Gamin' DIY Accessories: The Boardgame Buddy!

A while back I was I was ranting about the amount of chits and cards that modern-day boardgames from Fantasy Flight Games and Flying Frog Productions were using. In an attempt to get me to shut up about it, Mary picked up a cheap rotating plastic spice rack one day to help me organize my decks of cards during gameplay. After playing with it a bit, we added some improvements to the system and created the ultimate FFG/FFP boardgaming accessory, which we call:

The BoardGame Buddy!

To make this specific model of the BoardGame Buddy, here's what you'll need:

1 cheap rotating plastic spice rack tray
1 cheap shallow plastic hors d'oeuvre/cheese tray (for chits)
1 cheap deep plastic hors d'oeuvre/cheese tray (for cards)

FYI: you can get everything here in one shot for <$20 from a place like Party City or Hobby Lobby.

Now by itself a spice rack can be used as a BoardGame Helper, but with just a little effort you can transform it into a full-fledged BoardGame Buddy.

By itself a rotating spice rack works pretty well for keeping things organized, but we can do better.

The next step is to remove the top of the spice rack and place your shallow tray on top of it so you can mark where it overlaps the pillars.

Then, take scissors and just cut notches out for the tray.

 The tray will now lower to the bottom and be 'locked in' when you rotate the spice rack. This is where you'll put the cardboard chits and stuff.

 Place the deep tray on top of the spice rack to hold the decks of encounter/adventure/etc cards.

Fill with chits on the bottom, and cards on top, and you are ready for gaming!

The BoardGame Buddy 2.0 in action.

With games like Shadows of Brimstone it really helps keep the chits and card decks organized. I've also found it very useful for games like Fortune and Glory and Talisman.