Custom Booster Packs

With only 1-20 cards in each packet, custom booster packs may seem simple to manufacture. However, there are several manufacturing challenges involved in producing booster packs.

First, consider that there are two “kinds” of booster packs, “not-random” and “random.”

“Not-random” Booster Packs

A “not-random” booster pack is the easier of the two to make. Think of this as a functionality extension for a card-based role-playing game. Say you’re designing a game about teenage zombies — an example of this booster pack might be “Prom-bies,” a pack filled with 10 zombie characters with special dancing abilities. If you make 1,000 “Prom-bies,” they’ll all be the same. Customers that want to add a specific functionality to their game simply buy the booster pack for the functionality that they want.

“Random” Booster Packs

If you want “random” custom booster packs, you’re moving into the realm of trading card games. These booster packs include a random assortment from hundreds of cards that you have designed and printed. Customers buy multiple booster packs hoping to get an especially powerful card. This revenue model is attractive to card game producers, retailers, and customers! However, it’s a revenue model that is not easily accessible to small creators.

The main producers of booster packs – games like Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, or Yu-Gi-Oh! – are toy companies that have millions of dollars to produce their products, which gives them the financial ability to produce something like booster packs. The amount of units required to create any significant randomization is around 20,000. As a result, a creator who wants to create random custom booster packs needs to be prepared to spend somewhere in the $100,000 range.

Additionally, printing on foil packaging requires very high order minimums due to setup costs, so for most orders we are unable to print directly on booster packs. With that said, labels and stickers are cost-effective alternatives many game designers use to decorate their booster pack contents.

If you’re prepared to invest in creating custom booster packs, we can simplify the production process. Please note that in order to quote your randomized booster pack, we will require artwork as well as a mathematical breakdown of how many cards of each you will need. Again, the MOQ for randomization is 20,000 units. Contact one of our Customer Service Ninjas to get more information.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Card games, board games, or any other type of project that comes in a package must have its country of origin marking visible on its outside packaging.  Most customers choose to print this somewhere on their box.  If your project doesn’t include printed packaging, however, you’ll have to use one of the following methods:

  1. If the only packaging on your deck is shrink wrap, you can include your country of origin marking on the first or last card so it is facing out.  This way, it will be visible without unwrapping the deck.
  2. If you’ve selected booster packs for your deck, we can apply a standard “Printed in China” sticker to each pack. This will require a small assembly fee, so be sure to ask your account manager to include it in your quote.
    The sticker is transparent and approx. 23mm x 7mm (.91” x .28”).  Be sure to specify where you’d like the sticker placed and we’ll assemble your cards accordingly.
  3. If you’d like to add a little more style to your packaging, you can also design your own sticker that includes a country of origin statement. Check out our setup guide for details on how to provide your sticker artwork. Just ask your account manager if you’d like to include custom-printed stickers in your order.

Looking for more information on taking your custom card game from dream to a reality? Head back to our card game hub to be guided through all the steps of creating your card game, from the design process and industry standards to manufacturing and marketing your game.

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We’ve created a custom card game pricing calculator for you to explore all our different printing choices, shipping methods, and get an instant price for your project. You can also customize just about anything, from size and packaging, to specialty options like metallic ink, foil stamping, and so much more.

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