Used to sleeve every single card in every game I owned

After my copy of Dominion got knocked off a shelf and the box exploded, I realized I only ever played the base cards anyway. Saw a guy at my local shop just toss his unsleeved copy into a ziploc bag, and honestly he seemed happier than me.

2 comments

2 Comments

betty1442mo ago

That Dominion story hits close to home. I had the same wake up call when my copy of Star Realms got drenched in soda and I realized I only played with the same 10 starter cards every time. Sometimes the hassle of sleeving just isn't worth it when you're only using a fraction of the game. Did you end up ditching sleeves for most of your games after that?

faith_price72mo ago

I actually gotta push back hard on this one. That ziploc guy might look carefree but his cards are going to get wrecked from sweat, dirt, and just normal handling after a few sessions. Dominion especially gets shuffled constantly and even the base cards will start showing wear with that glossy finish peeling off at the corners. Plus if you ever decide to trade or sell a game down the line, a sleeved copy holds its value way better than something that looks like it went through a war. I've seen people list games with "minor shelf wear" and then the pictures show cards with creases and edge splits that definitely came from playing unsleeved. Another thing is that sleeves actually help cards slide better when shuffling and reduce the chance of you bending them by accident. The hassle of sleeving is like 15 minutes once and then your game stays in perfect condition for years instead of looking trashed after six months.