Lack of board game storage can make putting away the favorite game after family game night no fun at all! My family loves playing board games and we have a ton of board games. The problem is storing all those board game pieces and card games in an orderly manner. This list can help you store your board game collection in a way that your favorite game is always easy to find.
Best Board Game Storage & Organization Ideas
Our favorite board games come in all sizes and shapes and it seems like they are always stacked up in a closet somewhere haphazardly with boxes falling apart and stray game pieces missing…
Basics of Card and Board Game Storage
- Keep game pieces together: Our favorite way to keep game pieces together is with the use of plastic bags. Snack size ziploc bags work great for board game pieces, dice and decks of cards easily fit into sandwich size plastic bags. Zipper pouches are more durable and come in different sizes — check your office supply store for the biggest selection.
- Get rid of unused games: It is easy to end up with a toddler board game collection and have a house of teenagers! Time flies and giving away your board games to families with small children or charity can clean out your game closet and make room for more advanced games.
- Use containers when filling board game shelves: It is OK to remove a bulky game from its box IF you have a more organized solution in place. We typically use the board game boxes for storage, but every once in awhile the box becomes damaged or is just an awkward size to stack on a shelf. Smaller games and sets of cards can be placed into easily arranged baskets and containers on a shelf.
I’m so inspired by these great ideas on how to keep your favorite board games and card games organized and safely stored and the best part is you likely have plenty of space and plenty of room when you set it up correctly!
Game changer ideas! <–Get it?
This article contains affiliate links.
Board Game Storage Ideas
1. Store Board Game Cards & Card Games in Plastic Storage Boxes
Use small plastic containers from your local dollar store to hold decks of cards. We are always losing cards or ripping the cardboard boxes. Plus, the little plastic sandwich bins are easily stackable and do not take up a lot of room. This allows you to store the game boards without worrying about all the little pieces.
This also works great for card games. Here are a few of our favorite plastic card storage solutions often inspiration taken from collector cards:
- There are 11 different sizes of these clear storage boxes with hinged lids making it a perfect fit for whatever board game set or card game you need to put away neatly.
- This playing card box clear storage containers are great for gaming cards and also trading cards.
- Yes, this is a photo box, but think of the possibilities if you have a lot of card games or other game pieces that need super easy solutions.
2. Use a Rolling Cart for Board Game Storage Ideas
This rolling game table is not only amazing storage but gives you a place to play your favorite game too! Use bins and the shelves on your tables to stack up the games and even hide them if you don’t want them seen by company. Best way to stack game boards.
These rolling carts may not have a place to play board games on top, but could be the perfect idea for your house to store board and card games:
- This rolling cart has two sets of storage drawers in different sizes that could work really well for many sizes of game storage.
- I have one of these utility carts for bathroom storage and they are a great idea for storing board and card games.
- This 4 tier office cart has long width which could accommodate bigger board games while still tucking away into a corner or closet when not needed.
3. Create Built-in Board Game Storage in Entertainment Center
This board game storage has a place for everything you need for family game night! This design has room for all your games. Plus, it looks like a cute cupboard. Open the doors and you have pull outs for easy game access to cards, little pieces and game boards.
- Repurposing an old entertainment center or creating additional shelving around your TV could work just like this.
- I have also seen storage bins used under a coffee table in the living room or playroom that can give a little bonus storage space.
- A storage ottoman is also a quick and durable solution when space-saving is essential.
4. Use Plastic Shoe Boxes as Board Game Storage
If you are using your closet as game storage for your board game collection, you must check this out for inspiration. This is the most brilliantly organized game and toy storage I’ve seen and is really encouraging that you can do the same! Use plastic boxes to keep all the different games, pieces, game boards and parts together. Plus, they’re stackable which saves room.
- These Sterilite 6 Quart Clear Shoe Boxes are an inexpensive solution. I have a bunch of them in my closet and the lids fit tightly and it is nice to be able to see what is inside.
- These clear latching storage boxes are 5 quart and could work really well for all sorts of board game and card game storage.
