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Card sleeves a must!
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I'm not known for being particularly condition concious when it comes to my games. Heck a lot of them come from thrift stores and I even take advantage of the ding-and-dent sales from the on-line game stores. But when it comes to the components themselves I'm a bit of a stickler for keeping them in the best possible condition. This is to prolong the life and functionality of the pieces as long as possible (or so I tell myself, it could be that I'm just a bit retentive). Besides, I just like the extra heft and glide that a high quality card sleeve can give to any deck. It'll make the deck thicker and more slippery but that's a small price to pay. Card sleeves are my big want for games that get used a lot. One, the card sleeves help preserve the cards in games that require an excessive amount of shuffling. Two, they help preserve the cards in a condition that won't stand out when new expansions are added down the line. And three, sometimes the cards are things of beauty but their construction is just not conducive to easy shuffling. In the latter case, I've seen cards that actually have perceptibly square edges making normal shuffling almost impossible. So what are some of these games. The following list is for those games that are enhanced by the use of card sleeves.
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Posted Thu Aug 7, 2008 6:53 am
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These cards are the ones that gave me the idea for the list. I love to play the game but the cards drive me crazy. They are thicker than normal (and inconsistent between the expansions) and made of something akin to chipboard. They're also coated with a material that will stick together with the slightest change in humidity. The answer: Card Sleeves! Now they shuffle easily and don't stick anymore.
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Is there a card game harder on cards than Race for the Galaxy? The cards are high quality and gorgeous but the sheer amount of handling and shuffling can beat down any cardboard. Card sleeves will protect these until I can integrate the new expansion. Worst case is that I have to replace the old sleeves.
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3.
Board Game: Gloom
[Average Rating:6.27 Overall Rank:1036]
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Clear acetate cards? The squarish edges on these make them hard to shuffle, especially since any printing on the card results in a raised ridge. Card sleeves will smooth them out and won't interfere with the see-through aspect (as long as the sleeves are clear).
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I don't own this but I've seen enough cards to know that they don't stand up well after repeated use. These things are printed on the kind of cardboard that they keep shirts stiff with. The thickness of the cards just scream for sleeves to make them easier to use.
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They can be used to just protect the value of the cards too. When is the last time you saw a Black Lotus being used without a sleeve. Was it past 1995?
Besides if they're in sleeves you can build your towers much higher because the cards are stronger.
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Arkham has many, many decks that get reshuffled EVERY STINKIN' TIME A CARD IS DRAWN! This will tell on the cards after a while and as new expansions come out about every other week, the newer cards will shine through if the old ones (get it? - Old Ones ... oh, never mind) aren't protected.
Do the make protectors for the half size cards that are the items and such?
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This is my goal - to sheath every card in Runebound and its expansions. I've already pimped it out by getting heart-shaped beads for the hits and glass beads for other markers. I want this system to weigh in at about 25 pounds when it hits the table!
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Card sleeves can enhance playability in print and play games that rely on cards. Just use sleeves with an opaque back (even better if the back picture fits the theme of the game). Since most home printers can only handle 110 lb cardstock, the printed cards are rather thin and not too durable. The card sleeves solve that problem without going to the expense and pain of lamination. Now you can shuffle them like a real deck.
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9.
Board Game: Citadels
[Average Rating:7.33 Overall Rank:93]
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The character cards from Citadels get a lot of handling. They get shuffled and passed from player to player all the time.
You only need 9 sleeves (only need more if you play the expansion).
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The cards get shuffled every turn.
And each game has at least a million turns.
I almost wore my cards to the nubs before I wised up and sleeved them.
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These are good to protect, but it makes the big stack of cards a challenge to shuffle....
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lots of card handling and deck manipulation during setup and during the game.
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When a game requires you to stick one of its cards in your sweaty arm pit or the moist crook of your elbow for the remainder of the game. You NEED card sleeves on the cards in that game.
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This one. Absolutely. The cards are huge and are black-borded.
Too bad it is nearly impossible to buy card sleeves for it...
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15.
Board Game: Zoon
[Average Rating:5.37 Overall Rank:4695]
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You are costantly moving the cards on the table. Plus, for each combat you are grabbing one of the 4 corners of the card and show it.
Sleeves definitely make Zoon a better game.
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In Battleground you have to write on the cards.
Of course, you can use dry markers, easy to clean. But almost every people I know use card sleeves for it.
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A coworker of mine showed me this game for the first time in sleeves - the nobles were one color sleeve...the actions...another. It was very helpful in keeping everything separated.
The quality of card is nice, but they don't seem to thick. When I purchase a copy this weekend, I am sure to do the same.
and for the record, I have never endorsed sleeves...and non of my games have them.
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Posted Thu Aug 7, 2008 6:36 am
If a game has cheap flimsy cards, so be it. I want to feel the stock.
If my game becomes marred by overuse, so be it. It shows history and rigorous use.
If I play a game to the point of its destruction, I don't think I would mind buying another copy, even at multiple times its original cost if I loved it that much.
Card sleeves. Disgusting.
I have sleeved a badly marked and worn deck of Daytona 500 cards, after several years of use.
So far, that's it.
CUT
Card sleeves. Disgusting.
Your point of view could be ok if card games are being costantly re-printed.
I damaged a card? No problem, two days and I'll buy the game again.
On planet Earth this is not happening, so maybe the only way to find that out-of-print card game that just crumbled in your hands is to search via e-bay and spend lots of money.
Long live card sleeves.
Right!
Why spend money on card sleeves?
Just use these!