First year running a tiny cap-ex rental: party games made money, but wear and tear is real

[u/Mundane_Emotion_2049]

I keep seeing people say "just buy an asset," so I wanted to share a small, slightly boring example I actually tried.

I live in a shared house and we host board game nights a lot. Last year I bought extra copies of a few popular party games and some cheap accessories - sleeves, small storage boxes, replacement pens, etc. I listed them for local rental. The idea was simple: someone wants a game for a weekend cabin trip, a birthday, or a work retreat but does not want to buy it.

What surprised me:

- Demand is spiky but predictable. Most rentals land around weekends and holidays, especially Friday nights and long weekends.

- The "passive" part is front-loaded. The bulk of the work was taking decent photos, writing clear rules (pickup window, late fees, missing-pieces policy), and making a short check-in checklist.

- Wear and tear is the real cost. It is not just missing cards. Sticky tokens, crushed boxes, and the time it takes to inventory everything add up fast.

Numbers, roughly: I spent a few hundred dollars upfront on the extra copies and accessories. After 12 months I got that initial spend back and made a small extra profit. It is not life changing, but it is a little income-producing asset now.

Question for the group: how do you structure low-touch physical-asset income so it stays low-touch? Do you price high enough to cover replacements, require a deposit, or accept some loss and optimize for volume? I am aiming for a monthly maintenance check rather than a constant "where did card 37 go" scavenger hunt. What has worked for you?

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[u/United_Barracuda_247]

Interesting concept. I definitely couldn’t answer your questions but I’m just curious how time intensive it is to check for all pieces for a game like monopoly, seems like it could be very time intensive. Also I was just thinking would you ever consider checking pieces by weight / the weight of the whole game?

[u/candyflavorr]

I’m starting a similar concept but with different items. I’d love to hear more about your endeavors if you don’t mind sharing, like how you got the word out to potential renters.

I wish I could answer your question… my only suggestion would be to get a volunteer/hire someone to do it 😅 I like the other commenter’s idea about weight but I’d definitely want eyes to check inventory.

[u/Yggdrekanna]

I feel like this would be a mess for more complicated games like Arkham horror 😅, think there are at least 400 cards for that game

[u/Brilliant_State7173]

Interesting idea. I'm curious what your profit was for the year?