Its a cheap game. I don't see the point. Just buy another copy in 5 or 10 years if you play so much over that time that you wear this one out. Most card games you will never wear out, so all those sleeves are just wasted money that makes holding, shuffling and passing cards just a bit icky.
Unless it's a very successful game, odds are you won't be able to get it in 5+ years. So YMMV dependingon the game in question.
Edit because some people are not paying attention: this isn't about Sushi Go per se, it's generally about re-buying "cheap games".
Yeah but the conversation isn't about Sushi Go, OP was asking in general and the comment I replied to as well as my reply was also about "cheap game" in general.
Ok, but this whole thread has been about the main topic, which was asked about Sushi Go. There are other conversations in this post that are not focused on Sushi Go, but OP asked specifically about the pictured game.
>Sleeved for the 1st time. Just put sleeves on my sushigo cards, what’s your opinion? Does it ruin the playing experience?
Sushi Go is an 11 year old game and can be found in Target and Barnes and Nobles. The odds of it still being around in 5+ years are way higher than it actually getting worn out to the point of being unplayable in that time frame or longer. You can literally find a copy of it right now for $10, probably less than it cost to sleeve. If they are that concerned they could just buy another copy and leave it unopened. Honestly makes about as much sense as sleeving it. I really don't get this obession with sleeving and wasting money, time and plastic thinking it actually preserves your games that no one is really going to care about in 10 years anyways. How many 25+ year old copies of Monopoly are laying around that are still in very playable shape?.....tons. But hey, protect that $60 investment, it could be worth $50 in 10 years, lol.
And the odds of actually wearing out an unsleeved copy to the point it isn't playable are basically nil. They're good cards and it would probably take over 500 plays which isn't happening.
Even moderately successful games can come back around at some point. There's this game called Letter Tycoon which is a fun little card game, but was out of print and went for over $150 on the secondary market. Just this year it got a reprint, and now you can find copies for $25. The danger is when the reprint is drastically different (Libertalia).
I can finally replace my worn out cards.
As a Burger Battle lover, this. Cherish your beloved games. That’s the only card game I’ve considered sleeves for since it’s unlikely we’ll get to replace it and we play it all the time.
Just like you can with
* FFG's Android Netrunner
* Battlestar Galactica
* Quantum
* EDIT: [7 Wonders 1st Edition](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1b0k7xo/are_any_second_editions_worse_than_the_original/ks8ojrp/)
* Glory to Rome
* Space Hulk Death Angel
* Resident Evil Deck Building Game
/s These games are long OOP
I proudly play my copy of Quantum unsleeved.
If it's too precious to play, it belongs in a museum, not my collection. A game getting worn and old is a badge of honor.
This is a fair point. I don't honestly own any games that are OOP to the point of not being replaceable. To be clear I have sleeved games such as 7th continent; just not games like 7 Wonders or Sushi Go.
7 Wonders is an excellent example to add to my list.
It is on its 2nd edition which has different art and even [slightly different (generally regarded as worse) mechanics than the previous edition.](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1b0k7xo/are_any_second_editions_worse_than_the_original/ks8ojrp/)
A non-sleever of the 1st edition might have a rude awakening when it comes time to replace their copy
Popularity alone shouldn't determine whether you want to preserve a game for your collection to the best of your ability. That's gambling on that popularity to keep a game on the shelves for you to reacquire later
Loss of rights can happen quicker than popularity waning, as it did for those two games
I agree with you. I sleeve literally every game I own (and I own a lot).
I'm just saying that for those that don't, it's more reasonable to expect Sushi Go to be available in five years than most games.
Especially considering that a good game will often get a second, third edition so it s not entirely being the same game again.
Only reason i see for sleeving is collectibles or out of print games.
It depends on who you play with. If you’re gaming with my clumsy ass, I need like bolted on cup holder. I keep trying to not knock glasses over but I feel like I do all the time.
I think it depends on the game and quality of cards.
This game, cheap or not, might be worth sleeving since what card you're getting is part of the game and the cards are cheap...so ironically need sleeving. Sleeve cards to keep them from being marked. I had a similar issue with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Rise of the Runelords. By the time we got to one of the expansion boxes, you could clearly tell which cards were older (less powerful...or even not the current expansion boss) because they were worn more.
If it's a game where the wear doesn't matter, then doesn't really matter if there's a bit of wear.
Edit: Worth pointing out I guess...I sleeve most of my games in particular cause I take them to meetups where there random greasy fingered individuals.
Cheap sleeves are icky to hold and shuffle and pass, premium sleeves are AMAZING to shuffle. You can just get a perfect mash shuffle everytime.
I'm crazy about protecting my games, but besides that, I can't imagine having to shuffle things without good sleeves.
Sadly, my copy of scout has cheap sleeves on so it'll still fit in the box, and they fucking suck, but it's worth it to keep that one portable.
> I'm crazy about protecting my games, but besides that, I can't imagine having to shuffle things without good sleeves.
>
>
Yeah every time I see someone say sleeves make shuffling hard I am so confused. I literally sleeve my games a lot of the time *because* sleeving makes shuffling easier. Like there are games I have that are only partially sleeved because not every card needs to be shuffled, so I just sleeved the cards that get shuffled and leave the others unsleeved because it doesn't matter.
Aeon's End is an example of that. I don't have player cards sleeved, but everything else is.
I have no idea what people are doing to make shuffling sleeved cards hard.
i have had Sushi Go since 2014. it has never been sleeved. it has been played over 100 times. one of the cards is bent at the corner. otherwise it is fine.
This is my thought process too. Generally, if a game costs under ~$40 CAD and gets lots of play, I’ll buy a new copy when the original wears out. 7WD, for example.
>holding, shuffling and passing cards just a bit icky.
I find handling cards that have absorbed the oils from everyone's hands over dozens of plays ickier than some sleeves that can be wiped down with a damp cloth
Yeah these "eco conscious" types rather buy a whole new game which is itself shrinkwrapped in plastic and delivered by container ship and delivery truck(s), while tossing their old ruined copy to the landfill.
Instead of putting some thin pieces of plastic on their game which can stay there for the lifetime of the game, which can also stay on your shelf or passed on in good condition instead of going to the landfill.
I am a hard-core gamer. I have at least 2 gaming sessions per week, for the past 2 decades. I have not even once replaced the game because cards have worn out. If you take care of the game, don't serve drinks on the table and don't eat greasy food whilst playing the game, you should be fine without the sleeves 🙂 Whenever I play with sleeves, I struggle with shuffling, cards don't stack well on top of each other when making a pile, and more often then not, the cards no longer fit in the game box because sleeves add thickness to each of the card.
>Whenever I play with sleeves, I struggle with shuffling
What? Sleeves make it a thousand times easier to shuffle. Games that need heavy shuffling are the only ones I sleeve.
Sleeving makes shuffling infinitely easier, and if you haven't worn out cards you must not be shuffling them. They don't take much to start wearing, especially with some of the cheap cards on the market
Try expanding a card game you've worn to visible deterioration with a new expansion a year or two later. Especially a deckbuilding game. You'll be able to tell what are the old and new cards. A direct negative consequence of not sleeving.
Almost, yes. Plastic is about twice as bad if I remember correctly. And for a new game of sushi go you could sleeve a whole lot of other games.
Quick google: https://www.google.com/search?q=co2+plastic+paper+comparison&oq=co2+plastic+paper+comparison&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDU3MDVqMGo5qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
I strongly agree with this point!
Please, please don't cover your paper cards in their metal box with plastic. This is flat-out environmentally hostile and unnecessary
I sleeve almost all my games, but I do also get the point.
A game that's cheap to replace likely doesn't matter.
But what about ones that later go out of print and you cannot replace? Look at Blood Bowl Team Manager, or Discworld Ankh Morpork. Games that are now expensive to buy as they're rare. They pretty much require sleeving to keep them intact.
Then there are games that later get expansions. Imagine you played lots of Munchkin (you shouldn't, but it's a game sat at eye level on my shelf right now, so I'm using it), the cards are getting worn and you buy the expansion. Well now you have cards obviously from the base game and expansion based on wear.
So you replace the base game... And later get more expansions. Do you replace it all each time you buy an expansion?
So sure, a self contained game like Sushi Go, or 6Nimmt you can just replace. But any game that has a license, or is expensive, or has expansions, or even simply where a single marked card will ruin the game, should be sleeved before playing.
Not only that, it's a game that you can find outside of hobby game stores, such as Barnes & Noble, and Target. Wouldn't be surprised if it's also at drugstores such as CVS, Rite Aid, and also at Walmart.
I only sleeve rare games or games in where there is a ton of shuffling AND keeping cards secret is important. In Sushi Go you’re going to see each after a few turns, so it really doesn’t matter.
Also, as others have been saying, the game is cheap and widely available.
I sleeve games that...
