Instead of Copying Score Sheets for Your Games, Laminate Them

If you’re an avid board or card game player, it’s likely at some point you’ve had to make copies of score sheets. What if there was a way to preserve your score sheets and stop wasting paper?

Board games are a big deal. Even breweries often have a collection of games for patrons to play, and some host board game night. For shared games like this, laminating score sheets is the perfect way to save money (and save your game from becoming worthless). Some games just aren’t the same without the proper score pad.

The Usual Options—They’re Not the Best Options Anymore

I’ve purchased extra pads of score sheets for games like Yahtzee and Uno before, and some game companies will sell you additional score sheets through their websites. This might be your only option if you’ve run out of score sheets already, but if not, take precautions now.

Instead of printing copies (since the ink isn’t always cheap and perhaps you want to make less trash), laminate your score sheets. Once laminated, you can use dry-erase markers to keep score and easily erase old scores with a damp cloth.

Lamination Options

You have a few options when it comes to laminating your score sheets:

• Buy self-sealing pouches: You can purchase easy-to-use self-laminating pouches from Amazon in a few different sizes. These need no heat to seal them. They do require a steady hand to get the sheets sealed even and with no wrinkles.
• Use packing tape: If the score sheets are smaller, you can laminate them with clear packing tape. Again, you’ll need a steady hand, but you can trim off the excess on the sides if you don’t get the tape perfectly straight.
• Invest in a laminator: My go-to is a super-affordable laminator I purchased from LTD Commodities. They sell multi-size packs of laminating sheets for cheap, which gives you a size for any score sheets you might have! If you’re more of a one-click Amazon shopper, you can also grab this similarly priced Scotch-brand laminator and a pile of sheets for cheap.
• Take them to a copy shop: If you only have a few items to laminate, it might be worth taking them to a place like FedEx Office or the service counters inside stores like Office Max. They can laminate small items for only a few dollars.

[Via Lifehacker]