Tactics Storage Solutions?

I know this may be hard to believe, but I have been holding on to all the stuff from the tactics kickstarter to give as Hanukkah presents to my son and daughter. So last night they opened the base tactics set and were uber excited. We popped out all the tokens and put them in bags, but we're totally stumped as to how they are suppose to go in the box. I am sure everyone has tackled this issue by now, so I was hoping I could see some good storage solutions. Especially with the expansion and minis coming. So let me know what you came up with! 

PS - pictures can truly be worth 1000 words...

I took out the inlay. It's heresy, but that's what I do.

I have all the power cards in baggies with their tokens in the uprising box.

In the Tactics box I have the Environment tokens (Monorail/Lava/Dinosaurs) in the long tray.  I have the Health tokens in the most square area, the Turn order+Objective markers in the other middle one, and then the scenario stuff for Operative in one bag, the mist and shards and related powe cards in another in the wider side pocket, with the Baron Blade scenario powers and tokens in the other side pocket.  

(Sorry for the crappy photo, my camera died and this is from my webcam of suckitude)


Then the Hex Tiles in the middle where they are designed to fit, the Character cards on top of them, the scenario books on top of that and the big rule book on the very top.  In the two top pockets I have the rectangular tokens and the dice, and the other has the Omnitron Scenario cards and tokens.


I see that Spiff has generated some deck boxes. Anybody come up with something good for the tokens?

I just use baggies for the tokens, which isn't best but seems to work OK.  I also took out the insert to be able to fit everything into the box.

My current storage:

In the uprising box: All character cards with their tokens in indvidual baggies, scenario card and tokens in individual baggies, small baggie of dice, bag of turn-cards with scenario and turn tokens and all character sheets.

In the main box: Environment tiles and tokens, including lava, citizens/thugs and underbosses, scenario booklets and rule booklet.

Hope to make an insert that allows everything, including mini's in individual slots, to fit in the main box (will need to create some extra headspace in the box for that though).

Very nice everyone. Thanks for the help!

My plastic insert has long gone out with the recycling.

Each character has a baggie containing its token, mini+base, and power cards. All of those baggies are kept in a big baggie.

Scenarios and environment-specific things are organized similarly.

Stuff you need for every game (tokens, dice, etc) is all in a baggie together.

With this setup, it's really quick & easy to get a game started. Pull out the map tiles and "every game" bag, have people choose characters, pull out exactly the characters needed, done.

It all fits in the main Tactics box. I'm using the Uprising box for Halo action clix =)

That's pretty much exactly what I've done, expect the minis are awaiting painting and I'll likely store those separately. Possibly in the Uprising box, but that's tbc.

Me, too, except I have no illusions that I will ever paint them.

Me too, except the Halo-clix part.

Damn I was hoping I would have someone to play Halo clix with! Maybe I'll just add Master Chief to Tactics =)

I have Heroclix and AvP clix. :D  Also some horrorclix.  They're probably compatible.  I just don't store them in my Uprising box. :D

They're pretty much all HeroClix now.

Some are primed, and I'm buying the rest of the paint I need tomorrow. I haven't painted a mini since I was about 19 though, so I don't know yet whether mine will end up any good…

I have most everything in the insert, bagged seperately for ease of use. I just put things under it. Namely some heroes and the mist tiles. I think that's it. There IS enough room for everything in the box with the insert, it just takes a while to get everything sorted the first time.

I have designed an insert that will hold everything and leave room for expansions. The minis are a tricky one though. I have tried multiple designs to fit all the minis in the Uprising box but I need another half inch of height.   I just use some plano cases to hold them. I haven't built and tested the insert yet but I have designed the layout and will work on the prototype soon.   But the minis really are a struggle

My set up only works if you have all the miniatures, and consequently can remove all of those tokens from your tray.

             

1.  Villains Cards, Scenario Powers, and Units (in tuckpacks/boxes)

2.  Heroes (in tuckpacks)

3.  Monorail, T-Rex, and Omni-Repear (miniature transport foam used as space filler & divider)

4.  The tokens that will be replaced by the Minions Mini Set, and Objective tokens (in custom token pouches)(miniature transport foam used as space filler)

5. dice

6. bag 1 (health tokens), bag 2 (attack, defense, & aim/dodge tokens)

7. all other tokens, except those replaced by a mini  (in custom token pouches)

8. Map tiles, books, etc... placed above in designated spaces

Custom token pouch


card stock straps around character cards to keep them together  (card stock is much better than rubber bands as there is no compression to bend your cards)

Love the token packs. 

WoW!

Envious

I have an excel file that I used as a template for my token packs.  It is no where near as polished as your resources, but I'll gladly share the file if you want to play around with it and/or improve it for mass consumption.

My template is a less than intuitive, and I will probably need to post a photographic how-to guide for the finished product.  However, if there is enough interest (which should be interpreted as 1 or 2 people), I'll gladly take the time to do so. 