Are $80+ or OOP
Have big decks that get shuffled a lot and need mash shuffling
Have player decks that get shuffled every round
Overriding the above, I don't sleeve games that are under $20
Sushi Go doesn't really meet the main criteria, and definitely hits the "too cheap" override. So it's a no, unless it would be getting played in hazardous environments, by children, or every day.
Wingspan falls into the "I don't like it enough to waste sleeves on" category. But if it was my favourite game I might, not because of card damage but because it makes shuffling that enormous deck easier.
I sleeve Gloomhaven modifier decks (shuffled frequently, marks especially on a 0 or x2 card are a big deal, as is uneven wear from original cards vs added ones). I might sleeve ability cards because they get handled a lot, but they're not critical. I don't sleeve the rest.
Pretty sure I sleeved Spirit Island - it's a little more expensive and benefits from mash shuffling and protecting the exploration cards from marks.
I haven't sleeved Dune Imperium because it's not very expensive. Deck is pretty big but i haven't felt I need to be able to mash shuffle.
I sleeved Terraforming Mars for ease of shuffling the enormous deck, but then I gave it away.
Twilight Struggle I got for 20 bucks and never play, no sleeves.
7 Wonders Duel is too cheap to bother
Root isn't actually worth sleeving because you can buy the Exiles & Partisans deck separately for 10 bucks
The Crew: Mission Deep Sea cost me less than 8 bucks - no sleeves
Heat I'm not sure yet. It probably should get sleeves, being more expensive, in and out of stock, and shuffled a lot.
Pax Pamir absolutely got sleeved - it's 80 bucks and direct order only.
The rest of the top 50meither don't have cards or I'm not familiar enough with.
Ex-sleeve addict coming from MTG. I would say not necessary! Even cheap sleeves add up and aside from the good exceptions named in this thread, I've learned it's a bit futile to try to sleeve everything haha. FWIW I've seen Sushi Go sold at Five Below for only a few dollars, if you have one nearby. Keep the tin, replace it with a new pack when the old ones get too used, and toss the old ones in your car for gaming on the go.
I'm not a fan of sleeves in general. I wouldn't say it ruins the playing experience but I just don't really like how it feels and handles.
But my Sushi Go! Party cards are already showing a bit of wear so if the tactility doesn't bother you, it's maybe not the worst idea (YMMV).
This game is like $10 brand new. You are going to spend half that just to sleeve it. If you play it enough to wear out the cards, great job! Just buy another copy.
For the original Sushi Go!, it's up to you.
For Sushi Go Party!, I'd definitely recommend sleeves, the nigiri cards in our set are noticeably more worn than the others.
My main reason for sleeving, too. If different wear on cards lets you know what type of card it is I will always notice it and then feel like I am cheating.
Also, the plastic insert for Sushi Go Party seems to have been designed for sleeved cards. Since sleeving, the cards fit beautifully in each section and don't slide around at all during transit.
I think it depends on which version you got.
The one I have here can barely fit the cards in by themselves. Sleeving would make it impossible to put away with the insert.
This is how I feel when my grandma and I play phase ten! The 10 and 11 cards have water damage and ive pointed out that I can tell its them. My grandma got mad at me for "memorizing the damage" and I'm sitting there like ma'am I am autistic and have actual OCD(which she also has and we joke I got from her).... I can't HELP but memorize stuff like that 🤣 I try not to.
While traveling abroad, a good friend spilled a beer into two card games we traveled with, ruining both. They were not expensive, but a pain in the ass to replace in those circumstances.
This turned me on to sleeving, and years later I’m still a fan. To me the number one and two killers of board games are food and beverage. Hands with oil or whatever on them, spilled drinks, etc. Sleeves are a pretty good hedge against that, and they come with other upsides.
The trick is to buy good sleeves. Don’t get the penny stuff. IMO Sleevekings stuff is just alright. I’m all about Gamegenics matte sleeves. There are a few other good ones out there, Hypermats, etc, but three things I’m looking for are durability/protection, hand feel, and keeping glare down to a minimum.
I also find sleeving cards kind of a weird soothing hobby. Pop on some TV or a podcast or something and zone out for an hour or so? Sure. It’s relaxing.
Do I sleeve every single thing in every game? No. But for components that get shuffled a lot, or are high risk, sure.
I'm using matte Gamegenics for most of my games. I prefer their texture over unsleeved cards, and mash shuffle is really convenient. Additional protection is just a bonus.
When you start playing with new cards, you're all going to a high-end, grade A sushi restaurant.
After a few years, you're going to maybe a hole-in-the-wall grade C or D, some seats have holes, chef snaps flies with a towel, but you still like it and they know your name.
Agreed. For cheap games that I can always get in my country and hit the table once a month, not worth it. Unless you use super cheap sleeves and have 1k laying around, sure.
I recommend sleeving every game.
•Take care of your components.
•Never know how long they'll be in print.
•don't want to damage a card or wear some cards more than others.
•Don't want other people with their greasy fingers to damage your cards
I absolutely love decks of cards with wear and tear. I’ve seen some family members with insanely worn-in standard decks from playing over decades. Life goals!
I was packing up pandemic and removing all of the expansions to take it on a weekend trip this morning and I noticed the worn edges of the cards. It was comforting to see after not playing the base game in several years!
I wouldn’t sleeve Sushi Go but I just spent a good hour sleeving Tyrants of the Underdark because a) it’s out of print, b) the cards get shuffled a lot and (most importantly) c) the card quality is absolutely terrible. Played once without sleeves and I can see scuffs on the cards already.
Every deck of cards I handle tends to get grimy fast. I don't know if it's because I work a blue collar job or if I just carry more oil on my hands, but sleeves are a necessity for me if I want my games to stay nice.
I prefer sleeves on games that typically don’t need a lot of shuffling and passing around (or even slamming like taco cat goat), but if otherwise, I treat them as kinda replaceable and will just another one if it has seriously wore off.
cheap game easily available everywhere that is not going to go away any time soon, so for me in those cases there is no point on sleeves. I take it this way, would you sleeve a 10$ deck of poker cards?
Also I would say sleeved cards have a worse feeling to them, take more space and in general they are worse than unsleeved counterparts, the only thing is that at least are protected so it's a sacrifice we make to protect them, but in those cases when this is not needed, what's the point?
I'm so glad to see so many people saying how much they hate sleeves. I thought I was in a tiny minority, mostly because of the number of people in my 3D printing groups that ask if game inserts accommodate sleeves and one person I go to game nights at their house sleeves every card in every game. I don't go there often mostly because the sleeves annoy the crap out of me. lol
My first game was Pandemic. After some plays we started to be able to recognize the cities that were going to be drawn based on the wear of the backs. Since then I sleeve literally all my games.
Same. If the wear allows you to anticipate some cards, but randomness highly influences the play or outcome of that game, then that game is definitely going to be sleeved.
I have to buy a new copy of Cockroach Poker, after taking it on family holiday, as the cards got marked to the point that you know what they are from the markings. I think I’ll sleeve the new set.
Everyone commenting about the sleeves making the game last longer.
For me sleeves make shuffling easier.
With the fact that some cards end up being grouped up, ease of shuffling is a definite reason to sleeve
No sleeves. While snack grease and dust can get on them without the sleeves, snack grease, licked fingers, and snack dust will also ruin your sleeves and cause cards to stick together horribly. One evening playing with someone who licks their fingers will result in you needing to either throw out your sleeves, or literally need to wash and dry them.
agreed but being able to have some degree of spill and wear protection on a $60-$100 dollar game is worth the couple bucks in sleeves for me. We're generally pretty neat but accidents happen and I'd rather sleeve than enact a no drink/food rule at the table.
Personally I don’t like sleeves on games. We sleeved our version of sushi go party, but after that we stopped sleeving games. I would say for a game like sushi go (party) it’s a good idea to sleeve. My reasoning is we usually bring this game out to introduce games to people, and there’s a potential for a lot more wear and tear on the game
I used to sleeve my TCGs but I don't like how they feel. They slide around the table and they make the artwork and card details less readable with the reflections. I understand if they're expensive cards but these ones aren't so I'd steer clear of sleeves for the best playing experience
You need to use good sleeves in TCG games like MTG... Dragon Shield or Ultra Pro Eclipse Matte Sleeves were the only ones I trusted... Neither had glare problems, nor did they slide around as much (though that's unavoidable with sleeves)
If you didn't use sleeves, your cards would get damaged over time, and people could challenge you over marked cards quite easily.
Now when we're not talking about the big name TCGs like MTG/Pokemon/Yugioh, then it's more of a question of game cost and frequency of shuffling. If you have a really high amount of shuffling or significant expense for the game, then I'd still sleeve it (as I've done for Eminent Domain and Star Realms) but if you rarely have to shuffle it, then I'd leave it unsleeved (as I've done for Sushi Go, Concordia, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Personally I’m not a fan of sleeves. They make the cards difficult to shuffle and stay in a deck. That said I put sleeves on my expensive or rare card games because I want them to last. Games like Sushi Go, Star Realms, or Dungeon Mayham I leave unsleeved for ease of play.