- If you would rather color code with frosted shoe boxes, these will work great!
5. Keep the Board Game Boxes Together with this Creative Way
This smart idea to store board games will help you keep your games together by making sure the lids don’t come off!
Use headbands!
Yup, who knew headbands had another purpose than making your hair look great. Once your board games are secured you can stand them up vertically on bookshelves making more room! Here are a few we like for this purpose:
- This set of 20 black elastic bands will work great for your entire board game collection.
- These thinner more colorful elastic bands come in a set of 8.
- Prefer larger rubber bands? I like this 120 pack of all sorts of colors.
6. Use this Unexpected Container for Board Game Storage
There are a bunch of really fantastic ideas here to check out. I love the idea of using a cheese slice container for cards and small games – so smart! These plastic storage containers keep them together and more important, protected. I can’t tell you how many party fouls ruined cards may it be spilled juice, sticky fingers, or just old age because we forgot about the card game.
7. Storage Using Board Game Shelves
Here is another cubby storage full of games. This really is a functional and smart way to organize! Plus the bins make it easy to carry multiple games in the other room. Not to mention, if you have extra room you can use the cubbies to store books, coloring books and of course more game boards!
Here are a few of our favorites:
- This ClosetMaid 12-cube white cubical organizer comes in a lot of other colors and can be used both vertical and horizontal.
- This 12-Cube Storage Organizer is modern and modular which allows you to build it to fit your board game storage space.
- This 8 cube organizer has cabinet doors for a clean, organized look and can be configured in different ways.
How do you make a board game shelf?
The obvious way to store board games on a shelf is to stack them with the larger games on the bottom, but that makes it hard to access the lower games without creating a board game avalanche! Try adding a large rubber band, elastic strap or tied ribbon around each board game and storing them horizontal instead of laying flat. They are easier to access and can be arranged more like books in a bookcase.
Does Kallax fit board games?
We love Ikea’s Kallax shelf unit series that has everything from a one row unit to a 4 row unit that looks like a grid. Because there are vertical elements on the shelves that divide the Kallax unit into squares, there are some challenges when storing games on the Kallax shelves.
Card games, small box games and board games that are folded into squares easily fit on the shelves either in a stack or stored vertically like books. Larger traditional board game boxes only fit onto the top shelf as there is no way to configure the Kallax without the vertical elements.
How many games fit on a Kallax shelf?
The Kallax shelves measure in boxes that are 13 inches square. For reference, the Apples to Apples game box is 10.5 inches square with a height of 1.5 inches. You could easily stack 8 Apples to Apples game boxes on top of each other and then have space on the side to place one more game box on its side vertically with a little space to spare.
8. Board Game Storage with Little Space
This is such a cool idea and saves a lot of space. A hanging sweater shelf works perfectly for storing games! Plus it keeps the board games hidden away in the closet and fits those game boards perfectly. Not to mention it frees up table and shelf space leaving you more space to organize your house.
9. Best Hidden Board Game Storage Ideas
Sterilite flat containers are really inexpensive and perfectly hold odd shaped games like Connect Four and Trouble. Any game really that has small pieces will fit in these boxes. Plus they’re great if the board game box gets damaged on your favorite game making it difficult to keep pieces with the proper game boards.
10. Create Your Own Custom Closet Game Organizer
Small plastic drawers are perfect for game pieces. Make a label for each so you know right where to go when you’re looking for a game. They’re great for games with smaller boards, games like Jenga, and card games. To protect your card games you can use small index organizers to keep the card games separate and all in 1 box.
11. Store Board Games in Scrapbook Paper Containers
This is such a cool idea. I would have never thought of it! Plastic scrapbook paper containers make perfect sense for game boards – they’re the perfect size! You can fit whole games inside them like Trouble! It is a great way to keep your favorite games together with the corresponding game boards.
