. There are two functional paths that the designer could have taken here.
1: Big open area to store the cards. Maybe foam, plastic, or cardboard dividers to separate decks and card stacks.
2. Small individual pockets built into the plastic of the insert. Think Smash up or Dominion. The little pocket for the villains and heroes is a perfect application of this method.
Neither of these paths were taken however and instead we have some sort of jumbled hybrid that fulfills neither role. If I try to store my cards by deck type. (i.e. All the spirit training cards in slot and all the cunning training cards in the next slot) then they all fall over. There's nothing to hold the smaller decks upright and everything falls over. If I try to store everything by cramming it together in a big blob, then the little grooves on the bottom of the tray interrupt every 20-30 cards and actually impede what I want my storage tray to be doing.
...
It's just awful. From the folks who have made so many GOOD storage inserts, I look at Dark Gothic's storage tray and just shake my head in confusion.
I have no problem storing my Dark Gothic in the storage insert. I actually find it one of the better ones out there. It does need a little bit extra (anything) to hold up the cards so they don't fully flip over, but anything can do that job. I like the ribbing the put in the bottom. It's way better than what we get with AEG's games. *shrug*
But, despite that, I did later go through and package sets into boxes.
I'm also thinking, most games that do individual pockets, or whatever, immediately become obsolete with expansions. The DG box will incorporate them well (and allow expansions to be packaged less expensively).
I have sleeved my cards and now they basically do not fit in the plastic storage tray in the direction that would run with the ribs. I don't want to turn them to run against the ribs because I am concerened the ribs will deform the sleeves at the edge of the cards. So I have abandoned the plastic insert. It is in my game closet in a box with other various box inserts I've abandoned.
I've the the sleeved cards in a BCW 400 count box. It fits in the Dark Gothic box although it is just a little high. It works just fine though.
The plastic insert, in general, was kind of a puzzle to me.
Ahh, sleeved cards. Makes sense. I really dislike sleeves (they make it impossible to shuffle!), but more manufacturers do need to design their packaging in mind that people sleeve.
You describe what I did with Dominion. I have it all in one 3000-card box.
Actually, I like the way they shuffle. You take a gob of cards and mesh them in with another gob, starting the corner in first, and the sleeves slide right in together. You get just about a perfect shuffle.
I've got all my ATOE and LNOE sleeved too. I did the ATOE specifically because I couldn't shuffle the decks of differing sized cards. Now it's a breeze. Plus I use my set to host at GenCon so the sleeves help prevent wear and tear.
I have everything available for LNOE, ATOE, FANG and now DG.
The first thing to go for me, are the plastic storage inserts - every time! My DG one was falling apart anyway (??). All cards are sleeved in Ultra Pro Deck Protectors, which is I understand a favourite with the Magic The Gathering players. So when a new MTG set or expansion is released, they can be hard to find.
After sleeving cards, they are stored in perspex Ultro Pro Deck Boxes which hold the sleeved cards perfectly. These storage boxes are also a perfect height for DG. My DG Hero and Villain cards tuck away nice and neat in a ziplock bag. Likewise dice in a mini-ziplock (although not completely necessary).
I'm one of those who also find shuffling easier with the cards sleeved - in face I'm bordering on obsessive compulsiveness about sleeving cards in all games. I'm also more comfortable shuffling knowing the edges will stay pristine. I recall my first few attempted shuffles with LNOE & ATOE prior to sleeving. While the cards are of thick and solid stock and great quality... unsleeved, they had this "stickiness" about them. Shuffling was a @#$%^&!
The games where there are a myriad of counters, I store in fishing tackle type storage containers with their little compartments. It works pretty well and everything is in near new condition.
Ahh. I have no problem riffle shuffling cards for my games. Worn cards are a sign of love!
The first game I ever sleeved was Lord of the Rings the Living Card game and I only did it because I was mixing sets with a friend and he insisted on sleeving his cards.
Since then I have started playing magic and sleeve all my decks there but that's because individual cards can run $5+ to replace and if I'm going to sleeve the one card I'm going to sleeve the entire deck. Shuffling sleeved cards doesn't bother me.
I don't generally sleeve board game cards though, simply because I usually play with them less and don't mind if they get a little beat up. If I have to buy the entire game new at some point oh well, it just shows I really really like the game. I've never had to do that though. Even with Monopoly or Clue I've never found I needed to replace a board game once purchased. The pieces might wear thin but not to the point that you can't play with them.
The only time I've ever wished I sleeved cards was when I let someone play my copy of Robo Rally without my set... and he CREASED ALL THE UPGRADE CARDS RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER.
"It made it easier to shuffle!" he claimed.
Otherwise I just find sleeves make it too hard to shuffle.
Yeah I would never let someone borrow a game again, after doing something like that unless they went out and replaced my original. I mean wow.... that's just incredibly rude. Sorry for your luck bro