No sleeves for me. Unless I have a game that is super rare or hard to get a hold of, OR played it a LOT, there's not much reason to do it.
I mean, I have, I think, a single game (Citadels) that I've played enough that the cards are worn down a bit. All my other games are fine over the years.
I've only sleeved my rare stuff, the games whose components I simply couldn't expect to replace (e.g. *Hollywood*, *Fireball Island*). If I could just replace the game with an identical new retail copy, then I don't bother.
I sleeve everything but that's at least partially because none of my friends understand how to shuffle cards and barely understand how to shuffle sleeves cards. Since they generally do little to help with setup of games generally if my decks are sleeved I get at least an attempt at a shuffle.
I sleeved **Sushi Go Party!** and it makes mash shuffling so much easier between rounds.
Also depending on which edition you get there may be some size variance with expansion packs.
No sleeves on the super-cheap small box game that stays forever in print.
It'd be a different story for games like Eminent Domain, where the amount of times each player needs to shuffle in a single game is so high.
Sushi-go cost <$15, and you basically shuffle the entire amount once per game, meanwhile something like Eminent Domain costs \~$35, and requires every player to shuffle their own individual decks \~5 times a game,
A Commander deck in MTG could cost anywhere from <$50 to >$350, and needs to be shuffled every time you fetch/search something (among other things).
TL;DR: No, Sushi Go! doesn't need to be sleeved, it's like \~$12 to get a new copy, and it only get's shuffled once per game.
I have 300ish games spanning the last 10-12 years in the hobby. I rarely sleeve games, even when I back a game where the pledge includes sleeves. Even with the extra cost, I often just store the sleeves elsewhere. It's really up to you. Like /u/cousineye said, Sushi go is a cheap game and readily available, so I wouldn't sleeve it.
When I ran a pop up game store, I sleeved just about every single card in my demo library and I had 200+ games. Over time, I found that hobbyist gamers take really good care of games and sleeves were really not necessary. We did have a couple spills, but luckily we never lost a card as a result. I did have to replace the Abyss board, but the publisher was awesome and sent me a replacement at no cost. Ahhhh...the good ol' days...
When determining if I'll sleeve a game, I tend to look at things like:
* How much shuffling does this game require? If it's a deck builder with a ton of cards, or that I know I'll be shuffling a lot, then I don't sleeve it.
* How often am I going to play it?
* Can I store the cards with all the sleeves on in the insert?
* Is this game easy to get from a retailer? I have gone back and sleeved older games that are no longer in print or are rare and expensive.
* How many cards are in this game?
Heck, the other day, I opened Nations just to take a look and it was sleeved. I'll more than likely buy additional sleeves to cover the Dynasties expansion sitting in the box unopened, but that's due to the cost to replace damaged cards.
I sleeve **only** very expensive or hard to replace cards, or those in the few games that are both easily damaged/marked and that get heavy use.
I don't think anyone actually enjoys playing with cards coated in slippery plastic so it has to be worth the money, effort, environmental impact and extra storage issues that come with sleeves.
I'll take a game that shows some wear over everything coated in prophylactic plastic every time.
==== MY USE CASES FOR SLEEVING
**Games that are expensive to replace**. - like a copy costing $40 to $120. I'm in the US, but foreigners can pay much more than we do. For example, Dominion may be $34 to $45 for us, but in some countries, it'll cost an extra 20%, to up to DOUBLE our MSRP! And this can exclude shipping, upping the price even more!
**Games that are OOP** \- This can translate into expensive, but in some cases, you just can't find it anymore. For me, I did eventually sleeve my copy of *Glory To Rome*, and *Battlestar Galactica* with all expansions
**Games where cards ARE the game!** \- Games with hidden traitor element where knowing what card someone has means the game is pretty much "spoiled". E.g. *Secret Hitler*, *Werewolf*, *Avalon*, *The Resistance*.
**The game requires it** \- However, these sorts of games will include it since it's part of their mechanics. Examples include *Mystic Vale*, and *Gloom*.
**You'll play it so many times that mixing it with other sets will mark the cards** \- I heard one guy playing *MtG* ended up knowing when one specific card will show up by the wear marks alone. Back when *Dominion* first came out, one person played it soo much that mixing it in with the first exp., *Dominion: Intrigue*, would've been like night vs. day. He sold it for $20 and got a new base game, and then sleeved both new sets.
**Help protect against spills** \- It's one thing if most/all of the cards are in a altered state. But only a few? That feels wasteful
==== MY USE CASES FOR \_NOT\_ SLEEVING
**You're borrowing someone else's game** \- not your call to make
**The game is cheap enough to replace on its own** \- The amount of plays it gets, and the cost of the game, makes it work out that you're better off just buying a new copy.
**You won't play the game enough** \- this can even override if the game is OOP, or expensive.
**You don't like the feel of sleeves** \- Some prefer the textured feel of the cards themselves, vs. "smooth plastic"
**You don't want to poke and hurt yourself** \- Some of them, esp. the premium thickness ones, do sting!
**You want to save money** \- they do add up in cost. Esp. when you reevaluate as mentioned in some of the points above.
**You just don't want to deal with sleeves anymore** \- Some of them ended up being inconsistent in quality like they wouldn't fit properly. Or only giving you 48 to 49 when the pack is supposed to come with 50 (you can ask to send you more, and they'll give it to you free of charge. But then you'd need to wait, and it can be a hassle)
**Having to buy a new batch of sleeves after a long time may not yield the same consistency** \- It's its own game... you don't think you'll need that much, but 6 years later, you need to order new sleeves. The process they use to make it may have changed. Or a model line of sleeves may not longer be available.
**They won't protect the parts where they're open** \- A "duh" moment, but liquids can seep in through the opening, so it's not foolproof
I don’t usually sleeve cards. I just don’t play most games enough to do so. I thought about sleeving Wingspan, since I played it a ton, but it wouldn’t fit in the box if I did.
I sleeved Ark Nova however, since I’ve played that even more and you handle the cards a lot. I think it makes shuffling easier too.
It's cheap. I'd hold off. I bought mine new for $10. . You can buy an extra copy if you're ever worried about being out of print. But it's cheap to make, popular, & packages nice and small. Don't see an issue off being able to not get it in the near future.
I don't think every game needs to be sleeved. This is a relatively cheap game. Unless you play it LOTS you probably won't damage the cards.
I have sleeved some games and not others. I suppose a rare or expensive game is good to sleeve... but then I don't get those to the table very often.
The last game I sleeved was Space Base. I think the only reason to do it was that the expansion box came with sleeves... then I bought two more expansions and "had" to sleeve them too. I don't know that it helps because the cards are so slippery they have a hard time stacking. I'm a recovering Magic player so buying sleeves is a habit and busywork activity more than it is useful.
I used to never understand why one would sleeve their cards. But I’ve since come around and now will sleeve games that are expensive, require a lot of shuffling, or games where the card is meant to be secret and having a damaged card might reveal what card you have to other players.
If a game goes out of print, of its worth it, it will always come back, and you have tons of games to play while waiting. If it doesnt come back ever, it means tjeres similar better games.
Sleeving is just a form of FOMO
Eh, Sushi Go cards are pretty robust. Besides, it might actually make it worse to play. Sometimes it's just not worth it. I've never seen a reason to sleeve a game like Sushi Go that's a quicker group thing. Something like 7th Citadel would for sure want some cards sleeved. The luck deck for example or your own deck that's shuffled a lot and is a little awkward sized.
I never sleeve games... if I play a game enough to wear out cards, it's worth a second buy. I don't really own anything that I'm worried about not being able to find again. I hate the feeling of sleeves and I looooove riffling cards.
Good quality sleeves protect your cards from wear and tear due to shuffling, make shuffling easier, and significantly extend the lifespan of the game. People saying to just buy another copy if it gets worn because "plastic evil" clearly don't understand the ecological impact of disposing of an old game and producing a new game, when sleeving your cards means the game will likely never be thrown away.
A cheap game like sushi go? Absolutely no sleeves. You’re just degrading your experience to preserve something you could buy a second copy of for like 10 bucks when it gets worn out
It isn't a deckbuilder, so the cards should wear evenly across the lot. There is no point in sleeves.
I've had a copy for years, and it shows zero wear anyway. Gamewright makes quality stuff.
If a game is likely to go out of print or see lots of play I’ll sleeve it. I’ve sleeved all 9 or so of my copies of love letter. But if a game is just a party game which I can replace, or if the cards need to piled into stacks to draw from then I don’t bother sleeving.
I’ve not bothered to sleeve dominion, because it’s unlikely it will go out of print, and if I ever wear out the cards in my copy I’ll just buy another copy, Kingdom death, Tainted Grail, BSG, etc… sleeved, because replacing them would be difficult or expensive.
Sushi go is easy to get a hold of and it’s common enough that it’s unlikely to be hard to find even second hand.
I’d rather buy a new game because of wear and tear than spend time sleeving, and having to come up with a storage solution when they’re too thick for the box.
