I’ve gone on and on in previous posts about why I create foam core inserts for my games. If you are interested in the why you can check out those posts. This time I want to focus on the how.
When I have created these inserts in the past I have looked around to see what others have done. Sometimes I would find exactly what I wanted and other times I would find some inspiration to get me going. Forbidden Stars presented a unique situation where there was no inspiration to be found. It was a new enough game that no one had tackled it yet.
I had also recently taken up learning SketchUp (a 3D modeling application) for the purpose of sharing my designs with the board game community. I had never started a design with SketchUp and Forbidden Stars provided me that opportunity.
I started by taking measurements of the box and the major components. That included the cards, the sector tiles, the largest miniature, order and building tokens, the tallest building, warp storms, and the round track. I documented all of these measurements. This actually didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.
I had a couple main goals:
- I wanted all of the player components for a faction in one box so they were easy to distribute at the beginning of the game.
- I wanted to store the sector tiles in the center of the top layer which meant surrounding them with boxes that would (hopefully) store all the non-player pieces.
Since there were 4 factions I simply split the box measurements into fourths and worked from there. Playing with the dimensions in SketchUp allowed me to figure out that I could probably fit three layers. I only needed 2 which meant I could later create more player boxes for future faction expansions.
Once I had the basic dimensions of the player boxes I went ahead and built one (using pins instead of glue) and started playing with how the components actually fit into the space. I took my findings back into SketchUp for sharing the design later.
The top layer was fairly easy and followed the same process. I knew from my measurements the space the sector tiles would take up so it was easy to determine the size of the surrounding boxes and then mock one up to fit the components into it. This led me to double layering some to keep the some of the components easy to get to while increasing the storage capacity.
This design process can be summarized like this:
- Measure the major components of the game
- Get the basic insert dimensions in SketchUp
- Build the basic pieces and refine them using the components
- Feed the final dimensions back into SketchUp for the purpose of documenting and sharing
I am really pleased with how this insert turned out as well as how the process of starting with SketchUp. I don’t think that this process will work in every design, but it will in many cases. I like that it allows me to make the best use of the box space without potentially trashing a bunch of foam core.
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REQUIRED TOOLS/MATERIALS:
5mm Foam Core
Self-healing cutting mat
Metal ruler with cork back
Elmer’s Glue All
Retractable Utility Knife
Dressmaker pins
If you haven’t built a foam core insert before check out our Foam Core Basics post.
BUILT BY YOU
I love to see other people get good use out of the plans I create. This section is dedicated to you who have created and shared this foam core insert. Thank you! If you have built these plans and shared them, contact us and let us know so we can add your pictures to our gallery.
Damn your inserts look so straight an tidy and nice. When I follow your plans they rarely fit well in the box.
Rebellion just fits barely. And i thought I cut everything out correctly 🙁
Thanks for the feedback! I’m always looking for ways to improve my plans. What were some of the areas that didn’t fit well? Or what are some ways I could make it easier?
When I make these, I am generally looking to make them fit as tightly as possible while still being able to get the parts in and out.
Seeing how cool your design looks ( and the mess I see inside my Forbidden Stars box) I think I’m going to give this a try. I’ve never tried making one of these before. Any specific kind of foam board you would recommend? Also, what type of glue do you use? Any other tools I will need?
Thanks, can’t wait to try this out.
Hello and welcome to the Pub, Steve! You can find the supplies you need at a local craft store but I have listed them below with links to Amazon. You don’t need all of this but everything listed here will make your life easier. Make sure you are using a sharp knife to get the cleanest cuts possible. And take your time. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Foam Core – this is a bulk pack for if you will be making other inserts. You can buy individual sheets as well.
Self-healing cutting mat – makes cuts easier and protects your table.
Metal ruler w/cork back – knife won’t cut the metal and the cork won’t slide as easily.
Elmer’s Glue All – dries clear and strong.
Retractible utility knife – I like these snap off knives so I can always have a sharp blade handy.
Dressmaker pins – use to hold pieces together while glue is drying.
There are some videos linked on my Imperial Assault foam core post that give some good basics.
Thanks for all the great info. How many sheets of that foam board would it take to make the whole insert?
Probably just one. But I would get two to be on the safe side.
Hey Brian,
I’m going to try out your insert plan for Forbidden Stars (my first attempt). I love the look of them.
Quick question: do you know if the card holders will accept sleeved cards? If not, what recommendations can you make for adjusting the plans. I’m guessing simply shaving down the inserts won’t work.
Thanks in advance
Hi Jon,
The card holders don’t accept sleeved cards as the plans show. This was an oversight on my part since I don’t usually sleeve cards. I’m trying to take sleeved cards into consideration from now on.
I’d recommend pushing the card and token storage 4mm wider (into the unit storage) and the card storage about 5mm longer (into the token storage). The depth of the card and token storage is a bit harder. I’d sleeve all of the cards of a faction and measure how thick the deck is. Compare it to the depth prescribed in the plans and make it deep enough to accommodate that.
Your biggest challenge will be the blue faction – their units take up almost all of the storage are that they currently have. I’d look at relocating some of the units under the cards. Maybe the tanks or flags? That would probably give you enough room with the expanded card storage.
The other thing I’d highly recommend is that you prototype the piece before you glue it. Put it together with pins, fit the pieces in, and make adjustments where you need to. When you are happy with the fit, then glue it together.
Hope this helps. I’ll be interested to see how this goes for you. Let me know.
Brian
I made this insert and it came out fantastic. Excellent work!
Now I’m all sorts of sad that FFG & Games Workshop are no longer working together so we won’t ever get expansions for this great game.
Thanks! And I share your sadness. I really like Forbidden Stars and was really excited that I had enough room for future expansions. Maybe FFG will retheme it in the Twilight Imperium universe someday…..