I love board games as much as you do, but our hobby is not without flaws.There are lots of things that really grind my gears and one of them happened to be the ignition spark, that have led to an explosion. That’s how this first post came to life. I hate paper score sheets.

I run a board game association and every now and then there comes a time for expanding our humble collection. I have often heard many positive things about „Welcome to…„ and since its price was quite low, I added it to our upcoming order. It was an instant blast in our small community. The game was hitting the table at least twice during every meeting. What brought me even more joy, was the fact that my girlfriend, for whom every game is just „OK”, was suggesting that we played „Towns„! (She beat me several times, and that definitely helped.)

The notebook was getting thinner and thinner. That’s why during regional board game convention I restocked them at a bargain price and bought both expansions. What annoyed me then was the fact that the pages were not printed on both sides. 20 zł (about 5€) for 100 pieces may not be a fortune, but there are 50 sheets of each type in the expansions, so after some plays in a larger group you are forced to buy the whole pack again or search for digital files and print them on your own. The whole process needs to be repeated if the game maintains its popularity among friends…

Preparing for holidays with friends – I need to choose what board games we take. Time for quick consultation with my SO:

– How many of us will be there in total?

– Nine people, but one never plays.

What games are suitable for eight players? Next to party titles and social deduction kit, I pack a little bit heavier Downforce and Colt Express with an expansion. I also hide Ex Libris at the bottom of my luggage, hoping that one evening I will find three victims, get them drunk and convince to set up some libraries.

– Don’t forget the Towns! – My girlfriend warns me.

Yeah. How could I forget about this game?

Somehow I missed the first two rounds of Towns during the trip. Although the third game, in which I finally participated, was great, I felt bad that we used up 20 pieces of paper in total. Another day I talked some people into a quick round of Downforce. Six players – perfectly. I opened the box, and looked at last five betting pages...

Damn. I took one of the already filled betting cards and marked it with a different color. I also added a note on my mobile „Downforce sheets!!!„.

What I always loved in board games is that you buy them once and then profit from it until the whole box falls apart. (which never happens if you can take care of it). Now, however, it‚s not the rule anymore. Maybe it never was, and the newest mechanic trends just made me realize it.

Oh yes! I managed to persuade three players to play Ex Libris with me. What’s more, there were even sober! After a few satisfying rounds we moved to the final scoring. Having reached the scoreboard, I once again appreciate how well it has been thought through. Big, reusable and nice-looking, just like the rest of the game. No paper notebooks, just a marker pen and something to erase it with. Immediately, it came home to me. There must be someone selling reusable boards for various games, and if not, it is certainly possible to order cheap ones with the requested imprint. I spent some time looking, unfortunately with no results. There were some sites printing similar boards, but the minimal requested size was too big. I looked at the prices and closed all the tabs. After a few more minutes, it turned out that in fact someone had already come up with the idea of reusable boards for Towns, but they were introduced as a stretch goal in the original campaign on KickStarter. Crap…

Then someone offered to simply laminate the boards, and my girlfriend immediately added that she had the necessary stuff at home. I was waiting impatiently for the end of the trip and the opportunity to try it out. We came back. Together with my SO we left our friends and got to work. We took out the foil and a laminating machine and carried out the first test. The board came out quite ok. We found a dry-erase marker in the basement. The first traces on the sheet were clear, readable, and after two wipes they completely disappeared. We had it!

I came home and immediately made a list of games in which we would replace paper sheets. Then I started looking for things on Allegro (polish Amazon) – a pack of foils and 40 dry erase markers. The rest of the story is best described by photos. The whole process was quite tedious and time-consuming, and the laminating machine did not always want to cooperate. Eventually we managed to create great, reusable boards for several games.

I am very happy with the final result, and I encourage everyone to upgrade their games in a similar way. I wish publishers practiced solutions such as in Ex Libris more often. I am aware that the production cost of those elements would have a significant impact on the overall game prices. I would be more than glad to pay more, knowing that I would avoid printing additional pages. And if paper is the only way, make it double-side printed, please…