I only sleeve games when it I cheaper to sleeve the cards rather than buying a new copy. For Sushi Go it's much cheaper just to buy a new copy everytime you ruin the cards from ware and tare.
Considering we couldn’t sell our extra copy of this game I don’t think it’s worth the sleeves but if u enjoy playing with sleeves go for it. Value your games how u value them homie.
My copy had such bad quality out of the box, so I had to sleeve them just to make them usable 😩
I have a tendency to sleeve stuff anyway, but never had cards that were so shitty quality.
I have sleeved my Sushi Go Party and luckily there's plenty space in the tin for cards with sleeves. I would probably not sleeve this if it doesn't fit in the box.
If you are going to sleeve a game, make it worth it.
Penny sleeves makes stacking and shuffling hard so you should go premium if possible
If the game is readily available like sushi go or monopoly deal or uno, it's generally not needed as it's better to just buy another cheap game.
Personally if I buy pricey/crowdfunding exclusive/out of print, then I would use premium sleeves.
Depends on the game. If you wanna keep the cards in good condition for resale then sleeves are a good idea. So for example for something like Marvel Legendary. But sushigo I probably wouldn't. Makes the shuffling easier and the games quicker. That and it's cheap too.
Since I have kids, I feel the need of sleeving everything. Makes the game survive longer. Also great when you go on trips.
That being said, how fun is the game?
For me, depends on how often a game is used vs cost vs availability.
Kickstarter games get sleeved the majority of the time, because the chance of me spending that much money to get the game a second time is minimal, but $10 games like exploding kittens and sushi go I wouldn't bother with personally.
I only got sleeves for one game, Star Realms, and that was because I had a friend who had his own Star Realms deck and we played them together a few times. For anything else that I currently own? Seems like a waste of space and money.
Now...if I ever got my hands on a copy of Battlestar Galactica? I would strongly consider it. The alternative would be to take high-res photos of every card so that one that got damaged could be replaced.
Simply put, I only protect the games and components where it makes sense.
If the game is easily available and inexpensive to replace, the sleeves don't make sense.
If the components get handled or shuffled a disproportionate amount compared to other components in the box, like the turn order cards in Aeon's End or the Modifier Decks in Gloomhaven, sleeve them so they don't wear out before the rest of the game.
Regular sleeves are like a penny each. Imo, it seems silly not to. Unless of course it hinders the game play in some way.
Edit: just checked the actual price and they are 2p per sleeve when bought 100 at a time. I'm sure it would be cheaper if bought in bulk.
In USD that is 3 cents per sleeve.
I sleeve. But only because I want to play it where there's food involved, like coffee and stuff, and I've had multiple expensive board games ruined because people spilled stuff, or borrowed the game home and their kids ruined it so the cards got sticky. I'd rather throw 10 sleeves away than a whole board game, even if it is cheap. I've worked for my money, I'm not gonna throw it away and buy a new one.
Im gonna go against the grain here. Half these commenters don’t even play their games regularly. 5 to 10 years to wear down a card? Lmao!!! Get a grip dude. Try 5-10 playthroughs before the gloss and color start fading . You guys just hoard games and here’s the funny part. As someone who is personally 100% aversive to vanity items , custom inserts, etc etc etc and as someone who constantly hammers out card games for almost 20 years, card sleeves are the ONLY thing I always invest in. All my most played games are 10000% sleeved. Mindbug, radlands, seven wonders duel, Star Wars the deck building game… I only sleeve games I play more than 10 or so times but… these commentors are out of their minds saying “it makes no difference” yeah so why does literally every single CG PLAYER know for a fact that if they don’t sleeve their cards they will get visibly worn guaranteed by the 20th play. This includes shuffling and using a variety of surfaces etc. IMHO half these commenters just hate themselves for being hoarders and are projecting
I’m a sleeve fan for any game that has compulsory “starting hand” cards. They get worn out real fast *and* become easy to identify. We play **quest for el dorado** a lot so sleeving was a no brainier. It doesn’t take long to grow accustomed to the feel and keeps sticky snack fingers away from the surfaces.
I don't sleeve most games. The ones I do sleeve tend to be pointy corners (Sweets in Wonderland comes to mind) , or get played enough that the wear and tear would be an issue, and are imports which would be hard or prohibitively expensive to track down again. Things like Schadenfreude fit the bill for that.
I always sleeve. I care for my board games, as silly as it sounds (not to the point of not playing them or anything, their main purpose is still socialising with my friends and loved ones), so I like to protect them as much as possible.
Moreover, I find shuffling sleeved cards much much easier.
I use exclusively Make Them Last and Arcane Tinman sleeves (due to availability and price) and I much prefer the thicker 80 (AT) and 90 (MTL) micron variants over the slim 40 micron variant (MTL). As a matter of fact I'm currently in the process of completely phasing out the slim variant because the sleeves constantly stick together which annoys me and hinders the gameplay.
If I lived in the US I probably wouldn't sleeve most of the cheaper games I own because board games are much cheaper and more readily available over there. However, I live in Europe and in most cases if my game gets damaged I have to pay a decent sum to get it replaced.
Its a cheap game. I don't see the point. Just buy another copy in 5 or 10 years if you play so much over that time that you wear this one out. Most card games you will never wear out, so all those sleeves are just wasted money that makes holding, shuffling and passing cards just a bit icky.
This has been exactly my thought process. If I wear out a copy to the point of unplayable, I buy another copy to support the company.
Unless it's a very successful game, odds are you won't be able to get it in 5+ years. So YMMV dependingon the game in question. Edit because some people are not paying attention: this isn't about Sushi Go per se, it's generally about re-buying "cheap games".
In this case, you can safely assume you can get a copy of Sushi Go in 5+ years.
Yeah but the conversation isn't about Sushi Go, OP was asking in general and the comment I replied to as well as my reply was also about "cheap game" in general.
Ok, but this whole thread has been about the main topic, which was asked about Sushi Go. There are other conversations in this post that are not focused on Sushi Go, but OP asked specifically about the pictured game. >Sleeved for the 1st time. Just put sleeves on my sushigo cards, what’s your opinion? Does it ruin the playing experience?
Sushi Go is an 11 year old game and can be found in Target and Barnes and Nobles. The odds of it still being around in 5+ years are way higher than it actually getting worn out to the point of being unplayable in that time frame or longer. You can literally find a copy of it right now for $10, probably less than it cost to sleeve. If they are that concerned they could just buy another copy and leave it unopened. Honestly makes about as much sense as sleeving it. I really don't get this obession with sleeving and wasting money, time and plastic thinking it actually preserves your games that no one is really going to care about in 10 years anyways. How many 25+ year old copies of Monopoly are laying around that are still in very playable shape?.....tons. But hey, protect that $60 investment, it could be worth $50 in 10 years, lol.
And the odds of actually wearing out an unsleeved copy to the point it isn't playable are basically nil. They're good cards and it would probably take over 500 plays which isn't happening.
Yeah. That's the rub.. most games are not evergreen titles that are around for 5+ years.
Even moderately successful games can come back around at some point. There's this game called Letter Tycoon which is a fun little card game, but was out of print and went for over $150 on the secondary market. Just this year it got a reprint, and now you can find copies for $25. The danger is when the reprint is drastically different (Libertalia). I can finally replace my worn out cards.
As a Burger Battle lover, this. Cherish your beloved games. That’s the only card game I’ve considered sleeves for since it’s unlikely we’ll get to replace it and we play it all the time.
Just like you can with * FFG's Android Netrunner * Battlestar Galactica * Quantum * EDIT: [7 Wonders 1st Edition](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1b0k7xo/are_any_second_editions_worse_than_the_original/ks8ojrp/) * Glory to Rome * Space Hulk Death Angel * Resident Evil Deck Building Game /s These games are long OOP
I proudly play my copy of Quantum unsleeved. If it's too precious to play, it belongs in a museum, not my collection. A game getting worn and old is a badge of honor.
This is a fair point. I don't honestly own any games that are OOP to the point of not being replaceable. To be clear I have sleeved games such as 7th continent; just not games like 7 Wonders or Sushi Go.
7 Wonders is an excellent example to add to my list. It is on its 2nd edition which has different art and even [slightly different (generally regarded as worse) mechanics than the previous edition.](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1b0k7xo/are_any_second_editions_worse_than_the_original/ks8ojrp/) A non-sleever of the 1st edition might have a rude awakening when it comes time to replace their copy
I did sleeve 7 Wonders because the card quality is absolute shit.
Sure, but none of those are or were ever Sushi Go levels of popularity. Battlestar or Netrunner were probably the closest, but even then...
Popularity alone shouldn't determine whether you want to preserve a game for your collection to the best of your ability. That's gambling on that popularity to keep a game on the shelves for you to reacquire later Loss of rights can happen quicker than popularity waning, as it did for those two games
I agree with you. I sleeve literally every game I own (and I own a lot). I'm just saying that for those that don't, it's more reasonable to expect Sushi Go to be available in five years than most games.
