18xx plastic game trays (update: October 15)

Imagine that you have sorted tracks in every of your 18xx game, each type in a separate compartment, they are ready to be taken out of the box and played immediately. Cool solution? Do you like this idea? If so, then we have a new product for you, plastic trays for sorting tracks and station markers. To fit the trays into the original boxes of your games, we have prepared two different depths of trays, a 15mm deep version and a 9mm one. We checked a few titles and most games will require 1 deep tray and 1-2 shallow trays. A deep one will be needed for the yellow tracks which are the biggest amount, plus some green tracks. Shallow trays are intended for green and brown tracks.

We have been preparing for production for over a year. First, during a trip to the Essen fair last year, I accidentally went with a friend who is a graphic designer and he agreed to prepare a 3D project, then we were looking for a company that would make a small number of trays. The first one, after several months of talks, refused to cooperate with us, because we were supposedly too picky. Then I lost my enthusiasm and I thought that this project would be dead, but we found another company, and this time with our bigger experience our work was slowly moving forward.

Initially, the trays were supposed to have a black bottom, exactly the same as the GMT trays. But the manufacturer persuaded us to use a completely transparent version, which is made from a different material, it is not so delicate and does not break, which is an important point as a plus. Especially since I already have several trays in my games and they have cracks on the edge. There is also another plus: the trays, even when we look at them from the side, you will see what their content is, whether they have yellow or brown tracks, so this is the second plus of such a solution. And now after the latest game where we played with prototype trays, I can say that the transparent version looks so cool that it is far better than the black one.

The compartment size is so large that you can put tracks from every 18xx. Even the ones from the 1846 GMT version where the tracks were monstrous in size and thickness. Fortunately, in their next production (1862) they were appropriately reduced.

Each tray has its own lid. The lid and tray have concavity at the edges that hold the lid to the tray.

15 mm (0.59 inches) depth trays [inside depth: 14mm] (designed to standard tiles or tokens):

  • big tray with 20 compartments, length: 288mm (11.34 inches), width: 212mm (8.35 inches), compartment size: 49 x 45mm (1.93 x 1.77 inches);
  • small tray with 12 compartments, length: 210mm (8.26 inches), width: 175mm (6.89 inches), compartment size: 49 x 45mm (1.93 x 1.77 inches);

8 mm (0.34 inches) depth trays [inside depth: 7mm] (designed to standard tiles):

  • big tray 20 compartments, length: 288mm (11.34 inches), width: 212mm (8.35 inches), compartment size: 49 x 45mm (1.93 x 1.77 inches);
  • small tray with 12 compartments, length: 210mm (8.26 inches), width: 175mm (6.89 inches), compartment size: 49 x 45mm (1.93 x 1.77 inches);

12 mm (0.47 inches) depth trays [inside depth: 11mm] (designed to small tiles or small tokens):

  • 25 compartments, length: 250mm (9.84 inches), width: 200mm (7.87 inches), compartment size: 41 x 31mm (1.61 x 1.22 inches);

The trays are made of thick plastic and they are thicker than those produced by GMT. They also do not have a shape that would allow one tray to fit into the other one during the transport, so the shipping cost increases in proportion to the number of trays ordered. We apologize for this inconvenience but we don’t want your trays to be damaged before they reach you.

Go to our new shop.

How many trays do you need for these titles :

