20:32 "I'm not going to have it on my shelf like this, nobody is doing that" *Looks nervously at my shelf with all my Oink games displayed exactly like that*
Just to give some insight into use of typefaces in design; many of the ones you find in a standard word processing software are absolutely fine to use in professional design. That is what they are for. Unless they are trained typographers, illustrators and graphic designers should avoid messing around with making or altering existing typefaces. It's delicate work that requires years of experience, and should be left to specialists. Instead they usually choose a typeface, play around with the font types and integrate them into their design. This is standard practice for even award winning graphic designers, and is naturally perfectly fine for tabletop game box art.
You've done the outside of the box, how about the inside. A tier list of the default insert that comes with the game. some inserts are great, while others can need to be replaced immediately.
Mysterium Park has one of the best inserts of any game, especially given how small it is. There's no wasted space, everything fits perfectly. It's excellent.
I don't have many board games yet, growing the collection of course, but seven wonders duel comes to mind! The cards can all be put away in their own separate stacks, The wonders on top of the score pad with the board fitting nicely into all the plastic and still having a dedicated piece for the military token... Everything just fits so perfectly inside
The Catan expansions coming with basically the same insert as the base game with absolutely no consideration of what components they actually come with is insane to me.
Wow. One of my pet peeves is actually when they DON’T put the little player count, play time, suggested age indicators on ALL sides of the box. No matter how I orient my games on the shelf, I like to be able to quickly scan my shelf and look for games that fit my current needs (players, time, complexity). It really annoys me when they omit these from the side of the box I actually have facing out from the shelf! To each their own, I guess. Another thing that annoys me is when they don’t have sides with the art/text to support both vertical OR horizontal display.
I don't necessarily want that info on EVERY side of the box, but I agree it has utility and I want the option of displaying it for ease of selecting a game for a given player count (typically 5+ or requires more than 2) and approximate play time. I don't care about recommended player age - I know which of my games are complex or simple. For me, the sweet spot is to put it on 1 long side and 1 short side, where none of the 4 sides have a bunch of "garbage" on them. That way you can display your box horizontally or vertically and with or without this additional info.
@@boardgameaddiction7081I respect that. If you're a parent or commonly playing with different aged kids, then it can be helpful to survey things by recommended age, but of course if you're an adult who only plays with other adults then this info is useless. But, to your bigger point, I fail to see how this is so hard to make everyone happy. There are, after all, four separate sides to the box... Keep the UPC on the back/bottom, then you get two sides for horizontal, two for vertical, and one of each could easily include/omit the metadata symbols. I definitely don't need logos for publisher, but if they want to include those along with the symbols, fine. Just don't put awards or other stuff. And don't just do one or the other... I can't be the only one who's annoyed by text going in different directions on a shelf
I often find myself when looking at my collection, fantasizing of having the woodworking and leatherworking skills to make custom boxes for my games that make them look like a collection of classic novels on my shelves.
I'm on team Sagrada as well. Instead of doing the plain stone-grey border around the edges, they should have made the grey parts more in line with the architecture with inspiration from the spires, archways, etc. The colors look absolutely stunning though.
The orientation of the text on the side of the box (top-to-bottom vs bottom-to-top) is a holdover from books. In Germany, Italy and France it is/was usually the case that the title was printed in a a way that you could read it when you tilt your head to the left. In english speaking countries it is/was the other way round. I suspect if you take a look at the publishers/designers it would mostly match. The wikipedia article on bookbinding has some info on it.
In German-speaking countries the Ravensburger triangle is kinda iconic and even invokes a bit nostalgia for old jigsaw puzzles in me. Also it manages something that the Kosmos logo does not do: It tucks itself away nearly in a corner. However I do agree with you - for El Dorado, it's just too much on the sides of the box, especially when it's not even a triangle.
The biggest sin is the number of boxes you have where the lid isn't correctly orientated. It drives me mad when someone puts the lid on a game incorrectly! Otherwise, excellent video as usual :)
SO TRUE about the company logos on the box. Massage to board game publishers: putting your company logo on the box is nearly always irrelevant and always a negative, so keep it to a corner on the back of the box. I promise, the people who care about who published the game already know who published it before they bought the game, so you don’t need to tell them. The people who don’t know who the publisher of the game is will never care about who published the game because they’re not those people, so there’s also no reason to slap your logo all over the box.
Hey John! I have a video idea that I don't believe I've seen anyone do. I'm a board game loving dad and I love introducing my young kids to new games. When I watched your review of Trekking through history it made me think how great it would be to teach kids about history. Similarly, I've thought Similo History would do a good job of exposing kids to important historical figures. Ticket to Ride Europe to teach my kids about European cities. Pandemic has major cities. I've played The Mind with my 5 and 6 year old with some number tools and its helped them with their 1-100 numbers. I think you can see where I'm going with this. Could you do a video recommending board games that could help kids (or adults!) with every school subject? Call it Best Board Games for kids that'll actually teach them something!