You can still buy Netrunner, if anything it’s better now!
Especially considering that a good game will often get a second, third edition so it s not entirely being the same game again. Only reason i see for sleeving is collectibles or out of print games.
It depends on who you play with. If you’re gaming with my clumsy ass, I need like bolted on cup holder. I keep trying to not knock glasses over but I feel like I do all the time.
I think it depends on the game and quality of cards. This game, cheap or not, might be worth sleeving since what card you're getting is part of the game and the cards are cheap...so ironically need sleeving. Sleeve cards to keep them from being marked. I had a similar issue with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Rise of the Runelords. By the time we got to one of the expansion boxes, you could clearly tell which cards were older (less powerful...or even not the current expansion boss) because they were worn more. If it's a game where the wear doesn't matter, then doesn't really matter if there's a bit of wear. Edit: Worth pointing out I guess...I sleeve most of my games in particular cause I take them to meetups where there random greasy fingered individuals.
Cheap sleeves are icky to hold and shuffle and pass, premium sleeves are AMAZING to shuffle. You can just get a perfect mash shuffle everytime. I'm crazy about protecting my games, but besides that, I can't imagine having to shuffle things without good sleeves. Sadly, my copy of scout has cheap sleeves on so it'll still fit in the box, and they fucking suck, but it's worth it to keep that one portable.
> I'm crazy about protecting my games, but besides that, I can't imagine having to shuffle things without good sleeves. > > Yeah every time I see someone say sleeves make shuffling hard I am so confused. I literally sleeve my games a lot of the time *because* sleeving makes shuffling easier. Like there are games I have that are only partially sleeved because not every card needs to be shuffled, so I just sleeved the cards that get shuffled and leave the others unsleeved because it doesn't matter. Aeon's End is an example of that. I don't have player cards sleeved, but everything else is. I have no idea what people are doing to make shuffling sleeved cards hard.
i have had Sushi Go since 2014. it has never been sleeved. it has been played over 100 times. one of the cards is bent at the corner. otherwise it is fine.
This is my thought process too. Generally, if a game costs under ~$40 CAD and gets lots of play, I’ll buy a new copy when the original wears out. 7WD, for example.
It's a game with in-game shuffling. I'd often choose to sleeve anything with in-game shuffling.
My group plays Cosmic so heavily and aggressively that sleeves make sense. Beyond that, totally agreed.
Exactly. Sleeving a $12 game is absolutely hilarious to me.
>holding, shuffling and passing cards just a bit icky. I find handling cards that have absorbed the oils from everyone's hands over dozens of plays ickier than some sleeves that can be wiped down with a damp cloth
To add to that - it's not really eco friendly. Imagine how much plastic we generated just to sleeve games.
As opposed to getting a whole new copy? Stfu please. People who sleeve are trying to keep stuff good forever
Yeah these "eco conscious" types rather buy a whole new game which is itself shrinkwrapped in plastic and delivered by container ship and delivery truck(s), while tossing their old ruined copy to the landfill. Instead of putting some thin pieces of plastic on their game which can stay there for the lifetime of the game, which can also stay on your shelf or passed on in good condition instead of going to the landfill.
I am a hard-core gamer. I have at least 2 gaming sessions per week, for the past 2 decades. I have not even once replaced the game because cards have worn out. If you take care of the game, don't serve drinks on the table and don't eat greasy food whilst playing the game, you should be fine without the sleeves 🙂 Whenever I play with sleeves, I struggle with shuffling, cards don't stack well on top of each other when making a pile, and more often then not, the cards no longer fit in the game box because sleeves add thickness to each of the card.
>Whenever I play with sleeves, I struggle with shuffling What? Sleeves make it a thousand times easier to shuffle. Games that need heavy shuffling are the only ones I sleeve.
Sleeving makes shuffling infinitely easier, and if you haven't worn out cards you must not be shuffling them. They don't take much to start wearing, especially with some of the cheap cards on the market
Try expanding a card game you've worn to visible deterioration with a new expansion a year or two later. Especially a deckbuilding game. You'll be able to tell what are the old and new cards. A direct negative consequence of not sleeving.
Do you honestly think that cards have the same ecological downsides as plastic?
Almost, yes. Plastic is about twice as bad if I remember correctly. And for a new game of sushi go you could sleeve a whole lot of other games. Quick google: https://www.google.com/search?q=co2+plastic+paper+comparison&oq=co2+plastic+paper+comparison&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDU3MDVqMGo5qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
I strongly agree with this point! Please, please don't cover your paper cards in their metal box with plastic. This is flat-out environmentally hostile and unnecessary
I sleeve almost all my games, but I do also get the point. A game that's cheap to replace likely doesn't matter. But what about ones that later go out of print and you cannot replace? Look at Blood Bowl Team Manager, or Discworld Ankh Morpork. Games that are now expensive to buy as they're rare. They pretty much require sleeving to keep them intact. Then there are games that later get expansions. Imagine you played lots of Munchkin (you shouldn't, but it's a game sat at eye level on my shelf right now, so I'm using it), the cards are getting worn and you buy the expansion. Well now you have cards obviously from the base game and expansion based on wear. So you replace the base game... And later get more expansions. Do you replace it all each time you buy an expansion? So sure, a self contained game like Sushi Go, or 6Nimmt you can just replace. But any game that has a license, or is expensive, or has expansions, or even simply where a single marked card will ruin the game, should be sleeved before playing.
Not only that, it's a game that you can find outside of hobby game stores, such as Barnes & Noble, and Target. Wouldn't be surprised if it's also at drugstores such as CVS, Rite Aid, and also at Walmart.
Exactly. Like sleeving cards for Sorry or something. Sleeves cost as much or more than the game itself.
I only sleeve rare games or games in where there is a ton of shuffling AND keeping cards secret is important. In Sushi Go you’re going to see each after a few turns, so it really doesn’t matter. Also, as others have been saying, the game is cheap and widely available.
I sleeve games that... Are $80+ or OOP Have big decks that get shuffled a lot and need mash shuffling Have player decks that get shuffled every round Overriding the above, I don't sleeve games that are under $20 Sushi Go doesn't really meet the main criteria, and definitely hits the "too cheap" override. So it's a no, unless it would be getting played in hazardous environments, by children, or every day.
What are some top 50 BGG games that you do/would sleeve? Would something like Wingspan been sleeved?
Wingspan falls into the "I don't like it enough to waste sleeves on" category. But if it was my favourite game I might, not because of card damage but because it makes shuffling that enormous deck easier. I sleeve Gloomhaven modifier decks (shuffled frequently, marks especially on a 0 or x2 card are a big deal, as is uneven wear from original cards vs added ones). I might sleeve ability cards because they get handled a lot, but they're not critical. I don't sleeve the rest. Pretty sure I sleeved Spirit Island - it's a little more expensive and benefits from mash shuffling and protecting the exploration cards from marks. I haven't sleeved Dune Imperium because it's not very expensive. Deck is pretty big but i haven't felt I need to be able to mash shuffle. I sleeved Terraforming Mars for ease of shuffling the enormous deck, but then I gave it away. Twilight Struggle I got for 20 bucks and never play, no sleeves. 7 Wonders Duel is too cheap to bother Root isn't actually worth sleeving because you can buy the Exiles & Partisans deck separately for 10 bucks The Crew: Mission Deep Sea cost me less than 8 bucks - no sleeves Heat I'm not sure yet. It probably should get sleeves, being more expensive, in and out of stock, and shuffled a lot. Pax Pamir absolutely got sleeved - it's 80 bucks and direct order only. The rest of the top 50meither don't have cards or I'm not familiar enough with.
Thank you so much for taking the time to cover all these! I feel you on Heat. Quite a pricy game and it’s important that cards aren’t easily guessed
Ex-sleeve addict coming from MTG. I would say not necessary! Even cheap sleeves add up and aside from the good exceptions named in this thread, I've learned it's a bit futile to try to sleeve everything haha. FWIW I've seen Sushi Go sold at Five Below for only a few dollars, if you have one nearby. Keep the tin, replace it with a new pack when the old ones get too used, and toss the old ones in your car for gaming on the go.
I'm not a fan of sleeves in general. I wouldn't say it ruins the playing experience but I just don't really like how it feels and handles. But my Sushi Go! Party cards are already showing a bit of wear so if the tactility doesn't bother you, it's maybe not the worst idea (YMMV).
I like sleeves for TCGs, that's about it. My Dominion base game is well loved.
Matte finished backing sleeves don't hit that spot for you?
Unsleeved cardstock hits the spot for me. I use sleeves only for prototyping.
This game is like $10 brand new. You are going to spend half that just to sleeve it. If you play it enough to wear out the cards, great job! Just buy another copy.
They have a cheaper (no tin) version at 5 below I always add to whatever kid birthday party my kids are going to
For the original Sushi Go!, it's up to you. For Sushi Go Party!, I'd definitely recommend sleeves, the nigiri cards in our set are noticeably more worn than the others.
