Sizing guide
Real-world board game component sizes
Short answer: most game cards are poker size, 2.5" by 3.5" (63.5mm by 88.9mm). Below are the real dimensions for the components that actually get manufactured, so your prototype matches what a manufacturer will produce, not a guess.
Card sizes
| Format | Size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge | 2.25" × 3.5" (57.15 × 88.9mm) | Bridge and games where players hold many cards |
| Jumbo | 3.5" × 5" (88.9 × 127mm) | Oversized display or reference cards |
| Mini European | 1.73" × 2.68" (44 × 68mm) | Compact cards, common in European board games |
| Mini US | 1.61" × 2.48" (41 × 63mm) | Compact resource or token cards |
| Poker | 2.5" × 3.5" (63.5 × 88.9mm) | Standard playing cards and most modern card games |
| Square | 2.76" × 2.76" (70 × 70mm) | Tile-like cards and matching games |
| Standard European | 2.32" × 3.62" (59 × 92mm) | European board game cards |
| Standard US | 2.2" × 3.43" (56 × 87mm) | US board game cards |
| Tarot | 2.76" × 4.72" (70 × 120mm) | Tarot decks and oversized story or event cards |
Box sizes
| Format | Size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Large box | 12.01" × 12.01" × 4.02" | Component-heavy games and miniatures |
| Medium box | 7.99" × 7.99" × 2.01" | Mid-size games with cards and tokens |
| Poker tuck (54 cards) | 2.6" × 3.62" × 0.79" | Single-deck card games |
| Small square box | 5.98" × 5.98" × 2.01" | Small card and party games |
| Standard board game box | 11.61" × 11.61" × 2.76" | Full-size board games, the common Catan or Ticket to Ride footprint |
Board folds
A board's flat size and its folded size are two different numbers, and mixing them up is a common way a board doesn't fit the box it was designed for. Always design against the folded size that has to fit your box, not the flat size.
| Format | Size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Bifold | 20" × 20" flat → 10" × 20" folded | Standard 20 inch square board folding in half |
| Quadfold | 20" × 20" flat → 10" × 10" folded | Standard 20 inch square board folding in quarters |
| Sixfold | 22.01" × 32.99" flat → 10.98" × 10.98" folded | Large rectangular boards folding to fit a standard box |
Why this actually matters
A prototype built at the wrong scale doesn't just look different once printed, it can mean a print run of components that don't fit the box, cards that don't shuffle the way they played in testing, or a reprint you're paying for twice. Checking real dimensions before you finalize a design is the cheapest step in the whole process, and the easiest one to skip.