  • 1817 old laminate edition: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (tiles) + one 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. tray for tokens (the trays fit in the box but the box lid lift a little)
  • 1817 new AAG edition:  1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. tray for tokens (the trays fit in the box perfectly); 
  • 1822: 3 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (tokens) (the trays will fit perfectly in the box); 
  • 1822MX – 3 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (tiles+tokens) (the trays will fit perfectly in the box); UPDATED March 2021
  • 1824 Kickstarter edition: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/1824/
  • 1825 Unit 1: 2 x 8mm trays 20 comp. (the trays will fit in the box);
  • 1825 Unit 2: 3 x 8mm trays 20 comp. (the trays will fit in the box);
  • 1825 Unit 3: 2 x 8mm trays 20 comp. (the trays will fit in the box);
  • 1830 first Avalon Hill 1986 edition: 4 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (the trays fit perfectly in the box); 
  • 1830 new Mayfair 2011 edition: 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 3 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays fit perfectly in the box)
  • 1830 new Lookout Games 2018 edition: 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays fit perfectly in the box);
  • 1840: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/1840/
  • 1844/54 Lookout edition: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/1844-54/
  • 1846 GMT edition: 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 15mm tray 12 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (tokens) (the trays fit perfectly in the box); UPDATED Feb 2021
  • 1849 AAG edition: 15mm tray 20 comp. + 3 x 15mm 20 comp. NO LID + 8mm tray 20 comp. NO LID; gallery/shop
  • 1856:
    • new set: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp.(tiles) + 8mm tray 12 comp. (tiles) + 15mm tray 12 comp. (tokens) (the trays fit perfectly in the box and there is plenty of space left); gallery/shop
    • old set: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp.(tiles) + 8mm tray 12 comp. (tiles) + 15mm tray 20 comp. (tokens) (the trays fit perfectly in the box); 
  • 1860: 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 2 x 15mm tray 20 comp. NoLid + 1 x 15mm tray 12 comp. NoLid; gallery/shop
  • 1861/67 – 1 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (tokens) or 2 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (if you have separate set of tokens to the second game) (the trays will fit perfectly in the box); 
  • 1862 new set: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/1862/
  • 1870: 3 x 8mm trays 20 comp. + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (for tokens) (the trays fit in the box); 
  • 1879 hand-made edition by AAG : 3 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays fit in the box);
  • 1882 laminate edition: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays fit in the box);
  • 1882 new edition : 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (tiles) + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (for tokens) (the trays fit in the box) ; 
  • 1883: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title:  https://cube4me.com/product/1883/
  • 1893 Cologne: 3 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays fit perfectly in the box); NEW
  • 1889 PnP laminate edition with thin tiles: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (I don’t know what size box you have, but if it’s the size of GMT boxes then the trays fit in the box);
  • 1889 PnP edition with thick tiles like GMT ones: 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 1 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (I don’t know what size box you have, but if it’s the size of GMT boxes then the trays fit in the box)
  • 18Chesapeake: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/18chesapeake/
  • 18CZ: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/18cz/
  • 18DO: 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (yellow & green tiles) + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (brown tiles) 1 x 12mm tray 25 comp. (tokens)  (the trays fit in the box!); NEW June 2021
  • 18Ireland: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/18ireland/
  • 18MS – 1 x 15mm tray 12 comp. + 1 x 8mm tray 20 comp. + 1 x 8mm tray 12 comp. (the trays will fit in the box);  UPDATED April 2021
  • 18Mex: please visit our store to check the correct number of trays for this title: https://cube4me.com/product/18mex/
  • 18NewEngland – 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays will fit in the box);
  • 18OE – sorry, there are so many tiles in 18OE and the wells of 12mm trays are about 1.5x bigger than they need to be, maybe in the future, we will prepare extra-low tray for small tiles. 
  • 18West – 1 x 15mm tray 20 comp. + 2 x 8mm tray 20 comp. (the trays will fit in the box); UPDATED April 2021
  • more soon…

Movies with our trays:

 

 

 

 

 

Gallery with our trays:

18Chesapeake:

 

1830 (2011 edition):

 

1856:

 

1862:

51 thoughts on “18xx plastic game trays (update: October 15)”

    1. It depends on the game, because different games have different tile thicknesses, if it is 1846, only 4 tiles fit in the compartment, or 2 tiles in an 8mm tray. If it is 18Chesapeake, one compartment fits 8 tiles, or 4 in an 8mm tray. If tiles are laminated, e.g. games from GSG, one compartment can contain 16 tiles (or even more).

  1. Can you please clarify the storage solution for 1862 – the pictures show three trays but your post reports that five are needed. How many trays fit in the box without lid lift and how many trays are required for just the tiles (no markers)?

    1. I think it might be a mistake, I will check it when I come back from vacation on Monday. One tray you need for markers, so if it is a mistake, then you need only 2x15mm + 1x8mm trays for tiles.

          1. I was speaking to the warranties in the 1862 game. Not your warranty for customers. Sorry for the confusion. I can not seem to grok the method of using the tile trays effectively with 1862. I end up with about twice the lid lift you show on the website.

          2. Haha, maybe if I played 1862 I would guess what you meant. But it is still waiting for the first play 🙁
            When I got home, I would check how I packed everything in the box.

          3. OK, when I was doing my first research, I had the deep tray prototype only and I had scaled up a bit how the smaller trays would fit into the box. Now I can see that it’s not that simple with 1862. For now I put the warranty in the tray with the tokens, but I’ll think about it (especially when designing new tray sizes).

  2. Looking good!

    If possible, I’d like tray number recommendations for AAG 1882 and AAG 1849. My 1849 pnp needs 5 GMT trays (5×4 compartments) to show all different tiles, so I guess I will have to put different tiles on top of each other in the same compartment to be able to fit them all in the AAG box if I use your tiles.

    https://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/5156757/1849-game-Sicilian-railways

    I also want to ask, in the 18Chesapeake picture, is the map and charters placed under the trays?

    1. Today I came back from vacation and I will be adding new games to the list with the number of needed trays.
      And yes, in this 18Chesapeake picture, there are map and charters placed under the trays.

  3. Can you explain the update for 18MEX? I bought one big tray and two small trays, as per the old text before the update, and they seem to be enough.

