A few months ago, my Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) shared an image of some new custom, laser cut deck boxes that they were carrying in the store. These slim, easily portable Tournament Trays came from TeeHee Game Loot, and as soon as I saw them, I knew that I had to pick one up. Though I bought mine from my FLGS, who purchased them in large number from TeeHee Game Loot, you can also purchase them directly from their Etsy store with either a plain top or with custom art (for no additional fee). The boxes come unassembled and will require a small amount of labor and glue to construct. So are they worth the effort? Let’s check them out and see!
Appearance (5.0/5.0)
As you can see, these boxes are beautiful in their simplicity. The custom art work, should you choose to add it, looks fantastic, and you can tell that TeeHee Game Loot invests time in making sure that the art work you submit translates well into their laser etching. One of the players in my local group went a couple of steps further. He sanded, stained, and felt lined his box, and it now looks even better. Regardless of whether you opt for a basic build of the box without art or you invest the time and effort to stain your custom, beautifully etched version, I think you’ll be incredibly pleased with the appearance of this product.
Utility (4.0 /5.0)
Out of the packaging, you will need to assemble this box yourself. Assembly is simple, quick, and requires only wood glue or super glue (though I recommend sandpaper and clamps to remove any rough edges and ensure that no warping occurs while the glue dries). While no actual instructions came with my box, TeeHee Game Loot has an instructional video that you can watch for assembly instead, which I find to be much more preferable. After dry fitting this box together to make sure that I knew how to assemble it, I was able to put it together in the matter of only a few minutes.
This box is intended to be a single deck box to take to a tournament or game night. It holds a sleeved deck of 30 cards (actually more would fit), 20 dice, and space for a single, complete set of tokens. Additionally, there is just enough room between the top of the dice and lid that I can fit my character and battlefield cards (which I store in toploaders instead of regular sleeves). Those wishing to tote multiple decks to an event should probably look elsewhere, unless you’re willing to invest in multiple boxes. However, for its intended purpose, this box is perfect. It’s sleek and highly portable. Organizing my tokens, dice, and cards into this box is a breeze, and I’ve been able to easily pack everything away in between rounds with little issue. In fact everything fits into the box so elegantly that I often find myself offering to move between rounds during tournaments since most of my opponents’ other storage solutions are more cumbersome. Additionally, the small footprint of this box means that I never travel to the game store without a Destiny deck.
There are, however, a couple of nagging issues with this box that earn it a slightly lower score in this category. First, while the lid fits somewhat snugly on the box, you will probably want to find some way of keeping it secure. For me, this was as simple as using one of the X-shaped, elastic board game box bands that are easily obtainable from your FLGS for around $1.00 USD. After adding one of these to my box, I haven’t had any issues with the box coming off though I don’t take any special precautions to prevent that during transport. Also, while the deck compartment in this box is perfectly sized, it can be fairly difficult to lift the entire deck out at once. I usually found myself having to remove the deck in chunks until finally hitting the bottom and fishing out the very last card with more effort than should be required. To fix this, I took a few of the cardboard resource tokens that come with the game and glued them into the four corners of the deck compartment so that it is easier to lift the deck up.
After doing this, I still have more than enough room for a full deck of cards and have had no issue removing them from the compartment. Lastly, and most problematically, I have given up on using the token compartment. Though seemingly well designed at first glance, it turns out to be somewhat smaller than I would like it to be (for my third party acrylic tokens), allows the tokens to slide into the deck compartment (potentially damaging sleeves or cards), and is not large enough to easily remove the tokens (I usually found myself turning the whole box over to dump them out). Having a removable token compartment would have been far preferable, but this was clearly a sacrifice made in exchange for the low profile of the box. Fortunately, my elastic box band is just large enough that I can slide my token box into it and everything is still held snugly during travel.
Durability (4.75 /5.0)
Made of 3mm MDF, this box is definitely sturdy. Additionally, its simple, compact design and lack of moving parts leaves little to break with repeated use. In order to construct this box, you will need to use some wood glue and ensuring that all of the joints are bonded well during this process will help further guarantee its durability. It loses a mere quarter of a point here solely because unlike boxes made of sturdier materials, I’m not sure that this one would stand up to accidentally being dropped from a table height (and I like it far too much to test that). Despite this concern, I have not had any issues with the durability of this box, and I sincerely doubt that I will in the future.
Cost (5.0 /5.0)
At $25.00 USD (plus shipping), this box is somewhat pricey for storing a single deck. You can obviously pick up a much cheaper standard double deck box at your FLGS that will fit a single Destiny deck. However, you get what you pay for, and this box is going to be a much nicer looking, much sturdier, much more elegant storage solution than a standard box. When traveling with decks that might be valued at hundreds of dollars, spending a fraction of that value to make sure that your dice and cards are neatly organized and protected doesn’t seem like that difficult of a choice. Additionally, the fact that you can get custom art engraved on the lid at no additional fee, makes these boxes an even better value. Despite not charging extra for this service, the store owners will work with you on your art before production to ensure that it turns out the way you intend. The result is a beautiful product that you’ll be proud to take to your next meetup or event.
Other Considerations
Though TeeHee Game Loot appears to be a relatively small operation on Etsy, their products and customer service are top notch! If you’re considering a box with custom art, then I would strongly recommend you consider them. Their attention to detail with custom art, their willingness to work with customers and send them proofs before production, and the fact that you can add custom engraving for no charge all make them likely one of the best options available.
Overall Rating: 4.5 /5.0
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, my issues with the token storage compartment are just enough to earn this review a 4.5/5.0 instead of the 4.75 or even 5.0 that I’d like to give it. However, that shouldn’t dissuade you from checking this product out! Even considering these concerns, this is one of my favorite deck boxes on the market, and it’s the one that I currently use. Though ultimately a different box that can accommodate more decks might replace it for regular meetups, I foresee myself using this box for tournaments for a very long time. So head on over the TeeHee Game Loot Etsy shop and check them out!
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