How to Take Care of Your Board Games?

Do you think your board games won’t last much longer due to wear and tear? Try these simple maintenance and repair tips to bring your board games back to the life.

Most board games are made from paper and cardboard. These materials are prone to bending, cracking, tearing and attack from insects and mildew over time.

This is why board games require upkeep and repair from time to time. This is extremely important if you possess any valuable, old and fragile game dating back to the 1900s.

For those board game’s enthusiasts, we’ve listed some ways you can take care of your board games.

Clean the Paper Games:

Removing dirt and grime is a no brainer way to take care of your game. If your board game has a protective or shiny finish on it, you can use liquid soap to clean it. Make sure to test a small patch first. Just put a small amount of liquid soap on a damp sponge and rub the sponge on the paper. See if any color comes off the paper. Be careful not to get too much moisture on any exposed cardboard. Don’t let the surface get too wet. Discontinue the cleaning if the paper is being stripped off. Use an eraser to remove pencil markings and ink.

Consider a Professional for Centuries Old Games:

It is better if you call a paper restorer or archivist to clean or repair any games dating back to the 1800s. These games are too old and can wear out easily with just a little rubbing or scraping.

Protect Your Game from Mildew:

Mildew is a great threat for paper board game, it can start to eat away at paper over the years. It is not easy to clean games with mildew. One thing you can do is to keep your games away from any dampness so that they can’t catch mildew, especially in winter (when you may need to run a fan to keep them dry). The best way is to clean to game thoroughly is to wipe it dry and then air it out.

Repair:

A repair protects your paper games from further tearing or damages. Here are some most common repairs for board games:

• Use an electrical tape to secure the box corners and seams to avoid tearing. Secure the fold of the board with a packing tape.

• Use red or black electrical tape to replace discolored squares on a checkerboard.

• Use glue to stick layers of papers on the board.

Storage of the Game:

Storage of the game is as essential as maintenance or repair. It saves your games content from being lost and protects them from normal wear and tear. Zipper bags are a great option to store your board games. Use yarn instead of rubber band to secure tops on the board game boxes. The intensity of rubber band can damage the box.

These are some simple maintenance and repair tips to keep your board games for longer.