stacking cardboard boxed games.

[Soviet Conscript]

i've read a few times to never stack games in cardboard boxes which includes most early nintendo products (cib nes, snes, gb, cgb). but the problem is i use bookshelves for displaying my games and i just don't have the space to store them next to one anouther horizontaly.

anyways, anyone have a suggestion or can say whats a safe number to stack.

this is probibly a pretty stupid question.

[tubeway]

maybe put a strip of cardboard between each row, so at least the weight is evenly distributed across all of them?

[Gameguy]

I end up stacking boxed games too, but I try not to stack them too high. I really don't know if there's a specific number I go by, I just don't want them to be high enough to fall over and I don't want it too heavy or the bottom ones will get crushed. I kind of get a feel for it and just "know" when it's getting too high. If I had to estimate I'd say maybe 10 to 20 tops, depending on the weight of the boxes.

[aclbandit]

You could also pick up some hard plastic cases to stack them vert.

If you find a good source for said plastic cases... lemme know

[Cobra Commander]

i've read a few times to never stack games in cardboard boxes which includes most early nintendo products (cib nes, snes, gb, cgb). but the problem is i use bookshelves for displaying my games and i just don't have the space to store them next to one anouther horizontaly.

Don't you mean vertically? Because that's how I have mine; like books in the library. Actually, I'd think it would take less room like that than to stack them on top of each other.

[Soviet Conscript]

Don't you mean vertically? Because that's how I have mine; like books in the library. Actually, I'd think it would take less room like that than to stack them on top of each other.

nope. i have them stacked on top of eatch other.

i think it looks nicer when you put them like books but it really takes up to much space. i tested it and i can't hold nearly as many games to a shelf when i put them in side by side like books as i can when i stack them on top of eatch other.

[PapaStu]

I think that if there were no more than 10 things would be ok. The bigger the stack, the greater the weight on the lower portions. Might just end up being a personal call.

I think it could also depend on the condition of the boxes, as well as what systems (since some game boxes are REAL flimsy condition aside).

Don't you mean vertically? Because that's how I have mine; like books in the library. Actually, I'd think it would take less room like that than to stack them on top of each other.

Vertically is going up/down. Think when a plane does a vertical climb. Horizontal is like the horizon.

[Haoie]

I was hoping this'd be about Metal Gear.

Nuts.

[mrmark0673]

I stack all my boxes on top of each other, got just over 400 NES boxes now. I just use justabum's box protectors:



He has snugger boxes that fit a little tighter now, he also has them available for several systems. They keep the games protected for dust and junk and also allow them to be stacked on top of each other without sagging or sustaining damage. Plus, they make the games look like they were meant to be displayed:



Hope this helps!

[portnoyd]

The problem with plastic cases is that the cases can eat room that may be at a premium or prevent you from getting one more game on a shelf, which can add up. They are nice to have, don't get me wrong, but it sounds like you need space more than anything.

With NES, most boxes will have the full cart to use for support inside and possibly the styrofoam block. Those I would say you can put up to 10. Prioritize games with stryofoam and manual on the bottom if you can. Some games can be packed pretty snuggly with manuals/maps/sub cards/etc so they can make great bottom games.

With SNES/GB/N64, the cardboard trays offer less support than the full cart body of the NES. I'd go no more than 5 to be safe. If a box doesn't have a tray in it, I'd make sure it was at the top of a stack or no more than one from the top.

I just speak from experience, which isn't much as most of our games have been stored horizontially.

[mrmark0673]

Yeah, the cases definitely eat up more shelf space than the boxes alone. I'd say I'm probably missing out on room for 40+ boxes on my shelves based on volume, but at the same time I can make more use of shelf space by safely stacking boxes higher because of the protectors.

As far as the carts adding support, I am still and avid gamer and I play many of my carts frequently. Because of this, I store my carts seperately from the boxes. This minimizes the amount of wear on the box flaps from frequently opening them. In order to save space, I have recently put my boxes a row behind my loose carts on the same book cases:



Sure, you can't see the boxes all displayed, but it brought my carts to the very front of the shelves and saves me from having another 2 bookcases in my condo.