I finally figured out why my game pieces kept sticking together

I have this old copy of Settlers of Catan that I've had since like 2016. The plastic pieces started getting this weird tacky feel to them and they'd stick to each other in the box. Took me about 3 hours over two days to figure out it was from storing it in my garage where the temperature swings got bad. Anyone else deal with weird storage issues ruining their game components?

4 comments

4 Comments

miller.emery1mo ago

Wait, are you saying the garage caused this or the old age of the game? Because I've had games in my garage for years in a much colder climate than most people and I've never had a single piece get sticky or weird on me. I think you might be blaming the wrong thing here. The plastic they used in older games just degrades over time no matter where you keep them, especially if they're sitting in a box for years without being opened. My buddy still has his copy from 2012 in a climate controlled closet and his pieces have that exact same tacky feel. Temperature swings might make it worse but I'm pretty sure it's just the plastic breaking down from age, not from where you stored it.

milarodriguez1d agoMost Upvoted

My cousin actually collects old board games and he told me about a copy of Pandemic from 2009 he found at a thrift store. The pieces were so sticky they stuck to the board when he tried to move them around. He even tried putting them in the freezer for a day to see if that would fix it, and it helped a little but the tackiness came right back once they warmed up. It's wild how some games from that same year are fine while others are a total mess. Makes you wonder if the factory just had a bad batch of plastic or something.

spencer_park261mo ago

Funny you mention that, my buddy had a similar thing happen with his copy of Ticket to Ride from around the same year. He kept it in his basement which stays pretty cool and dry all year, but his train pieces still got that sticky film on them after a few years. He figured out wiping them down with a little bit of rubbing alcohol fixed the tacky feel, but it came back after a couple months. Sounds like miller.emery might be onto something about the plastic just breaking down, cause my friend's basement definitely doesn't have wild temperature swings like a garage.

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fiona_west211mo ago

Read something the other day about how certain plastics from the late 2000s and early 2010s were made with a different blend that just doesn't hold up over time. It's not even about the heat or humidity, it's literally the ingredients in the plastic degrading. Heard a guy on a board game restoration channel say that some manufacturers switched to a cheaper plastic mix around 2010 and it's all starting to go bad now, no matter how you store it. Your buddy's situation fits perfectly with that because the tacky film comes back even after cleaning it off. It's like the plastic itself is sweating out oils or something as it breaks down. Honestly, I think we're gonna see more and more games from that era get sticky over the next few years, it's just a matter of time.