🧩 Top 10 Most Challenging Board Game Inserts by Tinkering Paws (a.k.a. Christoph’s Personal Boss Battles)

🐾 The Battle of the Box

Let’s be honest: some board games don’t want to be tamed.

They arrive at our door with 2,000+ tokens, oddly-shaped minis that look like they were sculpted by a caffeine-fueled chaos wizard, and expansion boxes that multiply like gremlins after midnight. And yet… we love them. We love every overstuffed, beautiful, chaotic box of them. 💙

At Tinkering Paws, we're not just a bunch of engineers and nerds – we're board gamers first. And board gamers don’t give up. When a game tells us “I dare you to fit all of me into two boxes,” we roll up our sleeves, power up our 3D printers, and mutter "challenge accepted" through gritted teeth.

This list is a tribute to:

• Our designer Christoph, who doesn’t need grey hairs – his shiny bald head tells stories of sleepless nights spent figuring out how to stack oddly shaped dragons.

• Our laser-focused team, who pack, sort, and prototype until dawn.

• And most importantly: you, the amazing community who tells us, “This was exactly what I didn’t know I needed!”

Maybe you’ve battled these boxes yourself. Maybe you’re planning to. Maybe you're still in therapy from punching out Frosthaven tiles.
Either way, here’s our paw-some war story—and we’d love to hear yours!

1. Euthia: Torment of Resurrection

Challenge: Managing over 2,300 tokens across various expansions.
Details: Imagine staring down a tsunami of over 2,300 tokens, each demanding its rightful spot – Euthia is the boss battle of inserts. Christoph spent days in his lair (also known as the design corner), shifting pieces like a cardboard Tetris god, trying to make sense of the chaos. Our insert doesn’t just tame the beast – it purrs while doing it. Fast setup? Check. All expansions in one box? Double check. Reduced setup stress? Triple meow.
Check out all the details!




2. Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness

Challenge: Fitting all components into two boxes, including numerous tokens and cards.
Details: This game has more content than a dragon’s hoard—and we had only two boxes to work with. Cards, tokens, doors, miniatures, and more miniatures (seriously, more) had to snuggle up like cats in a cardboard box. Christoph nearly turned to necromancy for this one, but eventually conjured up an insert that makes setup feel like casting a level 1 spell, not a full-blown dungeon crawl. Bonus: this was our first insert to launch with STL files, so you can print your own hero lair at home!
Here are the details




3. Tainted Grail: Monsters & Mounted Heroes

Challenge: Miniatures with bases that said, "We don't do circles."
Details: We expected monsters. We expected big ones. What we didn’t expect? That their bases would defy geometry. Each was shaped like it rolled off the table and got smooshed under a lore book. Christoph had to custom-fit every monster like it was going to the Oscars. It was the insert equivalent of shoe shopping for dragons. But in the end, it worked—because at Tinkering Paws, even rebellious plastic gets a tailored throne.
Here is the result of the insert!




4. Oathsworn: Mystery Chests

Challenge: Gigantic hidden miniatures that refused to behave.
Details: Ah, mystery chests. They look innocent until you open one and a herd of oversized monsters leaps out like “SURPRISE!” Christoph cracked open those boxes and stared into the abyss—and the abyss said “Good luck fitting all this into a box.” But we did. Some miniatures needed extra TLC (tender layering care), but the final insert kept the surprises where they belong: inside the mystery, not in your setup time.
Caution! Spoiler Alert!


5. Frosthaven

Challenge: Too many monster standees and cards, not enough peace and quiet.
Details: This one gave us chills—and not the good kind. The monster standees alone could have their own zip code, and don’t even get us started on the cards. Christoph rearranged these components more times than he has hair follicles (remember: that’s zero). It’s the insert that made him reconsider life, but also the one that now helps thousands of gamers jump into Frosthaven without a 90-minute prelude.
But we finally made it!




6. Dark Souls: The Board Game

Challenge: Miniatures so big and bulky they looked like they were made to crush dreams.
Details: “You Died” isn’t just the game’s slogan—it was the design motto, too. These minis weren’t just large, they were boss-fight BIG. Getting them to coexist peacefully in one box required more strategy than beating the Old Iron King. But our insert manages to hold them all—no Bonfire needed. And we made it lightweight, too, so your shelves don't suffer a fatal fall damage penalty.
And we tamed that monster!




7. Monster Hunter World

Challenge: Fit big, spiky monsters into tight, friendly spaces.
Details: This insert was like trying to dress a porcupine in a suit. Elegant? Hardly. Necessary? Absolutely. Each monster came with horns, wings, tails, and more attitude than your average final boss. Christoph measured, re-measured, and occasionally hissed back at the minis before finally taming the chaos. The result? A perfectly organized hunting ground that doesn’t bite when you open the lid.
We managed to store everything neatly in way fewer boxes!




8. Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin

Challenge: Even more weirdly shaped bases. Why, Awaken Realms, why?!
Details: Just when we thought we had mastered base chaos, Kings of Ruin said: “Hold my irregular polygon.” This was like déjà vu but with extra eldritch flavor. Every figure was a surprise, none of them good. But like true catventurers, we scratched our heads, bared our claws, and designed custom cradles for each unholy shape. Because when Tinkering Paws commits, we really commit—to the bit and the base.
Everything has its own individual space!




9. Oathsworn

Challenge: Miniatures that fall apart if you so much as breathe near them – plus our self-inflicted mission to design character logos.
Details: Some games test your skills. This one tested our patience. These miniatures were like emotional support animals—beautiful, fragile, and not built for rough handling. One nudge and poof, there goes the sword, the shield, or the entire arm. We had to sculpt snug, stable, zero-wiggle compartments from solid PLA to make sure everything stays where it belongs—without resorting to foam or sorcery.

But we didn’t stop there. Oh no. We also added the character logos—because if you’re going to organize heroes, you may as well make it legendary. This insert isn’t just practical, it’s a tribute to bravery, plastic fragility, and our relentless commitment to doing things the hard way (but the right way).
We made it!




10. Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

Challenge: Recreating every single faction logo. All of them.
Details: This wasn’t an insert. This was a graphic design endurance test. Ever tried to trace 24 logos that look like they were designed by space philosophers during a solar eclipse? We did. The pain was real. But now you can store your TI4 dreams in an insert worthy of galactic domination. Bonus: the insert even helps you finish setup before the next codex gets announced (probably).
It even fits the expansion! Also available as digital STL-files!
The same applies to the fan expansion "Discordant Stars"! Also available as digital STL-files!





🧵 We Want to Hear Your Battle Cries!

Have you fought the cardboard chaos of Euthia? Found yourself yelling "why isn't this mini ROUND?!" at a Tainted Grail box? Or maybe you just barely managed to close your Frosthaven lid with a prayer and a little duct tape?

Drop us a comment, share your insert nightmares, or tell us what game you think deserves to be #11 on our list. 💬
Because at the end of the day, we’re all in this together – navigating rulebooks, punching tokens, and yes… sometimes sobbing into a meeple-filled box. 😹

Let’s organize the chaos – one box at a time.
Stay paw-sitive and game on! 🎲🐾