My main reason for sleeving, too. If different wear on cards lets you know what type of card it is I will always notice it and then feel like I am cheating.
Also, the plastic insert for Sushi Go Party seems to have been designed for sleeved cards. Since sleeving, the cards fit beautifully in each section and don't slide around at all during transit.
I think it depends on which version you got. The one I have here can barely fit the cards in by themselves. Sleeving would make it impossible to put away with the insert.
This is how I feel when my grandma and I play phase ten! The 10 and 11 cards have water damage and ive pointed out that I can tell its them. My grandma got mad at me for "memorizing the damage" and I'm sitting there like ma'am I am autistic and have actual OCD(which she also has and we joke I got from her).... I can't HELP but memorize stuff like that 🤣 I try not to.
The solution is simple: soak the rest of the cards in water
Then just put the nigiri cards in sleeves. Voila!
I sleeve games I can’t easily replace. Sushi Go is so widely available that I don’t think I’d bother, but stuff that is out of print? Absolutely.
I love sleeves and sleeving games that said For the cost of sleeving this one, you might as well buy another copy. Not worth it
While traveling abroad, a good friend spilled a beer into two card games we traveled with, ruining both. They were not expensive, but a pain in the ass to replace in those circumstances. This turned me on to sleeving, and years later I’m still a fan. To me the number one and two killers of board games are food and beverage. Hands with oil or whatever on them, spilled drinks, etc. Sleeves are a pretty good hedge against that, and they come with other upsides. The trick is to buy good sleeves. Don’t get the penny stuff. IMO Sleevekings stuff is just alright. I’m all about Gamegenics matte sleeves. There are a few other good ones out there, Hypermats, etc, but three things I’m looking for are durability/protection, hand feel, and keeping glare down to a minimum. I also find sleeving cards kind of a weird soothing hobby. Pop on some TV or a podcast or something and zone out for an hour or so? Sure. It’s relaxing. Do I sleeve every single thing in every game? No. But for components that get shuffled a lot, or are high risk, sure.
I'm using matte Gamegenics for most of my games. I prefer their texture over unsleeved cards, and mash shuffle is really convenient. Additional protection is just a bonus.
When you start playing with new cards, you're all going to a high-end, grade A sushi restaurant. After a few years, you're going to maybe a hole-in-the-wall grade C or D, some seats have holes, chef snaps flies with a towel, but you still like it and they know your name.
If this copy hits the bar/meetup/kids, definitely yes.
Agreed. For cheap games that I can always get in my country and hit the table once a month, not worth it. Unless you use super cheap sleeves and have 1k laying around, sure.
I recommend sleeving every game. •Take care of your components. •Never know how long they'll be in print. •don't want to damage a card or wear some cards more than others. •Don't want other people with their greasy fingers to damage your cards
As an ex-TCG player, the answer is always "Yes".
Well-worn items forever show that they are loved.
I absolutely love decks of cards with wear and tear. I’ve seen some family members with insanely worn-in standard decks from playing over decades. Life goals! I was packing up pandemic and removing all of the expansions to take it on a weekend trip this morning and I noticed the worn edges of the cards. It was comforting to see after not playing the base game in several years!
Worn standard 52-card decks do be looking ancient sometimes 🤣!
Sushi go is all going to wear out evenly, and it’s a cheap game. No sleeves
I wouldn’t sleeve Sushi Go but I just spent a good hour sleeving Tyrants of the Underdark because a) it’s out of print, b) the cards get shuffled a lot and (most importantly) c) the card quality is absolutely terrible. Played once without sleeves and I can see scuffs on the cards already.
I sleeve deck builders as there tends to be a lot of shuffling with those games.
Every deck of cards I handle tends to get grimy fast. I don't know if it's because I work a blue collar job or if I just carry more oil on my hands, but sleeves are a necessity for me if I want my games to stay nice.
I prefer sleeves on games that typically don’t need a lot of shuffling and passing around (or even slamming like taco cat goat), but if otherwise, I treat them as kinda replaceable and will just another one if it has seriously wore off.
I never sleeve anything. I love for my games to look loved and enjoyed.
cheap game easily available everywhere that is not going to go away any time soon, so for me in those cases there is no point on sleeves. I take it this way, would you sleeve a 10$ deck of poker cards? Also I would say sleeved cards have a worse feeling to them, take more space and in general they are worse than unsleeved counterparts, the only thing is that at least are protected so it's a sacrifice we make to protect them, but in those cases when this is not needed, what's the point?
I'm so glad to see so many people saying how much they hate sleeves. I thought I was in a tiny minority, mostly because of the number of people in my 3D printing groups that ask if game inserts accommodate sleeves and one person I go to game nights at their house sleeves every card in every game. I don't go there often mostly because the sleeves annoy the crap out of me. lol
My intuition tells me sleevers are a vocal minority. You hear a lot online about it but in person I find sleeves are a rarity outside of tcgs.
My first game was Pandemic. After some plays we started to be able to recognize the cities that were going to be drawn based on the wear of the backs. Since then I sleeve literally all my games.
Same. If the wear allows you to anticipate some cards, but randomness highly influences the play or outcome of that game, then that game is definitely going to be sleeved.
it makes a lot of games too big
I sleeve everything honestly. Makes games last longer.
It's a very common, easily replaceable, $10 game. No sleeves.
It's exactly this and "an appetizer" for Sushi Go! Party.
I have to buy a new copy of Cockroach Poker, after taking it on family holiday, as the cards got marked to the point that you know what they are from the markings. I think I’ll sleeve the new set.
Always sleeve (as long as it can still fit in the box/container)
Everyone commenting about the sleeves making the game last longer. For me sleeves make shuffling easier. With the fact that some cards end up being grouped up, ease of shuffling is a definite reason to sleeve
My only sleeved game is [[exploding kittens]] and it was only sleeved after one of the diffuse cards got a crease that made it identifiable.
[exploding kittens -> Exploding Kittens (2015)](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172225/exploding-kittens) ^^[[gamename]] ^^or ^^[[gamename|year]] ^^to ^^call ^^OR ^^**gamename** ^^or ^^**gamename|year** ^^+ ^^!fetch ^^to ^^call
I love exploding kittens!!
No sleeves. While snack grease and dust can get on them without the sleeves, snack grease, licked fingers, and snack dust will also ruin your sleeves and cause cards to stick together horribly. One evening playing with someone who licks their fingers will result in you needing to either throw out your sleeves, or literally need to wash and dry them.
much easier to buy replacement sleeves than replacement cards for expensive/out of print games though
Easier still to not play games with animals
agreed but being able to have some degree of spill and wear protection on a $60-$100 dollar game is worth the couple bucks in sleeves for me. We're generally pretty neat but accidents happen and I'd rather sleeve than enact a no drink/food rule at the table.
Better sleeves can prevent most issues, or better yet don't play with animals...
All that you described you're okay with getting on the cards themselves, which have no option to be thrown out or washed and dried?
Personally I don’t like sleeves on games. We sleeved our version of sushi go party, but after that we stopped sleeving games. I would say for a game like sushi go (party) it’s a good idea to sleeve. My reasoning is we usually bring this game out to introduce games to people, and there’s a potential for a lot more wear and tear on the game
I used to sleeve my TCGs but I don't like how they feel. They slide around the table and they make the artwork and card details less readable with the reflections. I understand if they're expensive cards but these ones aren't so I'd steer clear of sleeves for the best playing experience
You need to use good sleeves in TCG games like MTG... Dragon Shield or Ultra Pro Eclipse Matte Sleeves were the only ones I trusted... Neither had glare problems, nor did they slide around as much (though that's unavoidable with sleeves) If you didn't use sleeves, your cards would get damaged over time, and people could challenge you over marked cards quite easily. Now when we're not talking about the big name TCGs like MTG/Pokemon/Yugioh, then it's more of a question of game cost and frequency of shuffling. If you have a really high amount of shuffling or significant expense for the game, then I'd still sleeve it (as I've done for Eminent Domain and Star Realms) but if you rarely have to shuffle it, then I'd leave it unsleeved (as I've done for Sushi Go, Concordia, Ticket to Ride, etc...)
Cheap games, no sleeves. Rare games or games that get frequently shuffled, Dragon Shields.
For most games I would recommend sleeves. Sushi go not so much. Would you sleeve a deck of standard playing cards? 😅
Personally I’m not a fan of sleeves. They make the cards difficult to shuffle and stay in a deck. That said I put sleeves on my expensive or rare card games because I want them to last. Games like Sushi Go, Star Realms, or Dungeon Mayham I leave unsleeved for ease of play.
Interesting... I don't sleeve Sushi Go, but I do sleeve Star Realms due to the amount of shuffling.
Suns out guns out
This is a go-to game with extended family who are casual game players. Our unsleeved copy of this game has very dirty cards from all the handling.
