Why are HS cards shaped like this? Answer post 1 and page 6

[Codeman]

I haven’t seen this disused before but I’ve always wondered why our cards are shaped so goofy?

Does anyone know or what to guess?

<from page 6 of this thread - added here by admin>
I now have answer to my question. In the barrage of questions I ask at Gen-Con of the Heroscape folks ( by they way they all seemed happy to answer them), I did ask about why they chose to make the cards this shape.

I was told the original proposed packaging of the expansion set was actually cylindrical ( in the shape of the cards) . They were designed to be stacked in the display. The cards were made for this purpose and the master sets were release with the cards in the shape we know them. Then at some point prior to the release of the first expansion sets the packaging was revised to style what we are familiar with today.

[dickflea]

Might be a Hex thing.....dunno

[Buddy Lee]

Time: 10:45 pm
Place: Hasbro Product Development Offices
Cast: Famous Game Developer Guys

Rob: Okay, I know its late, and we've got this great new game. . .

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: But something is missing. . .

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Hmm?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: I know. . .

Craig: Yeah?

Rob: No, its stupid.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: But what if we . . .

Craig: Yeah?

Rob: I got it. Lets make the unit cards some screwed up shape.

Craig: Yeah!

Rob: Who says that they have to be rectangular?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: I know. Let's make them hexagonal like the game. And... and... we can give them lots of edges. Make them the size and shape of one of the seven hex pieces.

Craig: Yeah!

Rob: Then we can put all the stats on them and they'll look real cool, but be completely whacked.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: And the size and shape will really f*ck with the anal gamers who like to put their game supplies in nice neat order and use sheet protectors.

Craig: Yeaahh.

Rob: That'll really screw with them. Unappreciative b@$+@rds. They just think this is all fun and games. That'll show them. Let them try to keep their gamestuff organized now.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Great. That's about it. Wanna grab a beer?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Okay. You're buying.

Craig: No way dude!


Buddy Lee

:johnwoo::screwy:

[jcb231]

I don't get the odd shape either. I think it's just to be unique and memorable, but I would rather see something a bit less awkward. I don't need rectangles, but even a basic hexagon would be better I think.

[bobofett]

(sarcastic voice)But the cards fit so nicely together. seriously when you have them on the field they fit nicely together. (keeps rambling on and on about pretty much nothing)

[Ch1can0]

buddy lee: great story, thx :lol:

beside that the cards are perfect to snap a rubber band around them. Surely that must have been the intention, when they designed this.... uuuh hexstarshaped cards http://home.arcor.de/fellechner/smilies/ickwerd.gif :wink:

Chicano.

[netherspirit]

beside that the cards are perfect to snap a rubber band around them.

EEK! Don't do that....it will destroy them.

They fit perfectly into CD sleeves. Buy a CD book with 4 to a page works great and no wear and tear ;) :)

[SpiderCoach]

They fit nicely into cd cases too. Mine are organized in tinted cd cases (one color for each general). It works out well.

[Ch1can0]

EEK! Don't do that....it will destroy them.
they are all laminated :wink:

[Rodriquez]

They fit nicely into cd cases too. Mine are organized in tinted cd cases (one color for each general). It works out well.


wanna come do to that to all mine? all umm 400ish of them...

[SyvarrisX]

Because um, because. They look cool. Yeah, they look cool. But they are incredibly annoying.

[jcb231]

I tried the CD holder thing, but I found the cards were getting more wear and tear sliding them in and out than they ever did when they were simply in a neat stack in a small box.

[morgonis]

i think they mean for ya to leave them in the CD sleeves, but i could be mistaken.

as for why they are shaped the way they are. the entire game is based around hex's, and the cards themselves are shaped as if they were built with hex's.....pretty obvious reason when ya think about it hehe

[funrun]

Um, :screwy: the shape of the cards is the same shape of the raised area of the 7-hex tile. I also like how this shape inherently makes the cards fit together when you have them laid out on the table. Plus, the hex shape is ingrained in all the branding, so why not the shape of the cards too. :shrug:

[Agent Minivann]

Everyone knows tha the male mind thinks about hex every 6 seconds or so. Only seems natural to shape them like what guys are always thinking about. They also probably figured that everyone can finally put those 7 hex shaped containers they have all over the place to good use.