The front of the Skull box compels me to play it, but every other side of the box compels me to hide it. I'm glad someone else finally stated that publicly!
I LOVE a good box. It’s my own little obsession. Haven’t watched the vid yet but my favorite box is unearthed - which holds (in the original box) the base game + the expansion SLEEVED with zero issues. Splendor could never. Edit: I’m now realizing you are rating the outside of the box… which is not what I was expecting. I’m calling for another tier list that evaluates the space usage and organization of board game boxes. I want a utilitarian box tier list!
I love how truly passionate Jon gets about many of these. There are so many great moments in this video. Also love that slight shade towards the Sagrada cathedral 😃 Thank you for an awesome and funny video!
@@montagen8084 because Jon obviously wrote that joke and put it into the video on purpose. I simply appreciate him doing it for the joke itself. Personally, I don't have a beef with that cathedral 😁
The different shapes are crazy. But I found use for them: - Base game boards into oceania box, as well as all automa stuff and base game dice - Just 1 Box with all cards in base game box, others stacked into each other in Europe Box This way, oceania and europe fit together in the base game box 😁 Asia can be played separately so stored separately 🙂 But sold mine and got the digital Version 😅
El Dorado being in both French & English may be because it was printed to be sold in Canada! In most provinces it is legally required to have everything shown in both official languages
I understand the frustration with how they orient the text on the sides of boxes. I don't store my games vertically, I have them all horizontal on my shelves and I don't run into that issue very often. Also A Fake Artist Goes to New York doesn't need its title on the sides. Little pink box is very recognizable. Name me another game that is in a little pink box like that.
It's kinda the idea I think of a friend coming to your house and looking over your collection and picking some games to play. They wouldn't know without asking or pulling it off the shelf.
Apparently, I have a superior copy of Love Letter because mine has the name on the bag AND puts the tokens in a little ziplock baggy so they don't fall out.
I can't tell if it is a bit or not that he's talking about the way the boxes look, drawing a ton of attention to each side, but has the lids on upside down for so many of them.
When I first saw my copy of Codenames, someone had thrown a copy into the candy bar rack near the registers at Target. My roommates complained that I was buying a game on sight, but it caught my eye. We had been playing a lot of Spyfall at parties, so I figured it would be good. Soon after, a friend brought their copy and everyone liked it.
You should do a video highlighting common misunderstandings of rules that people make when they first play a game. Had a moment this weekend where I misunderstood the voting system in Zoo Vadis and played that you only needed a majority of the animals in the exhibit, not a majority of the total spaces in the exhibit. Had huge implications and made the game feel much less fun until we clued in and corrected. Might be cool for you to go through your favourite 20-something games and call out ways you may have misplayed them early on, or struggles friends have expressed to you about learning them.
About the double writing of Bonanza… You may not know that because you seem to be an english speaker, but as a bilingual and graphic designer, I can tell you that there is a convention with up/down title writing. You can verify this going to any bilingual french/english library. In English, the title will be written one way and in french the other way. So… I may seem pecky, but I do like to have my collection placed in a way that I can easily read the titles all in the same way (of my choosing). I just wanted to point you out the existence of that writing convention and that ignoring that convention would be ignoring other buyers cultures. Sincerely, Sebastien
Every board game company needs to watch your video so that they can do a decent job of their box designs when it comes to the practical things that we want to see. Like no bar codes on the sides, don't put awards on the front of the box, don't plaster logos on every side, put irrelevant ugly numbers on the back, make the box size fit the game properly, no lid lift, give us a choice of sides with different versions of art and importantly the game name so that we can have a nice side of the box showing regardless of whether we store the game horizontally, vertically, or face on. These are some really simple basics that board game companies need to start getting right. The only place that ads belong is in a little extra booklet inside the game box which I can browse through quickly and immediately throw in the recycling (better yet, just don't do it, I bought the game and I don't want to be served up ads there are too many ads in my life already). Jon, if you ever get offered to have your currently non-existent logo on the front of a board game box, you've got to say no. Insist it should be on the back or your logo will no longer carry the weight and credibility that it would at the time of this video. I'm with you on almost all of your criticisms of the box art, except for Azul. I think that it's a perfectly legitimate choice for that box cover to pick out a font that works well, has some character to it, and is set well. The kerning looks pretty good to me. Good typography is an artform in and of itself and not every game requires artsy lettering. Look at the serifs on that font, they match in so beautifully with the styalised flowers. I think its quite the insult to compare the use of Azul's font to the over-used, poorly kerned, and often poorly applied font Papyrus. The really boring sans serif font with no