Space for cards and sleeves
A compartment for cards needs room for the card face, the sleeve and the stack height, plus a little slack so you can get the deck out.
Common sizes (published figures)
| Card | Card size | Typical sleeve |
|---|---|---|
| Standard / "poker" (Magic, Pokémon, many board games) | 63.5 × 88.9 mm (2.5 × 3.5 in) | 66 × 91 mm (some makers: 66 × 92) |
| Japanese size (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Vanguard) | 59 × 86 mm | 62 × 89 mm |
| Mini American (Ultra Pro class) | 41 × 63 mm | sleeve for 41 × 63 mm cards |
| Mini European | 44 × 68 mm | sleeve for 44 × 68 mm cards |
| Standard European | 59 × 92 mm | sleeve for 59 × 92 mm cards |
| Tarot | 70 × 120 mm | sleeve for 70 × 120 mm cards |
Sources: Safely Sleeved, folio.fyi sleeve guide, Card Dimensions. Board-game card sizes vary a lot, so measure your actual cards with a ruler or calipers. Sleeve brands differ by a millimetre or more.
Stack height
- Unsleeved: about 0.3 mm per card (one calculator uses 0.305 mm) (Daedal Studio).
- Single-sleeved: about 0.6 mm per card. Double-sleeved: about 0.65–0.7 mm (same source).
- Sleeve film thickness varies from 45 µm (penny sleeves) to 90–120 µm (premium) per layer, according to Ultra PRO. That's why measured decks vary.
The designer defaults to 0.3 mm unsleeved and 0.6 mm sleeved. These are estimates. For accuracy, squeeze 50 of your real cards together, measure the stack, and divide by 50.
Slack and orientation
- Leave 1–2 mm around a card well. Builders report that tight wells make cards hard to remove and can warp them (Fractal Thought). The designer's Slack around components setting (default 1 mm total per direction) is subtracted from each compartment before checking.
- Flat decks need the card footprint and the stack height. Decks on edge need card-height of depth, so they only work in deep boxes, but they make it easy to flip through cards.
- Leave room for fingers: a scoop, a finger notch or a slightly longer well. The designer doesn't model finger cut-outs, so add a few millimetres to the compartment yourself.