[DarkSpade]

Everyone knows tha the male mind thinks about hex every 6 seconds or so. Only seems natural to shape them like what guys are always thinking about.


lol Maybe we should be happy with the shape when you consider the alternatives.

[dickflea]

Hmm....cd cases good idea.

Has anyone tried laminating them?

[RichardD]

(i) they tessellate; they form interlocking shapes with each other which don't overlap, with no gaps between the cards. Which you can't do with octoganol-shaped cards, obviously.
(ii) they tessellate with the board - they will form an interlocking shape with the edge of the playing area, with no gaps or overlaps. Which you counldn't do with squares, triangles, circles, hexagons, symettrical dodecahedrons or anything else.

I rather suspect that (ii) is the reason for the shape of the cards (along with continuing the whole "made from hexes" motif that lies at the heart iof Heroscape. And the "fits in a CD case" explaination might just be a happy coincidence.

[Ch1can0]

Hmm....cd cases good idea.I thought of that, but the cards didn´t fit. Dont´know if the cards in U.S are a bit smaller than in europe (or the CDs a bit bigger... :lol: :wink: )

Has anyone tried laminating them?
yes, and i can recommend it, best way to protect your cards imo.

Chicano.

[skyknight]

I have a laminator at the winery I use to preserve the cards

[ultradoug]

they are really ninja throwing stars.

[Gimoo]

Whoops, this was supposed to go to "hex is all men think about"...

[Buddy Lee]

I have a laminator at the winery I use to preserve the cards

Ahh, the advantages of running your own business.

"This neat little item will help me in my gaming / hobbies, and I can take a tax write off with it too."

Also I hope you don't use it to preserve the wine.

I really don't think that would work too well.

Buddy Lee

:johnwoo::screwy:

[Codeman]

Thanks everyone for your input… it looks like nobody knows the real answer…. But I do think maybe Buddy Lee story is the most logical. Foxrun also had a good point about the 7-hex tile shape…. I think I’m rather observant but I totally missed that one.

Lamination – that came up a few times… and that is the direction I am going ( Seem to have a lot of card to get laminated ) Now I’m dealing with 5” X 5 ¼” rectangles.

Maybe the real answer will surface. Anyway that’s not too bad for Hasbro if the only complaint I have about the HS is the cards…. Everything else about the game gets high marks from me!! Those goofy cards just bug me.

[Teamski]

I laminate mine with contact paper and store them using pages designed to hold jewel cases. I saw this picture on BGG and asked the guy where he got it from. They are really durable and go for cheap at Staples. They fit the cards beautifully, easily leaving enough room for stacks of squad cards!! I found my peace in the world.

http://files.boardgamegeek.com/bggimages/pic119594_sized.jpg

-Ski

[Codeman]

Thanks Teamski... Now it looks like I have to make a trip to Staples. That look like a great idea and nice set up.

[ArchonShiva]

So you could print out cards using a minimum of actual paper while being totally unablem to fit three on a standard page.

[Gimoo]

See
http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Clear-Vinyl-CD-DVD-Sleeves-DURABLE-sleeve_W0QQitemZ9521297416QQcategoryZ106438QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem
or
http://cgi.ebay.com/500-NEW-VINYL-PVC-CD-DVD-CDR-SLEEVE-CLEAR_W0QQitemZ2790674416QQcategoryZ41798QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem

[Revdyer]

If you're an old guy (like me) and you have old boxes for 5.25" floppy disks, the cards fit in those boxes very nicely, yet are easy to flippy through.

[ultradoug]

wow i rember those boxes!

[Ghostdogg]

beside that the cards are perfect to snap a rubber band around them.

EEK! Don't do that....it will destroy them.

They fit perfectly into CD sleeves. Buy a CD book with 4 to a page works great and no wear and tear ;) :)

Too funny! I wrap mine in 2 rubber bands! It is just a game you know! :) :) lmaopimp.

[Codeman]

If you're an old guy (like me) and you have old boxes for 5.25" floppy disks, the cards fit in those boxes very nicely, yet are easy to flippy through.

Yea, I look at those... I have 30 or 40 of the plastic boxes that were made to hold approx 10 floppies ( still have the disks in them ). I don't remember why I didn't use them... now that I have some cards laminated I should check it out again for those.