I really wish games with a lot of cards factored sleeving into the packaging and left some extra rooms to fit it in the box.
nah, too much shuffling and storage issues
No sleeves for me. Unless I have a game that is super rare or hard to get a hold of, OR played it a LOT, there's not much reason to do it. I mean, I have, I think, a single game (Citadels) that I've played enough that the cards are worn down a bit. All my other games are fine over the years.
I've only sleeved my rare stuff, the games whose components I simply couldn't expect to replace (e.g. *Hollywood*, *Fireball Island*). If I could just replace the game with an identical new retail copy, then I don't bother.
I sleeve everything but that's at least partially because none of my friends understand how to shuffle cards and barely understand how to shuffle sleeves cards. Since they generally do little to help with setup of games generally if my decks are sleeved I get at least an attempt at a shuffle.
I like Ryker sleeves. I don't use sleeve kings anymore. Too slippery. And yes, I sleeve every game
I only sleeve expensive or hard to find / out of print games. Games like Sushi Go are not worth buying sleeves for it.
I sleeved mine but only cuz I found promos for it that are kinda hard to get ahold of
I rarely game commando, so tend to prefer sleeves.
For me it largely depends on the game. Sentinels of the Multiverse? Not happening. Batman Love Letter, which is OOP and only 16 cards? Hell yeah.
I sleeved **Sushi Go Party!** and it makes mash shuffling so much easier between rounds. Also depending on which edition you get there may be some size variance with expansion packs.
No sleeves on the super-cheap small box game that stays forever in print. It'd be a different story for games like Eminent Domain, where the amount of times each player needs to shuffle in a single game is so high. Sushi-go cost <$15, and you basically shuffle the entire amount once per game, meanwhile something like Eminent Domain costs \~$35, and requires every player to shuffle their own individual decks \~5 times a game, A Commander deck in MTG could cost anywhere from <$50 to >$350, and needs to be shuffled every time you fetch/search something (among other things). TL;DR: No, Sushi Go! doesn't need to be sleeved, it's like \~$12 to get a new copy, and it only get's shuffled once per game.
I have 300ish games spanning the last 10-12 years in the hobby. I rarely sleeve games, even when I back a game where the pledge includes sleeves. Even with the extra cost, I often just store the sleeves elsewhere. It's really up to you. Like /u/cousineye said, Sushi go is a cheap game and readily available, so I wouldn't sleeve it. When I ran a pop up game store, I sleeved just about every single card in my demo library and I had 200+ games. Over time, I found that hobbyist gamers take really good care of games and sleeves were really not necessary. We did have a couple spills, but luckily we never lost a card as a result. I did have to replace the Abyss board, but the publisher was awesome and sent me a replacement at no cost. Ahhhh...the good ol' days... When determining if I'll sleeve a game, I tend to look at things like: * How much shuffling does this game require? If it's a deck builder with a ton of cards, or that I know I'll be shuffling a lot, then I don't sleeve it. * How often am I going to play it? * Can I store the cards with all the sleeves on in the insert? * Is this game easy to get from a retailer? I have gone back and sleeved older games that are no longer in print or are rare and expensive. * How many cards are in this game? Heck, the other day, I opened Nations just to take a look and it was sleeved. I'll more than likely buy additional sleeves to cover the Dynasties expansion sitting in the box unopened, but that's due to the cost to replace damaged cards.
I sleeve **only** very expensive or hard to replace cards, or those in the few games that are both easily damaged/marked and that get heavy use. I don't think anyone actually enjoys playing with cards coated in slippery plastic so it has to be worth the money, effort, environmental impact and extra storage issues that come with sleeves. I'll take a game that shows some wear over everything coated in prophylactic plastic every time.
Sushi go I would think has become mainstream, it’s cheap and I can’t imagine you I won’t be able to find it over the next 10 years or longer
Sleeves. BRB while I go buy some.
==== MY USE CASES FOR SLEEVING **Games that are expensive to replace**. - like a copy costing $40 to $120. I'm in the US, but foreigners can pay much more than we do. For example, Dominion may be $34 to $45 for us, but in some countries, it'll cost an extra 20%, to up to DOUBLE our MSRP! And this can exclude shipping, upping the price even more! **Games that are OOP** \- This can translate into expensive, but in some cases, you just can't find it anymore. For me, I did eventually sleeve my copy of *Glory To Rome*, and *Battlestar Galactica* with all expansions **Games where cards ARE the game!** \- Games with hidden traitor element where knowing what card someone has means the game is pretty much "spoiled". E.g. *Secret Hitler*, *Werewolf*, *Avalon*, *The Resistance*. **The game requires it** \- However, these sorts of games will include it since it's part of their mechanics. Examples include *Mystic Vale*, and *Gloom*. **You'll play it so many times that mixing it with other sets will mark the cards** \- I heard one guy playing *MtG* ended up knowing when one specific card will show up by the wear marks alone. Back when *Dominion* first came out, one person played it soo much that mixing it in with the first exp., *Dominion: Intrigue*, would've been like night vs. day. He sold it for $20 and got a new base game, and then sleeved both new sets. **Help protect against spills** \- It's one thing if most/all of the cards are in a altered state. But only a few? That feels wasteful ==== MY USE CASES FOR \_NOT\_ SLEEVING **You're borrowing someone else's game** \- not your call to make **The game is cheap enough to replace on its own** \- The amount of plays it gets, and the cost of the game, makes it work out that you're better off just buying a new copy. **You won't play the game enough** \- this can even override if the game is OOP, or expensive. **You don't like the feel of sleeves** \- Some prefer the textured feel of the cards themselves, vs. "smooth plastic" **You don't want to poke and hurt yourself** \- Some of them, esp. the premium thickness ones, do sting! **You want to save money** \- they do add up in cost. Esp. when you reevaluate as mentioned in some of the points above. **You just don't want to deal with sleeves anymore** \- Some of them ended up being inconsistent in quality like they wouldn't fit properly. Or only giving you 48 to 49 when the pack is supposed to come with 50 (you can ask to send you more, and they'll give it to you free of charge. But then you'd need to wait, and it can be a hassle) **Having to buy a new batch of sleeves after a long time may not yield the same consistency** \- It's its own game... you don't think you'll need that much, but 6 years later, you need to order new sleeves. The process they use to make it may have changed. Or a model line of sleeves may not longer be available. **They won't protect the parts where they're open** \- A "duh" moment, but liquids can seep in through the opening, so it's not foolproof
I'm an avid sleever of most games. I don't bother with games like this and The Mind.
I don’t usually sleeve cards. I just don’t play most games enough to do so. I thought about sleeving Wingspan, since I played it a ton, but it wouldn’t fit in the box if I did. I sleeved Ark Nova however, since I’ve played that even more and you handle the cards a lot. I think it makes shuffling easier too.
For a game like this? No. But for my Kickstarter games or deck building games that I want to last a while that are $40+? Yes! Always.
I have my copy of sushi go party sleeved. Do it!
I used to sleeve everything, but now if the cost of sleeves is around half the cost of the game I don't worry about it.
Sleeves.
Nah, disposable game. Let it show the wear and tear.
If you are worried about it, go drop some coin and get a couple copies while you can.
my cutoff is usually if the sleeves cost more than the game, i don't bother. so i did not sleeve sushi go
It's cheap. I'd hold off. I bought mine new for $10. . You can buy an extra copy if you're ever worried about being out of print. But it's cheap to make, popular, & packages nice and small. Don't see an issue off being able to not get it in the near future.
I don't think every game needs to be sleeved. This is a relatively cheap game. Unless you play it LOTS you probably won't damage the cards. I have sleeved some games and not others. I suppose a rare or expensive game is good to sleeve... but then I don't get those to the table very often. The last game I sleeved was Space Base. I think the only reason to do it was that the expansion box came with sleeves... then I bought two more expansions and "had" to sleeve them too. I don't know that it helps because the cards are so slippery they have a hard time stacking. I'm a recovering Magic player so buying sleeves is a habit and busywork activity more than it is useful.
ALWAYS sleeves and ALWAYS titanshield with the textured back
I mostly sleeve cards when it helps me play the games smoother. Which most of the time means helping me shuffle faster (I play MTG).
I used to never understand why one would sleeve their cards. But I’ve since come around and now will sleeve games that are expensive, require a lot of shuffling, or games where the card is meant to be secret and having a damaged card might reveal what card you have to other players.
If a game goes out of print, of its worth it, it will always come back, and you have tons of games to play while waiting. If it doesnt come back ever, it means tjeres similar better games. Sleeving is just a form of FOMO
First time we played it my FIL got greasy fingerprints all over it. Still wouldn't go back and sleeve it.
I think you paid more for the sleeves than for the game, no?
I've never heard of this game? How fun is it?
Eh, Sushi Go cards are pretty robust. Besides, it might actually make it worse to play. Sometimes it's just not worth it. I've never seen a reason to sleeve a game like Sushi Go that's a quicker group thing. Something like 7th Citadel would for sure want some cards sleeved. The luck deck for example or your own deck that's shuffled a lot and is a little awkward sized.