stroke variation and some generic grunge brush on Codenames deserved much heavier criticism than Azul for being so very bland, characterless, and slapped on. Azul made a clear and purposeful choice which works well. That said, I'd agree on your ranking of it - it isn't quite Louvre. I also felt that on Sagrada you ought to have noted that it was a particularly subjective decision on its ranking. Sure all of these are subjective, but after discussing seeing the cathedral itself and understanding why the box has grey stonework on it you clearly understood the reason behind that choice, and your ranking seemed harsh due to personal preference rather than the vast majority of your points which have been based in design principles and functionality. Ooo, I just hit Decrypto. It's such a very ugly and uninviting design to me. Talk about a drab grey box. It's top-heavy in its design, it has too many things trying to be the focal point which results in no focal point, it's too fussy and busy (and this coming from someone who loves overly intricate detailed artwork). It's a poor design. I appreciate that the cover of Heat informs me immediately that it isn't a game for me. I've played Heat, it isn't a game for me. I agree it has a good cover design, but subjectively for me it's really ugly. It can't ruin my collection because I'll never own it. You just lost all credibility with me for putting Cascadia that low. It's gorgeous, the art is gorgeous, the cover is really well balanced and has a really lovely baroque line of dynamic movement leading the eye up to the name of the game. I agree that the fading out thing spoils it a little bit, but that's a rather minor quibble on the whole. The Cascadia cover should be in the Louvre. You should take a look at the covers of Life of the Amazonia, and Isle of Cats. Harmonies is also cool but it doesn't tell you anything much about the game (Amazonia doesn't either, but it's so eye-wateringly beautiful that I forgive it).
Barcodes are required for shop sales - they go on the side as specified by the US market. Parents Choice award is also for the US market. But we will be certain to pass on your feedback to the Kosmos publishing team!
I was about to complain that he should have left the tokens in their plastic bag if he didn't want them falling out. I guess maybe the new version they aren't bagged.
The pink version of Skull doesn't have the barcode on the side where the name is, but you do have either the designers or space cowboys logo with it (both integrated nicely). I do prefer the purple colour tho
Where's Twilight Imperium? Of all box covers, that one is the most indicative of the game that's in the box. Epic across the board. How can you give Burgle Bros less than Louvre? It's a box that's also part of the game. It's interesting to look at purely on its own. It doesn't fit or stack perfectly with all other games, but that's a feature, not a bug, as long as what makes it stand out is itself great. Secret Hitler is different type of box, but doesn't meet the criteria of being a great box independent of 'normal' accepted standards. Giant collector boxes like Castles of Burgundy are their own category and shouldn't be judged based on if they fit on a game shelf or match other normal-sized boxes. They are ridiculous and need to be judged within that ridiculousness. Castles of Burgundy is a great example. It feels luxury. Minimal artwork. Lots of "white space" letting the logos and text and art breathe. The lack of bold art or characters on the sides is a benefit, because it's not sitting on a shelf like other games needing to stand out. The mere existence of this box is its own announcement of its presence. But I one million percent agree about non-matching covers of a series. Like.. WHY? How can you be a designer and not agonize that the covers don't match? How clueless must the company heads be that they have zero design sense? If it's an art director telling graphic designers to go ahead and make that logo smaller and shift it over slightly to where it no longer matches, then that's an amateur. Worse than board games, when I see ONE book cover of a five or seven book series have a cover or spine element that doesn't match the others, I usually almost have an aneurism. Don't people that publish books OWN books? Don't they have shelves? Great.. now my day is ruined. I'm all riled up now. Thanks.
@@actualolI did actually pull the sticker off of the shrink wrap and put it on the side of the box! But it hasn’t gotten much use. The box looks so good, I just put it on the very top of the shelf, facing forward.
I'd love to see a video about board games that do more or different things with their boxes, like the one you mentioned that incorporated the box into the game itself. Games that literally think "outside the box". I recently bought a card game called "Greif zu", where you play as the party guests of Mafia boss who has to flee in a hurry when the police raids the place, and now you and the other guests are searching the wallet he left behind for money and ID cards that make you look innocent when the police arrives (i.e., the round ends). The way this is done is that the game contains an actual wallet you need to reach into and draw the cards; however, the wallet also serves as the "box" of the game, as it can contain everything you need to play the game.
I was about to call you biased until you changed your mind about Ticket to Ride lol. I completely agree on Through the Desert, the fit was one of the main reasons I didn't get the expansion.
Canvas (+expansions), Unfair (+expansions) and the Century Trilogy. I just like the way that the artwork flows across the boxes; and thematically speaking with Canvas, the boxes are even designed to be hung on the wall.
I always like the look of the Final Girl games. They look great on display and the way you take of the magnetized front and back to use as boards was clever.