[RobWeaver]

I keep mine in a CD case, too, but haven't laminated them. Anybody ever tried the frustrating task of shuffling the funny shaped cards?

[dra(gon)]

i use rubberband too.
it is a good store opinion.

but collectors have "unplayed" cards that never toucha hand. and game cards.

the cd chase is the best choice.
laminated cards ar good to place beer ;) or play ouside the home.

btw who used hs figure als toy in the wild? ;)

[netherspirit]

Rubberbands....shudder.

[skyknight]

Also you can use the food saver ziploc thingies to store them, works real well

[dickflea]

If you're an old guy (like me) and you have old boxes for 5.25" floppy disks


I think alot of us here would fall into that category. :lol:

[jcb231]

I have a laminator at the winery I use to preserve the cards

I never did ask you....where is your winery? I recently spent a lot of time in upstate NY and marveled over the amount of vineyards up there...I had simply never thought of it as such a wine-producing region. Unfortunately I didn't get to sample any, as very few restaurants and bars carried local wine by the glass (surprisingly) and I didn't want to splurge for a whole bottle when I was on my own.

[jcb231]

If you're an old guy (like me) and you have old boxes for 5.25" floppy disks, the cards fit in those boxes very nicely, yet are easy to flippy through.

I thought about that, but ultimately I decided not to put them in anything that required "flipping" through them. Much easier on the cards and more fun for the players to simply store the cards neatly in a box and lay them out in point order on a large table when it comes time to draft. Then folks can see everything at a glance. Also very little wear on the card edges.

[skyknight]

Its in Watkins Glen, NY. Home of good wine and fast cars. We are the third largest wine producing state and the second largest grape growing state. My wife and I run her families winery. She runs the German restaraunt and I run the tasting room side of things. I also am quality control, no bottle gets served without me checkin it first :D

[cbs42]

German food and good wine?
Party at sky's place!

[RobWeaver]

Its in Watkins Glen, NY. Home of good wine and fast cars. We are the third largest wine producing state and the second largest grape growing state. My wife and I run her families winery. She runs the German restaraunt and I run the tasting room side of things. I also am quality control, no bottle gets served without me checkin it first :D

I grew up and lived for several years near Watkins Glen. Upstate NY is wonderful wine-producing country. Watkins Glen, as well, is a very charming little town.

[dickflea]

Gotta love your job skyknight......good food, alcohol. What more can a guy ask for? Apart from HS. :wink:

[skyknight]

Where at Rob? and yes Dickflea it is a good job except for the long days and 10% @$@%head law when dealing with the public :P

[Sweetcurse]

Didn't someone make a set of Heroscape cards in regular rectangular shape already? I couldn't find them but I know they exist.

[hextr1p]

Because standard rectangles are friggin' boring.

And as many have noted already, Teamski's solution looks great! Especially for a freak such as me who likes to keep his items in as pristine condition as possible. I'm going to have to swing by STAPLES sometime this week to pick up several packages of those sleeves!

[Revdyer]

There's a set through Wave 4 on the HeroScape forum of BoardGameGeek.com
EDIT: It is now current for all releases.

[Teamski]

Because standard rectangles are friggin' boring.

And as many have noted already, Teamski's solution looks great! Especially for a freak such as me who likes to keep his items in as pristine condition as possible. I'm going to have to swing by STAPLES sometime this week to pick up several packages of those sleeves!


You can also get them at Office Max, at a higher price thought ($10 for 10 vs $5 for 10 at Staples)

-Ski

[hextr1p]

You can also get them at Office Max, at a higher price thought ($10 for 10 vs $5 for 10 at Staples)
Ski, what is the type of sleeve called? I tried searching for the item on Staples.com, but couldn't find the sleeves made to fit jewel cases.

[Teamski]

You can also get them at Office Max, at a higher price thought ($10 for 10 vs $5 for 10 at Staples)
Ski, what is the type of sleeve called? I tried searching for the item on Staples.com, but couldn't find the sleeves made to fit jewel cases.

