Putting a game together

One disadvantage of games in electronic formats is that you have to print them out yourself. This makes for some advantages, however: you can print out another when you accidentally spill Coke on it, you can print a copy for every room in the house, and so on.

File format

Components for most games are provided in PDF format. Many programs are available for reading PDF's, but the most common is Adobe's Acrobat Reader. You can get it for free.

Printing cards

You can print cards on paper, of course, but you probably want something sturdier. There are several things you can do. There are several options, each with pros and cons.

• Print them on cardstock and cut them out. You can get cardstock at most office supply stores.

  Pro: No gluing.

  Con: Cardstock can jam in the printer.

• Print them on paper and then photocopy them onto cardstock. Your local copy center should be able to do this for less than a quarter a sheet.

  Pro: Nice final product.

  Con: Only affordable for black and white copies.

• Print them on paper, glue them to poster board or cardstock, and cut them out. This is what I have done to make cards since high school, and the result is usually satisfactory.

  Pro: Cards are sturdy.

  Con: Glue may come off with extensive use.

• Print them on paper, cut them out, and paste them onto playing cards. You can use an old poker deck or a pile of common Magic cards, whatever you have that you don't need.

  Pro: Cards have nice backs.

  Con: Requires careful gluing. Some people print on sticker paper to make the gluing easier, but that can get expensive.

• Print them on paper, cut them out, and put them in card sleeves. Card sleeves are designed for collectible card games and are available at any game store. If you want to add more heft, you can put a playing card in each sleeve behind the printout. This is my new preferred method.

  Pro: Prints on paper. No glue.

  Con: Hard to shuffle. Cards can fall out of sleeves, especially if you get very lightweight sleeves.

• Harness arcane processes to transmute the energy of the computer file into the matter of a hardcopy.

  Pro: Fiery, mystical glow.

  Con: Blood sacrifices may be required.

Printing game boards

A game board is not handled as much as cards and doesn't go bad if its back is marked, so it can be printed out on ordinary paper. If you hanker for something stiffer, you can put it under glass, tape it to a tabletop, or glue it to poster board.

Boards larger than a single sheet usually require some assembly.