Here are some more of our favorite large plastic containers that fit most board games:
- 12 x 18 inch open shelf storage
- Rolling cart that has drawers that fit large items
- Large plastic open trays 12×12 inches that are stackable
- Project boxes have lids and are 15 x 13 inches in assorted colors for organization
12. Hanging Closet Game Organizer Ideas
Using a hanging closet organizer can be a really great option to not having much space. You could use the hall closet or coat closet for this and then choose the type of hanging closet organizer that works the best in case you cannot devote a whole closet to your game room. Here are a few that I really like to keep games tidy:
- StorageWorks 6 shelf hanging closet organizer – adjustable shelving units and would work really well for smaller board game boxes, card games and you could put bins in there for game pieces.
- Amazon’s Basics 6 Tier Hanging closet shelves have pockets which could be flexible for different size game items and boxes including those smaller games and small game pieces. The board game shelves are great for keeping missing pieces in check.
- This shirt organizer for closet shelf is more structured for a stack of games and could be great for box storage and games with a variety of sizes.
- This 20 pocket over the door handing shoe organizer could be also used on a hanging bar and great for smaller card games and game pieces.
Sometimes it just takes a little outside the box thinking and creativity to cut board game clutter and create more storage space. There are so many smart ways to get your board game collection in order and avoid that stray game piece syndrome!
How can I organize my board games without a box?
If you have lost your board game box or it has become damaged, you can replace it with a plastic storage box that can hold the entire board game, game pieces and cards, or just get a storage box that has enough space for the game pieces and cards to stack on top of the folded game board.
Another way to organize games without a box is to use a decorative basket to hold all the contents. Bookshelves arranged with decorative baskets, board games and pieces can be a big part of a game room decor.
How do you store big box board games?
Big board games are always a challenge especially in a small space. When deciding how to manage big box board games, first measure the largest box’s width and the largest box’s depth to see if it will fit on the bottom shelf or drawer.
I find that drawer storage is often easier with the large board games. If you absolutely cannot fit it onto a shelf or into a drawer, then consider storing the pieces separately from the game board. Propping the game board up on a shelf or hanging it on the wall in a way that can be removed and accessed for board game play can solve this issue!
Our Favorite Family Board Games
If your family loves board games, we have an exhaustive list of our top family board games based on many hours of research and a large collection of board games.
More Organizing Ideas for Better Homes with Less Space
- Don’t let school overwhelm your family! We have so many great ideas and tips to help get your family organized for school!
- Tired of toys taking over your house? Feel like there isn’t a place for everything? We have some amazing toy storage ideas that can help you take your home back from the toy mayhem.
- Not everyone has a ton of space. Some live in small houses or apartments and keeping toys organized with limited space can be hard. But We have a number of super awesome diy toy storage ideas!
- Looking for more life hacks to do at home? We can help make your life run a little smoother!
- We LOVE this declutter course! It’s perfect for busy families!
- Check out these great medicine cabinet organizer ideas!
- Make your own education game for kids using a file folder!
- See what you can do with extra mason jars!
How do you manage board game storage in your home? Do you have a great example of game organization you want to share? We are always up to hear the best board game storage solutions…please add them in the comments!
I usually get intimidated by board game storage because of all the tiny pieces. But these are making me feel optimistic about reorganizing my collection, I’m trying these out immediately 🙂
By the time I am done sorting through all of our games for us to even choose a game to play on Family Game Night–and then move on to find all of the missing game pieces, I am pretty much ready for bed before we have even started playing! These board game storage ideas are a game changer! (Ha, see what I did there? ?).
I can’t wait to share these board game storage ideas with my sister. She loves board games and is always trying to figure out how to store them. I really like the hanging storage – that is such a great idea!
Plastic bins are crucial to board game storage in this house! My oldest is an addict and those cardboard boxes just aren’t sturdy enough for our lifestyle.
You are reading my mind. I needed this post so much. My board game cabinet is no longer shutting properly. I needed some board game storage ideas because I have nowhere else for our collection to expand to!
Our game closet was always such a mess! Love these ways to store board games soooo much.