I don't think they have them on their site for some reason. Office Depot has them here:

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=283984&Ntt=cd+binder+pages&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text

However, they are really cheap here:

http://discountofficeitems.com/product/95304


I'm sure your local Staples or Office Depot has them, Staples being a lot cheaper though. Trust me, you won't go to any other storage solution!


-Ski

[jcb231]

Its in Watkins Glen, NY. Home of good wine and fast cars. We are the third largest wine producing state and the second largest grape growing state. My wife and I run her families winery. She runs the German restaraunt and I run the tasting room side of things. I also am quality control, no bottle gets served without me checkin it first :D

Nice.

I was up near Buffalo....lots of wine growing land up there too.

[Augray]

Um, :screwy: the shape of the cards is the same shape of the raised area of the 7-hex tile. I also like how this shape inherently makes the cards fit together when you have them laid out on the table. Plus, the hex shape is ingrained in all the branding, so why not the shape of the cards too. :shrug:

If you flip the 7-hex tile over the cards fit nicely inside the back of the tile.

[Revdyer]

If you're an old guy (like me) and you have old boxes for 5.25" floppy disks


I think alot of us here would fall into that category. :lol:

It's good to know that I'm not the only one here who is a bit ancient.

[SlikkRikk]

I just checked with Kinko's about laminatoin, and it sounds like you can do about 30 cards for $20. It will be kinda steep in the end.

[hextr1p]

I don't think they have them on their site for some reason. Office Depot has them here:

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=283984&Ntt=cd+binder+pages&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text

However, they are really cheap here:

http://discountofficeitems.com/product/95304


I'm sure your local Staples or Office Depot has them, Staples being a lot cheaper though. Trust me, you won't go to any other storage solution!

Awesome. Thanks, for the info, Ski!

[LilNewbie]

I picked up a box of these. Not too bad if you go in with someone else and split the box.

CD Envelope (http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_5167.asp?desc=Polypropylene+CD%2FDVD+Envelope)

Newb.

[Gimoo]

I wonder if these fit well...

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/7718/cds4ri.jpg

http://www.uline.com/ProductDetail.asp?model=S-8062

[Teamski]

You might have to trim the card just a tad. I find CD sleeves too tight. That's why I like using Jewel case binder inserts....

-Ski

[LilNewbie]

Not sure about the sleeve but the envelope is perfect size for standard HS cards. No trimming needed.

Newb.

[Codeman]

I now have answer to my question. In the barrage of questions I ask at Gen-Con of the Heroscape folks ( by they way they all seemed happy to answer them), I did ask about why they chose to make the cards this shape.

I was told the original proposed packaging of the expansion set was actually cylindrical ( in the shape of the cards) . They were designed to be stacked in the display. The cards were made for this purpose and the master sets were release with the cards in the shape we know them. Then at some point prior to the release of the first expansion sets the packaging was revised to style what we are familiar with today.

[CornPuff]

sweet! now we know!

[Teamski]

VERY interesting! I would love to see what the expansions were supposed to look like. Either way, I definately would of preferred standard cards, hehehehe..... I do think one of the real reasons for the shape was so you could fit the figures and turn markers on the cards without having an issue with reading the cards....

-Ski

[Faustus]

Anybody ever laminate their cards?

I've done it with exclusive cards I've printed from the web, and I'll do it for custom guys...it actually makes the cards really sturdy and cool looking.

The laminating I did coats them in a very thick, sturdy plastic. I then cut around the edges and make the cards the same shape as they were intended.

I'm actually considering doing it to all of my cards now. Any thoughts on why this might be a bad idea?

[Codeman]

Faustus, please do a search on " Laminate " I know there is more than one thread on this topic. FYI I have mine laminated with no problems

[dickflea]

You might have to trim the card just a tad. I find CD sleeves too tight. That's why I like using Jewel case binder inserts....

-Ski

Oh no!! trimming it's like heresy.......

[Gambit]

i just tos them in a bucket with the rest of my stuff, i'll use a rubber band if i can find one but thats rare in my house

[EyeOfSauron]

I did not want to laminate, but I wanted a good sleeve. I tried 4 different sleeves from this on-line store:

http://www.sleevetown.com/plastic-cd-sleeves.shtml

I tried the following:
1. Budget Polypro CD Sleeve with Flap
2. Simple Poly All Clear
3. Vinyl CD Sleeve with Flap
4. Resealable 2.0 mil Mylar Single Outer

By far the best was #1. Just what I was looking for. I was a little worried about the flap and was planning to cut them off, but after a water spill while I was trying all the different options, I became convinced the flap is a good thing! :)


.

