1830: Railroads and Robber Barons (Avalon Hill 1986) organizer

After using my original 3D-printed tile tray designs for several months, I decided to refactor them 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. 

After I made my tile organizer trays for 1846 the first thing that people asked was "Will they work for 1830"? Well, as it happens, no they won't because the 1830 box is smaller, and the 1830 tiles are smaller. So I went back to my design room, and refactored the OpenSCAD source files so that I could make trays for 1846 and 1830.

Unlike 1846, 1830 uses cardstock instead of tile stock. The design I used for 1846 wasn't tight enough to keep the tiles from sliding from one stack to the next, so I added interlocking stubs to the lids that overlap the pillars in the tray. This keeps the tiles in their assigned spots, and provides a nice snap that keeps the lid from slipping off.

I put all of the yellow tiles in one tray, 12 of the green tiles in the second tray, the rest of the green tiles and 8 of the brown tiles in the third tray, and the rest of the brown tiles in the last tray.

While I'm happy with using Hugo's Amazing Tape to organize decks of cards, it's getting hard to find, and confuses some players. So instead I created some slip cases to hold the company share cards (4 companies per case) and the other cards (trains, privates, etcetera). Just slide the cards in and friction will keep them organized.

Total items to print:

My (used) copy of 1830 has no box inserts, so there's plenty of space in the box for these trays. I recommend putting them in the box first, then adding the map, rules, and the rest of the game components.These are sized to fit the box and track tiles from the Avalon Hill version of 1830. I don't have a copy of the Mayfair version, so I don't know if they'll fit that. If you want trays for the Mayfair version, contact me and we'll work something out.

I've added a PDF that shows how I arrange my tiles, in case it wasn't clear from the photos. You are, of course, free to use these as you like.

Full sources on GitHub.

Revision History:

August 2018, Initial version.
April-May 2019, Complete redesign of models.
June 2019, Added slipcases for the company shares and other cards.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Prusa

Printer:

i3 MK3

Rafts:

No

Supports:

No

Resolution:

200um

Infill:

20%

Notes:

The tile trays are large (8" x 5 1/4") so will need a full-size printer. I printed these in PETG, because I frequently leave my games in my car. If you leave your games inside, PLA should work as well. I sliced everything at 0.200 mm for speed.

I printed the card slip cases using translucent PETG, and sliced them at 0.20mm using the Prusa Slicervase settings. This took a little longer, but gave me very clear boxes.

Category: Toy & Game Accessories