I couldn’t resist building one for a game that requires such an intricate setup. As can be seen I had to recycle a box from another game. So what I need now is to print some kind of box cover and make a lot of dividers to be able to find cards quickly and make some kind of quick setup plan.
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If anyone likes the idea of Foamcore but doesn’t quite want to make the leap to designing and cutting inserts themselves, I have had a lot of success with Folded Space’s inserts, which are pre-cut so you only need to glue them. More expensive than making your own but for the DIY-anxious like myself they’re a relatively cheap option for inserts.
Edit: now with photo evidence! Their Mysterium insert leaves space for expansions:
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I must say that some games seem daunting right now because I didn’t build as much over summer. A Feast for Odin would definitely be improved by a custom insert… those plastic trays just don’t cut it. But just looking at the box makes me want to buy an insert instead of attempting my own build.
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I am quite tempted by this - my family love Mysterium and it IS a pain to set up and put away.
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It’s fairly good value and I had a good time gluing it together. If you’re interested and can spare the money I would go for it, makes a nice afternoon activity as well.
I also need to buy the expansions…
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I meant to come back to this and ask if everyone really thinks the Mysterium insert is worth it?
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I would say that a Mysterium insert of some kind is definitely worth having. I have this one 3d-printed.
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The more complicated setup for a game is the more an insert can do for the game. I do not own Mysterium but if there are lots of different card types that need to be separated, it’s probably worth having an insert.
A lot of my recent arrivals came with included organization (Moonrakers, Dwellings of Eldervale, Obsession cannot truly be improved upon for in box storage and I got the big wooden insert for Spirit Island).
But… I still need to make one for Feast of Odin… shudder…
The one I am looking more forward to is Dune. As the plastic in the box apparently had no idea there were two more factions coming with the expansion.
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The insert that comes with Mysterium does a pretty good job of separating components without wasting too much space, and I know that it can accommodate one expansion quite comfortably (from what I remember it looked like it was designed that way). For more than one expansion, you’ll probably need a custom insert.
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Yeah, there are too many dream cards after two expansions to fit in the default insert. Even with just the one expansion it is overflowing the slot for them. For just the base game, however, the insert works fine. Setup time is more due to card shuffling and finding the ones being used for that game rather than difficulty in sorting components.
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Yes, I’ve wondered about a card album (such as people use for CCGs). Usually my answer to this is to get the players to help out with the setup. 
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My copy of Mysterium with all the expansions.
The notches in the top layer hold the ghost screen in place.
If they release more dream cards, I’ll have to double up some of the others to make room for them, but it’s do-able.
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The trouble I found with the original Mysterium insert was that the suspect/location/weapon cards would move in transit and get muddled up. I hated it because it was almost, but not quite, very good. A well-designed insert like that Folded Space one @felix posted or @Brattyjedi’s homebrew where the cards are kept in their own sections by a snugly fitting top section would definitely improve things.
Best news I’ve seen all day is that this is a thing that now exists!
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I build one for Viscounts last night. Not my best work but better than my Architects insert and the box still closes:
The castle was a bit difficult and the resource tray needs some more work and possibly a little cover for storage but this should speed setup considerably and tear down as well as there aren’t tons of plastic baggies to be sorted.
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I really like how you did the castle. That’s some clever layout work.
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I thought about putting it in the center, because symmetry. But that would never work. Well, it might have, if I had taken the time to measure out how large the player piece containers needed to be. This variant is certainly easier
What I do for these things is, I cut the side pieces for the trays and then I start measuring with the component I want to fit it around in place. It kind of works usually and if not I cut off a bit more. Actually, I had to make one of the sides twice because I messed up on the first attempt (but not because of the castle, I cut the side too short and it looked really bad). I make these things like I play games: rethink my strategy with every piece in place… and go from there.
I am a bit miffed that the coins didn’t all fit in one row in the tray and I could have saved a bit of space in the right tray. I should have used more of the 3mm foamcore to save space. But I don’t like working with the 3mm much because it has “smooth” surfaces.
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Curious Cargo ships with a standard cardstock “bookend” insert (the type explicitly meant to be discarded once opened). So it was a bit surprising when I opened the box and saw beautiful full colour artwork for it. I think you’ll agree the image is a pretty funny nod to the purpose and ultimate destiny/destination of the insert. Ironically, this made it too darling to discard!
Using the same folds already present, I have reconfigured it thusly:
The box would be a touch more functional if I just left it out of there, but until I decide to come up with something more permanent and unobtrusive with it, this is a fun compromise!
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