[Dragon4201976]

I went to walmart and got the 50 pack of memorex colored xases you get 10 of each I noticed if your like me and use red for utgar you will use more since there are more utgar then any other.....

[MementoMori]

Can anyone post an scan or picture of a laminated card. I'm thinking on doing this way.

Oh, just in case I'm misunderstanding. By laminating you mean using a special plastic that "melts" and covers the car forever? I hate not knowing a language to the perfection :(

[Codeman]

Faustus, please do a search on " Laminate " I know there is more than one thread on this topic. FYI I have mine laminated with no problems

MementoMoti, Dragon4201976, EyeOfSauron,Gambit, dickflea, There I did the seach for you guys, as I think you got topic and on on the wrong tread.

Check out: " Heroscape Care " or " Laminating Cards " and there could be more I found these two and quit looking.

[Faustus]

Sorry, I didn't meant to take the thread in a different direction. I just kind of impulsively asked about laminating before I searched. I did look around and find some stuff...and I've since started laminating and it seems to be working pretty good.

In order to bring us back to topic: why are heroscape cards shaped this funky way?

Because you won't get them mixed up with your M:TG cards.
They're fun to hold.
They celebrate the hex-based design the developers used for the game board.
Uh...it's a convenient way to divide up various information on a character maybe?
They allow you to put order markers and wound markers and various other things on them but still allow you to read the pertinant info on the card...
And finally...why not?

[Gambit]

wiat ive finally figured it out! the reason they're shaped this way is so somone will start a dumb thread about it that will rung for 10-20 pages, then suddenly die!

[Gabbi]

Rob: And the size and shape will really f*ck with the anal gamers who like to put their game supplies in nice neat order and use sheet protectors.

Craig: Yeaahh.

RotFL! http://img72.exs.cx/img72/2775/asd1.gif

[MementoMori]

They liked the red hot chilly peppers ;) thats why

[Joah]

Time: 10:45 pm
Place: Hasbro Product Development Offices
Cast: Famous Game Developer Guys

Rob: Okay, I know its late, and we've got this great new game. . .

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: But something is missing. . .

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Hmm?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: I know. . .

Craig: Yeah?

Rob: No, its stupid.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: But what if we . . .

Craig: Yeah?

Rob: I got it. Lets make the unit cards some screwed up shape.

Craig: Yeah!

Rob: Who says that they have to be rectangular?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: I know. Let's make them hexagonal like the game. And... and... we can give them lots of edges. Make them the size and shape of one of the seven hex pieces.

Craig: Yeah!

Rob: Then we can put all the stats on them and they'll look real cool, but be completely whacked.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: And the size and shape will really f*ck with the anal gamers who like to put their game supplies in nice neat order and use sheet protectors.

Craig: Yeaahh.

Rob: That'll really screw with them. Unappreciative b@$+@rds. They just think this is all fun and games. That'll show them. Let them try to keep their gamestuff organized now.

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Great. That's about it. Wanna grab a beer?

Craig: Yeah.

Rob: Okay. You're buying.

Craig: No way dude!


Buddy Lee

:johnwoo::screwy:

:lol:

[Agent Minivann]

The cylindrical booster has me wondering if they planned on having 7 hex tiles in the boosters.

[Riggler]

The cylindrical booster has me wondering if they planned on having 7 hex tiles in the boosters.

I bet they did. Good thought Minivann.

[django]

this is the machine i use
http://www.futureshop.ca/multimedia/products/regular/10068702.gif
GBC 9" creative laminator
it can do three cards at a time and it bonds to the edges nice and tight so you can trim real close to the card with out splitting.its about $60 and you can get the GBC laminating sheets at target under $10=25 sheets.

[Codeman]

The cylindrical booster has me wondering if they planned on having 7 hex tiles in the boosters.

That's what I was thinking & the card would fit under the 7 hex ( like it was made for it ) :wink:

[Jedi Master Corazz]

:tumble: Uh, I just have mine in a big plastic baggie