No, gentle reader, “PlayMode” is not the phrase I mutter to myself when I’m getting ready to host a game night. Though the name does remind me of this classic bit from the underappreciated Disney film BOLT…

PlayMode is a new gaming accessories company building inserts that improve storage and gameplay… and their first offering out of the gate is for Dune: Imperium – Uprising. Their goal is to create inserts that work to store the game AND also make it easier to set up and play.

The folks from PlayMode were kind enough to send me a copy of their PlaySystem to review using my own copies of Uprising and the Bloodlines expansion. Let’s take a look at what they’ve created… and maybe muse a bit about storing and organizing game components.

The “Science” of Game Storage

I realized earlier this week just how long I’ve been buying, playing, and collecting “hobby” (as opposed to mass market) board games. I was messaging back and forth with Dale Yu (our Fearless Leader here at the Opinionated Gamers site) and noted that I purchased my first Avalon Hill game (Outdoor Survival) in 1975. That was fifty (50!) years ago.

In addition to making me feel wizened and decrepit, that extensive history with board games means I’ve seen a lot of board game inserts. When I was playing mostly Avalon Hill & SPI wargames, the “premium” way to store them was in counter trays. But since I didn’t have a lot of extra cash (after buying the desired game), most of the time I just used plastic baggies.

I’ve seen great box inserts (the original Ticket to Ride box is a stand out) and horrible box inserts (the original Alea version of Ra used an insert that clearly had NOTHING to do with the actual game components and I’m not sure who thought the long diagonal piece of cardboard in Barenpark was a good idea). I’ve been pleased by the inclusion of plastic bags for storage in some games. I was blown away by the GameTrayz inserts for Wasteland Express Delivery Service back in 2017 and have loved seeing that kind of storage technology used in more recent games like Voidfall and Endeavor: Deep Sea.

Over the last few years, a market has developed for after-market storage systems. Tuck boxes, foam-core builds, wooden CNC designs, 3D-printables – all have appeared home-grown on sites like BoardGameGeek as well as sold by various companies. I have all types in my game collection.

The best inserts – in my ever so humble opinion – are those that not only help store the game components securely but also make it easier to set up and play.

And that’s where the PlaySystem from PlayMode excels.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising

I’m a big fan of Paul Dennen as a game designer – both the Clank! series and the Dune: Imperium series are great game systems. It took me a big longer to warm up to Wild Tiled West (which I now enjoy) and I just finished my first solo play of Lightning Train.

One of Mr. Dennen’s design quirks is a tendency to include and/or create expansion modules for his games. This doesn’t bother me – I’m one of those folks who enjoys expansions – but it does make the storage of his games a little tricky.

That’s especially true for Dune: Imperium – Uprising when you couple it with the Bloodlines expansion. There are multiple modules, various types of cards and tokens, and the odd (but understandable) decision to provide both wooden pieces and plastic molded pieces for the sandworms and Sardaukar troops. (This was done to match the deluxe set of molded pieces also sold by Dire Wolf Games.) I had been storing all of it in multiple baggies of various sizes.

Enter PlayMode

The PlaySystem for Uprising & Bloodlines allowed me to ditch the mound of plastic baggies in exchange for a well thought out set of plastic storage pieces that convert to useful elements for game play. Each of the player boards has a removable tray for resources (which is used to store other pieces when putting the game away) as well as slots for the draw pile, discard pile, spies, cubes, and contracts. The card deck and Sardaukar trays have a slot so that cards & tokens can be displayed vertically. Other card and token decks (like The Spice Must Flow, the Intrigue deck, and the CHOAM contract tokens) have their own card holders that allow for quick set up.

Since the majority of my Dune: Imperium games are solo games, that means that the majority of my set-up is done by the trio of me, myself, and I. The PlaySystem has easily cut that time in half. (It would be even quicker in a multiplayer game with experienced players.) Additionally, all of these various card holders and player boards help keep everything organized during the game.

Putting the game away is simpler as well. While it is a bit of a puzzle to get all of the elements back in the original game box, both the base game and the Bloodlines expansion fit with the PlaySystem with only a slight bit of uplift on the box lid. The set even comes with a QR sticker for the inside of the game box that links directly to the Guides page on the PlayMode site.

Final Thoughts

Not every gamer needs (or wants) a storage system for their games. I have to come to appreciate a good insert (or, in this case, set of inserts) for how they increase my enjoyment of a game I already love to play.

If you’ve struggled with the storage of Dune: Imperium – Uprising, the PlaySystem from PlayMode is an excellent way to solve those issues. And it might make a nice Christmas gift for that special Dune-obsessed gamer you know… even if it’s you.

As noted above, I received a review copy of the PlaySystem from PlayMode games.

In the main body of this review, I didn’t deal with the elemental question of game storage – horizontally or vertically? For those using after-market storage solutions, this can be an issue – but since I store all my games horizontally, it doesn’t usually come up for me. Based on how tightly packed the box is with the PlaySystem, a simple storage band around the box when storing vertically should keep everything in place.