It was somewhat time consuming to set up everything, but well worth it in the long run.  I spent about a week printing and assembling Spiff's amazing tuckpacks.  I then spent the better part of a weekend, designing and assembling my token packs.  

I am very much intersted in that file. I've been trying to figure out something to do with my tokens for a while now.

Are the token packs open on both the front and back, or are they just open on the front? I can't tell from the pic.

Add me to the "interested in the token packs" crowd.

They are closed on all but one side.

As I said previously mentioned, my template is not quite as easy to use as spiff's resources, but I believe I can provide good enough instructions to get you through it if you have a little patience...

I recommend using 65lb paper or similar card stock for durability. 

Step 1:  cut out the templates marked "LAVA" and "TOOL"


Step 2:  place your all your lava tokens + 1 additional token on the end flap line and place a mark on the other side


Step 3:  align your TOOL on your mark, make sure you line up both sides of the center lines to ensure it is not crooked; then trace down both sides of the TOOL 


Step 4:  cut allong the outer edge of your token pack and the lines marked cut on the picture below


Step 5:  fold allong the lines


Step 6:  slighten shorten tabs A, C, D, and F


Step 7:  apply glue to tab A and glue it to the outside of tab B; apply glue to tab D and glue it to the outside of tab E

Step 8:  apply glue to tab C and glue it to the outside of tab A; apply glue to tab F and glue it to the outside of tab D

 

Step 9:  tape the open edge of tabs A, B, and C together; then tape the open edge of tabs D, E, and F together


Step 10:  cut out the handle marked LAVA


Step 11:  turn the handle face down and use your token pack to mark the length of the pack


Step 12:  put tape onto your handle sticky side up


Step 13:  tape onto token pack and either wrap excess around the bottom the pack or cut excess off


Step 14:  you have finished your first token pack


Step 15:  cut out any of the double marked templates, such as DEVICES and PYLONS/SHARDS

Step 16:  place the appropriate tokens + 1 addtional token on the inner edge of the end flap; then place a mark



Step 17:  using your TOOL trace the other end flap onto each token pack  


Step 18:  cut out you token packs and repeat the assembly used on the LAVA pack.


Step 19:  repeat until they are all complete and enjoy your newly organized tokens

tactics token sleeves.xls (24.5 KB)

Great stuff.  It shouldn't be too hard to streamline the creation process to make them a little easier to build, but the idea is super solid.  If you don't mind me poaching your project, I'd like to add these to my "to-do when I find the time" list because I think they'd be great to add to the other Tactics accessories on my site.  If you'd rather I didn't do that, just say so.  I don't want to step on anyone's toes.

You have my blessing.  I am more of an idea/prototype person.  I'm not tech savvy enough to put together the finished product.

You might also change up the token groupings.  Most of my groupings are logical, except my catch all for the tokens that will get removed when the next batch of mini's are released.  I also didn't do anything for the character tokens (since I use miniatures), but I'm sure a lot people would appreciate something for those tokens as well.

I played around with the template in Photoshop today.  Since I've removed my box insert a long time ago, I'm going for making boxes with a closeable flap lid, so they can be stacked in the bottom of the empty box rather than having to fit them into the space available in the insert.  I'm still kicking around designs for how I want the boxes to look, how the flaps should work, etc.  I'm trying to avoid having to make a bunch of individual boxes, each of a different width to hold different numbers of tokens, because that's a lot of work.  But I haven't found the best way to genericize the design yet.  I'll keep at it.

The token packs look cool, but is there any advantage over just bagging up the tokens?

If you're still using the insert, then I think Bharryn's baskets are a clear win because they keep the tokens organized and easy to get to in the small space you have available in the insert.  I agree that boxes like I'm considering are less necessary, though I'd say they provide two benefits over bagging - they'd stack cleanly in the bottom of the box and so reduce the clutter in there, and they'd be clearly labeled so you wouldn't have to dig through all your baggies to find the one with the tokens you're looking for (which I do every time).

It's still an open question in my mind whether those tiny advantages are compelling enough that I gotta have these token boxes or not.  But it's still a fun Photoshop project, which is why I'll probably keep at it a while longer.

I mitigate the "finding things" problem somewhat by organising my small token bags into larger bags. And I label them.

If you are a slightly OCD neat freak when it comes to organizing things, bags, no matter how neatly labelled, create a cluttered look.  As far as just basic practicality, bagging works just fine.

I have not.  Maybe I'll give that a try.

Have you considered a cereal box style insert tab?

At the end of the day, you are looking at roughly 5 different box sizes.  I think it could be stream lined to 3 sizes, though I would keep it at 4 sizes as 1/4" is a little too much wiggle room for my tastes. 

