I've never seen a shoe shine box to the best of my knowledge. And it doesn't tie into the game at all UNLESS I do a historical game... and then only barely kinda.
I saw someone selling a vintage shoe shine box on Etsy and for whatever reason it sparked an idea so I gave it a go.
So far the reaction has been luke warm at best.
I am not doing any on cardboard/chipboard and no shrink wrapping. A lot of it is made of wood: box, board, tray, houses/hotels, game pieces. The hardware alone is crazy but there are 60 screws... basically 5 dollars in screws lol... And then there are hinges and a clasp and these angle thingies and feet... feel like I am leaving something out. Each side of the box is printed and well as the top and bottom... And then there is the board which in the standard game is a quad board... so that is 4 more prints. So in hardware, wood and printing alone the standard game would coast well over $100... Probably close to $150 and that doesn't include labor.
These shine box ones are much less costly to make.
Take a look at them if you like at
www.delawareopoly.com Much easier to see what I am talking about than having me trying to explain it, lol
Making a game, even one like monopoly, is a massive endeavor. But once you get past the 200 hour mark then its just refining the process. There are a bunch of games that i would like to make. I want to do one for all 50 states. I want to do games for certain dog breeds, a family historyancestry game and then some crazy games ideas that I just want to do for the hell of it. But I have to make it work here first and then I will continue.
If the shine box works then it gives me a viable option for an entry level game... I could possibly get it closer to $45 which might do it.
Thanks for the response. I really really really appreciate it.