The shared games cupboard: what survives a hundred games in a canteen, clubhouse or student house?
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
A games cabinet used by dozens of people requires different choices than the cabinet at home. For example, you choose based on wear resistance, number of players, and loose parts that won't get lost.
Open the cupboard in any clubhouse and you’ll find the same scene: three topless boxes, a Monopoly set with four pawns, a deck of cards missing the seven of spades, and a puzzle no one dares to start anymore. Not because they were bad games, but because they were bought with the home cupboard in mind — where three people use them and one person puts them away.
A shared cupboard works differently. Different groups play, no one feels ownership, and tidying up happens with coats already on. As evenings get shorter and the indoor season begins, now is the time to reorganize that cupboard. Here's what to look out for.
The problem is almost never the game
Games rarely break. They become incomplete. First one pawn, then a card, then the scorepad. As soon as a game is no longer complete, it gets skipped — and once it’s skipped, it never returns to use.
From this, three rules for a shared cupboard follow. Choose as few loose parts as possible. Choose parts that you can buy separately. And ensure every game has a closing box or container, because a game that falls out of the cupboard upside down is the next incomplete game.
Card games: the best return per euro
A card game is small, fits in any drawer, works with two players and with eight, and is cheap enough to replace once the cards get sticky. For a shared cupboard, it's better to buy two or three of these than one expensive one.
UNO Flex (from €6.99) is playable with 2 to 8 players and doesn't require a board or pawns — precisely the characteristics that keep a game alive in a shared cupboard.
Mini Poker Playing Cards, 54 cards (from €1.95) are so cheap that you can put three sets down. Handy for a bag or an away game; less pleasant for people with large hands or glasses.
If there's a lot of dealing and shuffling, an automatic card shuffler for 1 to 2 decks (from €12.95) is not a luxury: manual shuffling folds and kinks cards, and that's what makes sets wear out faster than playing itself. It runs on batteries, so keep a spare set nearby.
Chips, darts and balls: parts you replenish separately
The second category is game material that stands on its own. The advantage: if something gets lost, you buy a replacement instead of writing off an entire game.
For the lawn or gravel strip next to the clubhouse
from €9.95
For chips, a simple rule of thumb applies: assume about 20 chips per player if you play with fixed bets. For four players, one set of 50 is a bit tight; two sets is more comfortable and you immediately have spares if one rolls under the couch.
Compact games that fill one shelf
Space is almost always the bottleneck in a shared cupboard. There's exactly one shelf, and it shares game materials with a first-aid kit and Christmas decorations. Two types of games are then interesting.
Firstly, the collection box. The 99-in-1 game set with dice, checkerboard and scorepad (from €14.95) replaces a handful of classics in one box. Disadvantage: if the box becomes incomplete, you lose multiple games at once. Advantage: one box means one tidying moment, and that's exactly where it goes wrong in a shared space.
Secondly, the table game that stays out. A table basketball game (from €9.95), a ring toss game (from €14.95) or a bean bag toss game (from €19.95) needs no explanation, no turn order and no score card. Someone waiting five minutes for the rest of the group will pick it up faster than a three-quarter-hour board game.
For a supervisor's bag or as a small gift, a Sudoku keychain in Game Boy shape (from €7.95) works well: no loose parts, so by definition it cannot become incomplete.
The boring part that makes the difference
Three small interventions keep a shared cupboard tidy for years, and together they cost less than one game.
Put each game in a box that can close. A cardboard box measuring 15 x 15 x 15 cm (from €1.99) catches loose parts from games whose original lids are already torn.
Write the contents on the box. With a set of permanent markers (from €4.95), you can write "54 cards + 50 chips" in ten seconds. Whoever tidies up will immediately see if something is missing, instead of it only being noticed a month later.
Place a set of batteries in the cupboard. The card shuffler and electronic games run on AAA; Panasonic AAA Zinc, 4 pieces (from €9.95) is enough to prevent a game from being called "broken" and disappearing into the corner.
Assembling a cupboard in one order
If you're starting from scratch, with two card games, one collection box, one set of chips, one table game, a box, markers, and batteries, you'll spend around €70 to €80 — enough for a cupboard that will last a whole season. After that, only replenish what is demonstrably used up. What remains unopened in the cupboard after a winter doesn't need to be in duplicate.
Choose for yourself
For loose parts, browse Games, Card Games, Gambling Games, and Toys; for boxes, containers, and labels, check Storage. Are you setting up a cupboard for an association, canteen, or shared space and want to know what quantities make sense for your group size? Send an email to info@verpakkingdeals.nl — we'll help you before you order.
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