• 1 box - Lava is the biggest at 2"
• 2 boxes - Drones and Devices are 1 3/4"
• 3 boxes - Thug/Civilians, Impaling Structures & Blazing Tornado, and Dinos/Battalion/Underbosses/Decoy are 1 1/4"

• 3 boxes - Objectives, Ambuscade, and Turn Markers are 7/8"
• 1 box - Pylons/Shards is 6/8"

My particular brand of neat freakiness means that different tokens can't share the same bag or pack or whatever, so my only choice would be to have a lot of tiny packs. Not so practical for me.

i care much more about organisation than I do neatness.

Here's what I ended up going with:

They're 3-inches square by about 3/4-inches tall.  They stack very neatly in the box, and by keeping to a single standard box size, I didn't have to make one for every type of token in the game.  I haven't figured out how I'll handle monorail and mist long tokens yet.

They do mix similar token types in each box, which means they may not serve Silverleaf's needs, but they very handily serve my needs by reducing the clutter in the box and making it easy to figure out which box has the token I'm looking for.

They look great Spiff!

Silverleaf is completely aware that her needs are unreasonable, so we're all good. ;)

Played my friend's copy of Agricola last year. He tipped a pile of pig, sheep and cow meeples out onto the table from a single bag, all jumbled together.

I had to segregate them before I could start playing. I just couldn't leave them there like that.

My own copy has a foamcore insert so everything is organised perfectly.

I don't think I have genuine OCD because I don't think something very bad will happen if a sheep ends up in the cow section, but I really don't like it if things aren't sorted "properly". I know, weird.

I truly feel your pain.  It drives me nuts when things aren't organized.  Luckily my gaming group is equally OCD, so it protects my sanity.

So spiff, when are you going to post the bixes to your website? I printed the tuckpacks and am working on cutting and assembling  the 3-D terrsin.

How about right now?  I just posted a link on my site.

I also decided to include three spinner counters (they're just like the tiny hp counters I have on my SotM site, but double-sized) you can use to track victory conditions or count down a scenario's timer.  I put them directly into the box pages because I hate to leave so much wasted blank space.

There's still nothing for the monorail tracks or the mist wall.  I'll get to that when I get to it.

Love it good job spiff

Thanks spiff. You could just do a longer skinner box for the 3 tile rails and mist.

For anyone that is still using the insert in their Tactics box, I've redesigned ny token packs and created user friendly files.  The end result is a clean, aesthetically pleasing set-up which completely eliminates all bags (yes, I even made a box for the dice...).


Spiff has graciously agreed to host these files, as well as my shorter variant on his amazing 3D terrain,


and my 3D terrain storage boxes


on his newly added "non-Spiff" page.

Thanks again Spiff! 

A few weeks ago, during a sickly weekend, I decided to fit all the Sentinels Tactics stuff (FoF, Uprising & mini's; without the latest pack) into the FoF box via a custom insert (see below). The materials used were foamcore and 300 g/m2 paper. Booklets fit easily on top.

So…beautiful…!  

That's awesome. I would totally pay for someone to replicate that.

Wow, yeah, that's wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! For those of you interested, I could provide the measurements if you feel adventurous with the materials.

I at least would be interested in the measurments. I have some spare white 6mm board laying around.

Count me in for some measurements, I can use an afternoon/weekend of crafting. It will also help encourage me to bring the box around to the game stores we play at. Our fishing tackle bag is not nearly as visually pleasing to newcomers =]

Ooh, nice - I’d like to replicate it, too!

Terrific, thank you. I have three questions:

The tray bottoms are also foam board, correct?

What is the plateau you describe?

And just out of curiosity, why is there that gap?

Hej folks,

Sorry for the delay, but I finally managed to find the time to digitize my notes in a generally understandable format:

/edit: Included the height of the divider walls of the top left compartment. 

The measurements are based on 5 mm thick foam board and yes, the tray bottoms are of the same material.

The described plateau is to raise the environment elements to a level that you can pick them out conveniently. As these are the final pieces of the insert, I recommend making these based on your own insert dimensions.

The gap in the bottom of the tray is there so you can easily lift up and pick out the character cards.

PS.: I uploaded a new picture including the height of the divider wall of the top left compartment, as these are a bit lower for ease of taking out the tokens and Omnitron V.

Hey Bas,

I just did a test-fit of the insert I built from your measurements. Great job! There are a couple minor tolerancing issues, but nothing I couldn’t squeeze a little or solve with better materials for the mini dividers. However, you may want to double-check the dimensions on the Omnitron V compartment in the insert. I think the vertical dimension (as viewed on the plan) is a little short and I’m going to have to redo that one.

Thanks man, I am happy it worked for you! Regarding the fitting, it is tight, and for the smaller compartments I did work on the fly to see what would fit where best (and measured after), so that may have created some variation in the measurements. With Omnitron, try rotating him, as one diameter side of him is slightly narrower.

Feel free to list your observations and suggestions for improvement here, so we can optimize the insert further .