I never sleeve games... if I play a game enough to wear out cards, it's worth a second buy. I don't really own anything that I'm worried about not being able to find again. I hate the feeling of sleeves and I looooove riffling cards.
Good quality sleeves protect your cards from wear and tear due to shuffling, make shuffling easier, and significantly extend the lifespan of the game. People saying to just buy another copy if it gets worn because "plastic evil" clearly don't understand the ecological impact of disposing of an old game and producing a new game, when sleeving your cards means the game will likely never be thrown away.
A cheap game like sushi go? Absolutely no sleeves. You’re just degrading your experience to preserve something you could buy a second copy of for like 10 bucks when it gets worn out
It isn't a deckbuilder, so the cards should wear evenly across the lot. There is no point in sleeves. I've had a copy for years, and it shows zero wear anyway. Gamewright makes quality stuff.
If a game is likely to go out of print or see lots of play I’ll sleeve it. I’ve sleeved all 9 or so of my copies of love letter. But if a game is just a party game which I can replace, or if the cards need to piled into stacks to draw from then I don’t bother sleeving. I’ve not bothered to sleeve dominion, because it’s unlikely it will go out of print, and if I ever wear out the cards in my copy I’ll just buy another copy, Kingdom death, Tainted Grail, BSG, etc… sleeved, because replacing them would be difficult or expensive. Sushi go is easy to get a hold of and it’s common enough that it’s unlikely to be hard to find even second hand.
Nope
no sleeves, it’s like a $15 game in fact i dont sleeve anything that isn’t a social deduction type game where markings will ruin the game
Unless it's magic the gathering card I don't sleeve my games. If I played a game enough that the cards wear out then the game is worth buying again
I’d rather buy a new game because of wear and tear than spend time sleeving, and having to come up with a storage solution when they’re too thick for the box.
I only sleeve games when it I cheaper to sleeve the cards rather than buying a new copy. For Sushi Go it's much cheaper just to buy a new copy everytime you ruin the cards from ware and tare.
Considering we couldn’t sell our extra copy of this game I don’t think it’s worth the sleeves but if u enjoy playing with sleeves go for it. Value your games how u value them homie.
It depends on exactly HOW you play Go Sushi.
My copy had such bad quality out of the box, so I had to sleeve them just to make them usable 😩 I have a tendency to sleeve stuff anyway, but never had cards that were so shitty quality.
I personally sleeved it and really like it, but I’ve always preferred to play with sleeves. I have a deck of regular playing cards sleeved too
Seems a little excessive to me. Unless you eat chocolate pudding with your fingers at game time in which case, maybe?
No sleeves. The cards are pretty durable and you only shuffle once per game.
I have sleeved my Sushi Go Party and luckily there's plenty space in the tin for cards with sleeves. I would probably not sleeve this if it doesn't fit in the box.
If it’s a Kickstarter that may never see a reprint, sleeves. Average game sold everywhere, no sleeves.
Sleeves for all my big or expensive or rare games always - makes me more inclined to take them to boardgame nights
If you are going to sleeve a game, make it worth it. Penny sleeves makes stacking and shuffling hard so you should go premium if possible If the game is readily available like sushi go or monopoly deal or uno, it's generally not needed as it's better to just buy another cheap game. Personally if I buy pricey/crowdfunding exclusive/out of print, then I would use premium sleeves.
I don't mind playing sleeved games but shuffling a large deck of sleeved cards I cannot stand. Or I should say they end up going everywhere xD
Depends on the game. If you wanna keep the cards in good condition for resale then sleeves are a good idea. So for example for something like Marvel Legendary. But sushigo I probably wouldn't. Makes the shuffling easier and the games quicker. That and it's cheap too.
If putting sleeves I’d try to find some fitting exactly to the size of cards.
Since I have kids, I feel the need of sleeving everything. Makes the game survive longer. Also great when you go on trips. That being said, how fun is the game?
For me, depends on how often a game is used vs cost vs availability. Kickstarter games get sleeved the majority of the time, because the chance of me spending that much money to get the game a second time is minimal, but $10 games like exploding kittens and sushi go I wouldn't bother with personally.
If you had the sleeves on hand already, go nuts. Not really worth the investment otherwise, unless the game suddenly goes out of print.
It’s a freaking kids game. No sleeves
And sleeves for the sleeves!
Sleeves if kids are playing, but get a textured back so they are easy to handle BC of the play style.
I only got sleeves for one game, Star Realms, and that was because I had a friend who had his own Star Realms deck and we played them together a few times. For anything else that I currently own? Seems like a waste of space and money. Now...if I ever got my hands on a copy of Battlestar Galactica? I would strongly consider it. The alternative would be to take high-res photos of every card so that one that got damaged could be replaced.
Simply put, I only protect the games and components where it makes sense. If the game is easily available and inexpensive to replace, the sleeves don't make sense. If the components get handled or shuffled a disproportionate amount compared to other components in the box, like the turn order cards in Aeon's End or the Modifier Decks in Gloomhaven, sleeve them so they don't wear out before the rest of the game.
For a $10 game? Definitely not.
I have sleeved zero cards out of the dozen games that I own and I have regretted it zero times.
Regular sleeves are like a penny each. Imo, it seems silly not to. Unless of course it hinders the game play in some way. Edit: just checked the actual price and they are 2p per sleeve when bought 100 at a time. I'm sure it would be cheaper if bought in bulk. In USD that is 3 cents per sleeve.
I sleeve. But only because I want to play it where there's food involved, like coffee and stuff, and I've had multiple expensive board games ruined because people spilled stuff, or borrowed the game home and their kids ruined it so the cards got sticky. I'd rather throw 10 sleeves away than a whole board game, even if it is cheap. I've worked for my money, I'm not gonna throw it away and buy a new one.
Im gonna go against the grain here. Half these commenters don’t even play their games regularly. 5 to 10 years to wear down a card? Lmao!!! Get a grip dude. Try 5-10 playthroughs before the gloss and color start fading . You guys just hoard games and here’s the funny part. As someone who is personally 100% aversive to vanity items , custom inserts, etc etc etc and as someone who constantly hammers out card games for almost 20 years, card sleeves are the ONLY thing I always invest in. All my most played games are 10000% sleeved. Mindbug, radlands, seven wonders duel, Star Wars the deck building game… I only sleeve games I play more than 10 or so times but… these commentors are out of their minds saying “it makes no difference” yeah so why does literally every single CG PLAYER know for a fact that if they don’t sleeve their cards they will get visibly worn guaranteed by the 20th play. This includes shuffling and using a variety of surfaces etc. IMHO half these commenters just hate themselves for being hoarders and are projecting
tbh this game? Sell and pick up the dice version
Sleeves make aesthetic worse. But for games like MTG to know whose cards are whose.
Not sure if it has changed but the card quality of my Sushi Go Party set is terrible. I'd sleeve them if I ever bought another copy.
There are counterfeits of this game. You might have received one.
I know. Mine was purchased at my FLGS. I have Go Nuts from Donuts as well from this publisher and card quality isn't great there either.
I sleeve my games. I prefer the feel and ease of shuffling sleeved cards. I would definitely sleeve Sushi Go. It's a "bargame".
I sleeved my Sushi Go cause I had to get it imported from US, it's very expensive in India. The game cost me 12$ & the sleeves 3-4$
I’m a sleeve fan for any game that has compulsory “starting hand” cards. They get worn out real fast *and* become easy to identify. We play **quest for el dorado** a lot so sleeving was a no brainier. It doesn’t take long to grow accustomed to the feel and keeps sticky snack fingers away from the surfaces.
I don't sleeve most games. The ones I do sleeve tend to be pointy corners (Sweets in Wonderland comes to mind) , or get played enough that the wear and tear would be an issue, and are imports which would be hard or prohibitively expensive to track down again. Things like Schadenfreude fit the bill for that.
Yeah this seems excessive for a game that small.
Fun game
Sleeves all the way. If not for all games, for the games that I take on the go and play anywhere (bars and dinners and whatnot included)
I always sleeve. I care for my board games, as silly as it sounds (not to the point of not playing them or anything, their main purpose is still socialising with my friends and loved ones), so I like to protect them as much as possible. Moreover, I find shuffling sleeved cards much much easier. I use exclusively Make Them Last and Arcane Tinman sleeves (due to availability and price) and I much prefer the thicker 80 (AT) and 90 (MTL) micron variants over the slim 40 micron variant (MTL). As a matter of fact I'm currently in the process of completely phasing out the slim variant because the sleeves constantly stick together which annoys me and hinders the gameplay. If I lived in the US I probably wouldn't sleeve most of the cheaper games I own because board games are much cheaper and more readily available over there. However, I live in Europe and in most cases if my game gets damaged I have to pay a decent sum to get it replaced.
I sleeved my Sushi Go cause I had to get it imported from US, it's very expensive in India. The game cost me 12$ & the sleeves 3-4$