    1. Sorry, I checked again and there may be different combinations, one big tray and two small will work very well too.

    1. Correct count is: 2 x 15mm tray (one for tokens) + 2 x 9mm tray. Yes, the there will be small lift as in the picture. But we are working on new sizes of trays (they will be available from mid-december). I expect that if we use one new tray instead of one 8mm tray, the box may close completely.

        1. As always, there is a delay, first we waited two months for the matrix, now we are waiting for the sample, apparently it is supposed to be ready on Monday, then within a few weeks 3 new trays will appear in the store.

  4. Any idea of how many trays would be necessary for 1825 Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3 (plus addons, since some of them include tiles)? And for 1870 (I guess this one should be easy, since you have a tray sticker set for it)? I would be happy to provide a tile breakdown between them (all of them have plain paper tiles like 1856). Also I can provide any other info regarding these products that might be of interest.

    1. To 1870 you will need 3 x 8mm trays.
      To 1825 Unit 1 – probably only two 8mm trays, but I don’t know what size the box is. I will be grateful for checking.
      To 1825 Unit 2 – 3 x 8mm trays, but I don’t know what size the box is. I will be grateful for checking.
      To 1825 Unit 3 – 2 x 8mm trays, but I don’t know what size the box is. I will be grateful for checking.
      1825 addons are a mystery for me, I don’t know how many track tiles are there, I will be grateful for checking or photos.

  5. Hello! For 18MEX you clarified AAG edition, but for 1817 you only say “new edition”. Can you please confirm if that refers to the AAG edition? (As per tile count.)
    Also, I did not find pic or video, can you please specify how little is little (box lid lift)? I am asking because I am planning to store 18Chesapeake (AAG), 18MEX (AAG), 1817 (AAG) and 1846 (GMT) in one Kallax slot 🙂 (I am still waiting for 18Chesapeake so I am not sure how tight will they fit.)
    Thanks!

    1. Hello Kalman, in the new AAG edition the tiles will fit in the box perfectly 🙂
      The box is bigger then I supposed.

    1. I don’t know what the size of the box was in the 2013 release, if the trays fit inside, they will work with this version too.

  6. 1849: with the new 2020 AAG version you need one 15mm and 4x 8mm of the (original) trays, plus one (small) for the tokens – so you have everything separated

    1. So that’s 5 trays total? Will that fit in the box (with the board, rules, charter, shares, trains, etc.)

          1. I still hope that first prototypes will be ready during this week.

      1. Let me clarify: Actually for 1849 you need 100 compartments for the tiles (including one for the priority marker dealer, and the normal curved tiles need 2×2 compartments in the 15mm tray) – the tokens only need 7 comparments and would do in 8mm depth – in my case (new AAG version) I can only fit 5x8mm in the box, but the deeper 15mm (as needed for yellow tiles) doesn’t fit – so yes: let’s wait for the ultraslim cases, as they are a lot of singular tiles, same for 1860 & 18Ireland

  7. Some evaluation for the new AAG 1860 would be nice (when the ultraslim are ready), I haven’t found any tile roaster pdf anwhere, somebody knows one? Ok, you could read it off 18xx.games 😉 – Same would be for 18Ire

  8. Hi, I just received a set of trays for both 18Chesapeake and 18MEX, they are grate, though for the set of trays you recommend for 18MEX AGG new edition I would change the 1x15mm tray 12 comp. for a 20 comp, with the extra spaces it could probably be an 1x8mm tray 20 comp. I thing with this change components would fit much better with individual spaces for each type of track, with probably two or three free spaces for whatever. It think it also should have not problem fitting all together in the box. Even the stickers you sell for the trays for this game I think would work better with this changes. Regardless, the tray are amazing.

    1. The first prototypes should be ready next week (forms should be ready on Monday May 24). It takes a long time, but I hope the trays will be brilliant.

    1. Yes, it is possible. Every compartment will fit only two tiles (AAG/GMT thickness).

  9. I have the GMT version of 1862 and am confused on the quantity and type of trays to order. The list above specifies 2 x 15mm w/ 20 comp, 1 x 8mm w/ 20 comp, and 1 x 8mm w/ 12 comp. However, the photos above for 1862 show 4 comp trays (unknown depth). Are these photos for an older set of trays?

    Basically I am looking for a GMT 1862 all-in purchase of tokens, trays and tray stickers and want to order the correct size and quantity.

    1. Please wait one week, from August 16, we will launch a completely new store, you will be able to buy a set of trays for each game with one click, it will be easier and cheaper, because at the beginning there will be a 20% discount on everything!

      1. I just order the 1862 set from the new store. Can’t wait to get them. Hopefully there will be pictures on the new site on how to best fill in the trays.

        1. Yes, gallery will be added during next 1-2 days. There will be also new tray stickers with tiles (to new set you will need few stickers more).

          1. Thanks. Since I bought the stickers along with the trays from the new store I assume I will be getting the correct number of stickers.

Leave a Reply