HUGE agree on the Oink Games lack of naming on the sides. I just dealt with this when moving to new home. On the other hand, I adore the stone grey look of Sagrada. What a fun video.
I feel like Planet (one of the games I have), had such good potential with the artwork on the front, but then they put on logos/prizes and an entire side of the box is barcode and boring information and more logos(and just sticks out from the rest of the box)
You should make a video about the storage inside the box. Some of the boxes I open and it's a total mess every time. Other boxes are just a beautiful work of art how everything fits in. Parks is in my collection specifically because of how beautiful the game is and how amazingly it fits in the box.
most important thing is you can read the title nicely wether the box is lying down or standing with the top of the box left or right. every box has four sides so make it work already!
lol at 52:49: "Games are not meant to be kept horizontally..." Proceeds to show a horizontal box with the name printed horizontally as well, implying it's meant to be kept horizontally.
Maybe it's just because I work with blueprints but my entire collection has the titles with the bottoms to the right, the same way building plans do it.
I feel like PARKS is gambling for being displayed front side up, because of how gorgeous it looks. Also I adore that on the german version, by Feuervogel, is a diagram how to pack it properly. And Parks should get extra points for how efficent it uses its box
Love how grumpy he's getting with age. Embrace it. Also... Luxor. Literally one of my favourite covers (minus the stupid SDJ 2018 logo) and you put it on the bottom rung!
I thought you were going to talk about the box size for the content inside - components size, insert, filled with air.... Now THAT drives me crazy. Love your channel though. Just dont care too much about the outside. My games are store inside a cabinet anyway x) Cheers
The problem with upside down text on the side of the box is not exclusive for games. Books from germany and france tend to have a different orientation compared to books from english speaking countries. Really annoying if you put them next to each other in a bookshelf. Maybe this design choice bleeds over into board games.
I'd like to reserve a special slot in hell for the Codenames XXL variants. I picked them up so I could play them with larger groups and older relatives, and the boxes are so heinously huge. The cards themselves are barely any bigger, and the text cards have laughably small text compared to their increased size, so turns out it was a pretty pointless endeavour anyway. But, in spite of all this, my main source of contempt is still the box size. Words cannot express just how empty these boxes are. If you strip out the atrociously-designed plastic organisers inside, the actual game itself takes up less than a third of the box. And then they took the already disappointing box art and just slapped an XXL "stamp" motif on it that's completely detached from the rest of the theming. And bright yellow. I've managed to squeeze the contents of all three into a single box and put the other two in the loft, but catching sight of even just one of these nightmares as I walk past the shelf puts me in a bad mood. ...Anyway, I'll see you next therapy session
I'll send you the game box I designed to roast 🙂 Pandemic looks drab both in and outside the box. Sorry you're wrong. I love hearing you go on about fonts too. Cascadia uses Futura, heavily used font.
Yes, consistency with logo sizes (and everything else) is that important. Inconsistency is sloppyness and this is not something I want to see in professional board games. However, it is the way our world runs today - unfortunately.
This has to be the most unhinged video on this channel. A real look into Jon’s mind here. I found myself irrationally upset at some of his comments and requirements. Fun video
The reason text along the edge is aligned in the "wrong" direction, is because Germany. My girlfriend is German and since we put together our book collection, we found the same problem. The text is also wrongly aligned there. It's really the standard over there.
Match of the Century and Watergate are being unfairly treated because of a discrepancy of size in their logos. That’s a very minor thing and is only noticeable when you own both games.
Only 10 minutes into an almost hour-long video, and I absolutely love it!! Absolutely roasting and tearing apart some of these boxes, with a lot of very valid and real criticism. I would love to see another one of these done, but with the actual inside box storage being reviewed! It's one thing if a game looks and plays well, but some games take almost an hour to set up or put away, Not because they're so massive, But because as soon as you shift the contents of the box at all, every card and piece is a mixed up mumble jumbo! Put in some dividers and storage containers!!
That was not the first US release of Settlers of Catan. The first and second release was a dark brown box and the tiles used photos instead of artwork. 2nd edition was the same cover, but had 4 different colored player pieces so you could combine two sets and play with up to 8.
One of the reasons I consider Cascadia’s box to be absolutely gorgeous is how good it looks with Verdant and Calico as well. I store games horizontally, and they just pop. Fit to Print doesn’t pop quite as well, but it’s the same size and all four share a shelf together.
You are spot on about putting the awards on the boxes themselves: it should be a sticker on the cellophane, that way it can still advertise to new purchasers but then not continue to ruin the aesthetic for people who own the game (my biggest gripe with Mysterium!) Also really like your critique of Libertalia. It looks like a breezy seafaring exploration game from the art style. I would be very disappointed to play and not get that experience.
