If you haven’t noticed, the board gaming hobby can drive some ancillary purchases. One of the latest interests for gamers has been a selection of board game bags and transport accessories. Some big Kickstarter campaigns have funded in the past year with much notice. However, a small company known primarily for board game themed pillows, Meepillows, is also entering the market.
I received an email marketing campaign to backers of Meepillows describing something called the Game Haul, a board game bag with room for six board games priced under $30. Seeing as how other systems are asking usually double this price, I investigated the offer more. The capacity and the price was enough to make me purchase.
The Game Haul is a vertical standing, nylon zipper bag in which games typically stack. Six square “Ticket to Ride” sized games fit with a little wiggle room.
Amazingly, I received the product the same week I ordered. It came folded and compact which told me it would easily fit into a suitcase if I were traveling to a game convention and needed a bag for the return to hold my… um… Game Haul. So, yeah, the product works as described.
I really wasn’t expecting much of a bag and the price-to-expectations is right on target. The top handle of the bag is capable, but the backpack straps are very thin. Although I expect they will hold up for a while, under the weight of a series of games similar to T’zolkin, the thin straps dig into the shoulders and seem like a secondary method of carrying.
I’m also concerned about the vertical nature of the bag, usually when walking, carrying the bag by the handle, small swings to the bag create significant downward centrifugal force. This can press on the cardboard boxes at the bottom of the bag, so I’ll be considering which boxes I stack carefully. This can be mitigated by arranging the boxes to their sides, but then the bag will hold only five of the same type of box in a more awkward way.
Overall, for the price, I’m happy with this purchase. It’s not going to be a prime carrying bag for me, but for the price and just something to keep the rain off games transferred from the car to game night, the Game Haul serves perfectly.
Huh, that looks like a rebranded cajon drum bag. It even uses the same backpack strap photo as this bag on Amazon https://amzn.com/B00IRMEZTK but there are a ton of cajon bags of the same dimensions with various price points.
I have a very similar bag for carrying my games called the ChromaCast It’s technically designed to carry speakers for musicians, but it looks like the exact same design as this bag. It’s also $10 cheaper on Amazon.
Thanks Josh and Brian. Obviously I don’t know my bags for musicians, but it’s good to know there are plenty of options for gamers.
Top Shelf Fun has updated this bag with wider shoulder straps. I had a chance to use it extensively at Gen Con and it held up well.