While I was picking up supplies for work today, I ran across an organizational tool I hadn’t seen before: Post-it Sortable Cards.
They’re 3×5 index cards with a tacky Post-it strip across the top, lined on both sides and with header boxes on the front. The hook is that they’ll stick to most surfaces (like Post-its), but they won’t stick to each other.
Right out of the sample pack, this wasn’t quite true — they stuck too each other a little bit. But after a couple of shuffles, that changed and they shuffled freely. The only exception is when they’re back-to-back: The sticky bits stick to other sticky bits just fine.
The first thing that jumped to mind was using index cards and a cork board for prep. No cork board? No problem. They could also fill any of the many roles index cards already fill for GMs, with an extra fringe benefit. (See Tools of the Trade: Index Cards and Homemade Initiative Index Cards for some suggestions.)
I don’t know if I’m completely sold on them, but they are a very nifty idea. I’m a big fan of Post-its for GMing, so combining them with one of my favorite GMing tools — the humble index card — is a pretty good match.
My local Office Depot was giving out free samples, so you might be able to snag some testers in your neighborhood, too.
I guess I’m using the prior generation of the same product. 3M 3×5″ lined index cards that act as post-it notes. I use them to track items like magical device usage and some short combat encounters.
Not sticking together is a new wrinkle – I’ll have to seek them out.
Thanks for bringing them up!
Bento
One of the thigns they had at origins, and I’m sure at Gencon, were Tokkens. Metal plates with d20 items. Those struck me as a nifty Idea that i would never really get to use. However, if you could print on the metal plates, or write on them they would act as index cards with the magnetic properties. Throw them on a magnetic gms screen . . . beautiful.
The sticky index cards are nice and in the same vein. How do they not stick to each other though? Gotta love chemical sciences.
Hmm, a problem I would have with these – index cards are sort of a more permanent thing. Post it glue collects all sorts of dust and thus has a limited lifespan.
But I guess if you need shuffleability AND stickability, these would be good.
Frank
Ooooh, Tokkens! I’d forgotten about them — they were quite cool. The art was good, I loved the metal aspect and at $3 for a pack f 10 I liked the price. Unfortunately, they’re collectible. :
Paizo’s non-named item cards were more expensive and less cool (except that you could write whatever you wanted on the back — that was awesome), but they at least had a fixed starter deck.
If Tokkens were non-randomized, I’d have come home with a bag full of them.