Boda Games Manufacturing Blog

A board game or a card game needs to have the right markings on the outside of the box. Some of these markings are mandated by law, such as health related matters. Other markings are for stores and retailers their benefit. And some of these markings are for potential buyers of your game! What’s important to remember is, all markings serve a purpose.

All games need a recommended age label. Games with age labels below the age of 13+ for the United States and 14+ for Europe require additional testing. Games meant to be sold worldwide would do best to follow the European standard of 14+ labels. A game without an age label will not be allowed to pass through customs when shipped from the factory in China to your country.

Country of origin: A game needs to state the country of origin (COO) on the box. The country of origin is the country where we manufacture the board game, so if you are manufacturing with Boda Games then that would be China.

CE Marking: For products going to the European Union, a CE marking is also required. The letters “CE” are an abbreviation of the French phrase “Conformité Européene” which literally means “European Conformity.” the CE mark means that the product is manufactured according to CE standards. Boda Games their products are made in accordance with the CE standard.

It is best to put a UPC barcode on the game box, as distributors and retail stores require a barcode to track your product in their inventory. Make sure there is enough space on the box to print the barcode at full size and avoid scanning issues.

If your board game is intended to be played by children 12 years or younger and contains small parts (meeples, dice, miniatures, etc.), you need to put a choking hazard label on it.

Then some other markings commonly found: detailed address of publisher (required for European Union), Phone Number, E-mail address , Website…

Some other markings you might want to consider putting on your game box: Importer, Distributor, Licenses (where applicable), poison hazard, not for under the age of 3 marking, your company logo (remember to add ™️ or ®️ when applicable!), name of the game designer and/or artist, number of players, average play time, color blind friendliness, etc.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is a general guide for box markings. Please always check local guidelines and regulations for the latest updates and changes in regulations. Please make sure that your game actually adheres to all the standards for which you include marking on your game box.