1846: The Race for the Midwest boardgame boxes

After using my original design for several months, I decided to refactor my designs and add some features to improve the usability of the boxes:

1. Rounded boxes -- All of the boxes now use rounded corners and edges that make them more comfortable to use. 
2. Locking lids -- All of the boxes now use press-fit lids that are easy to separate, but lock into place, to keep from accidently spilling the tiles. 
3. Redesigned hex boxes -- The redesigned hex boxes and lids engage to keep tiles from sliding, but don't interfere with opening or closing the boxes. 
4. Redesigned token boxes -- now with fillets in the compartments, for easier access. 
5. Smaller boxes -- the newer box designs are easier to remove from the game boxes. 
6. Refactored models -- now it's much faster and easier to create designs for new games. I will leave the old models up for posterity and comparison, but strongly suggest using the newer models.

I like playing 1846: The Race for the Midwest, so when I bought a copy for myself, I knew I was going to have to make some organizers for it. I ended up with a set of organizing trays with lids that fit in the original box without removing the box insert. This makes for easy setup and cleanup, and keeps all of the parts organized even if the box is inverted.

The first step was designing trays to hold all of the track tiles. I used two sizes of tray: one that holds up to 5 tiles in a stack, and one that holds up to 2 tiles in a stack. With two of each of these trays, I can hold all of the tiles. The boxes and lids have hexagonal holes so that you can see which trays hold which tiles, and to cut down on plastic used (and print time). I put all of the city track tiles in one of the larger trays, the yellow track tiles (and some of the green tracks) in the second larger tray, and the rest of the green tiles in a smaller tray, and the brown tiles in the last small tray.

The second step was designing boxes to hold the company stock certificates and counters. An extra box can be used to hold the private company and player cards and their miscellaneous counters. Again, the boxes have holes to let you see what companies you need and to reduce materials and print time.

Finally I used some Hugo's Amazing Tape to wrap up the train cards and the money.

Total items to print:

Full sources on GitHub.

Revision History:
August 2018, Initial version.
May 2019, Complete redesign.

Print Settings

Printer Brand: Prusa

Printer: i3 MK3

Rafts: No

Supports: No

Resolution: 0.200 mm

Infill: n/a

Filament:
AmazonBasics, Inland PETG 
 

Notes: 

The tile trays are large (8.5"x5.5") so will need a larger printer. I printed these in PETG, though PLA will work as well, as long as you keep your games cool. I sliced everything at 0.200 mm for speed.

The Prusa i3 Mk3 can print 4 sets of card trays and lids at once.

Category: Toy & Game Accessories