Sequential Gaming: Eldritch Horror Case

For this project I'm using some pretty basic materials:

This artist's case purchased from Hobby Lobby in 2012 (if you want one, you may want to find a less scummy source if their behavior appalls you).
5mm black foamcore
X-actor knife with a supply of fresh blades (change often)
Metal ruler
Elmer's Glue-All (basically an all-purpose white glue)
Dressmaking pins (used to temporarily hold joints in place until the glue sets)

For construction, I decided to start with the top layer of the case that I had wanted to hold the cards and bits accessed throughout the game. My hope was that as I created dividers and cubbies, I might be able to store extra pieces on this layer that I had earmarked for the lower section. Sure enough, I was able to move the dice and miscellaneous tokens (omen track marker, 1st player marker, etc.) to this layer fairly easily. The biggest factor in my fitting in more stuff was that I chose to make some areas two-layer, stacking storage boxes on top of each other in order to have wider openings (easier to scoop chits out of) without taking up huge amounts of space in the box.

I started with the tray to hold the various decks of mini cards. All types are represented except for the reference cards for each player count - since you need a single one per game, I decided to keep those in the lower level with the character cards. I started by measuring the width of a card, adding a mm or so to give wiggle room then multiplying it by the number if decks and adding 5mm for the foam core walls on either side of the tray and between the decks. I then cut a piece of the calculated length with a width sized to match the tray opening. Tp figure out the height if the sides, I placed the base piece into the tray and measured the height to the top of the tray's built in divider as I wanted room for the decks to be as tall as possible. I then cut a number of long strips of this width. The outer edges were easy - I held a strip against the base, measured where to cut, then applied glue to the bottom of the strip and went for it. I found it helped to glue pieces together inside the wooden tray - that way I could hold the sides against it to ensure they were nice and straight. Plus it meant any slightly off edges on the base were disguised. Once I had the three outer edges glued and pinned (I left the fourth open for easy removal of cards), it was time to figure out how to place the inner dividers.

The tray for the mini decks - bottom open for easy removal/shuffling

If you are someone who treats their games with kid gloves you miss wish to skip reading this part. Starting with the outside stacks, I placed a smallish stack of cards into place, pushed it up against the corner, applied a line of glue to the bottom of the divider and carefully eyeballed to place it a few mm away from the deck. After holding it for a few seconds and pushing a pin in from the back to avoid it falling out while still wet, I would then carefully lift the piece and slide the cards out keeping them as far from the glue as possible. I continued this method for all four dividers and then gingerly placed the sentry deck in place to see if I'd left enough room - and thankfully there was space for it to slide!

Note: this is the only piece I measured and calculated to even this degree - for everything else, I pretty much said "screw it" and eyeballed/winged it all! For each of the token bins, I cut a base piece to size and then cut 1/2 inch strips as I'd figured this would allow me to have 2 layers. I held the bases against the strips and cut the sides to size, cutting the shorter sides 10mm shorter to allow for the width of the long sides as I wasn't about to mitre corners! I then simply placed the base piece into the tray, glued sides on while pressing them against the edge of the tray (to keep things square and hide some less-than-straight cuts on the bases) and then pushed pins through from above to hold them in place. After a few min, I'd carefully remove the piece and put pins in the corners to provide extra support while it dried.

The token trays - the divider in the upgrades tray on the left was to aid removal

The final pieces I had to make for this top layer were the card trays for the larger decks. When I put the decks in place with some scrap foamcore spacers, I realized I was going to have a decent amount of space left over so this was when I decided to add the storage for dice (with tons of room for when I eventually purchase more) and the miscellaneous tokens. The card trays are really tight width-wise so I definitely wanted to only put three sides on them to make it possible to get the bottom cards of each deck in and out. I designed them to stack two high to ensure I could get a ton of individual decks into the case, and with them all being the same dimensions, they can easily be lined up next to the board. The technique for them was pretty simple and so they came together really quickly - cut the base, attach the outer sides, place two decks of cards in once dry and really push them to the outer edges, carefully slide a glued divider in between the decks and pray I didn't glue it to a card, slide cards out and pin. Finally I attached the back pieces to each card tray and set it aside to dry, calling it done.

In progress shot - you can see the pins in the most recently glued tray while the other is drying

Once all was dry, I put all the decks back in and tested to make sure the trays weren't too tight to be usable. Then I put everything into the wooden tray, took some photos to brag, and called it a successful day.