Card Cascade: Dominion Store & Play System

Card Cascade is a complete store-and-play system for Dominion, designed around a few simple goals. The name refers to the way in which the cards cascade out to make them easy to see when playing. See the change log further down.
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• Compact storage with minimal wasted space when not in use.
• Easy to see every card title during play.
• Fast setup and teardown.
• A small number of standardized box sizes to cover every Dominion expansion.
• A consistent box height so the collection stacks neatly.
• Handles all Kingdom cards, other cards, player mats and tokens.
• Reliable, support-free printing with minimal material use.

Each Cascade is a box that contains a number of sliding card holders behind a set of fixed front pockets that can hold larger card piles, player mats or tokens via a removable insert.

To play, remove the lid and insert the removable pushers into the keyed slots on its underside. Then put the box on top of the upside-down lid, so the pushers lift each row of card holders into a stepped cascade. Every divider becomes visible, making it quick to browse the available Kingdom cards during setup and throughout the game.

When you’re finished playing, remove the lid, store the pushers in their dedicated compartment at the back of the box, and slide the lid back over the top. The cards are held securely with very little wasted space.

• The lid keeps cards secure in storage and doubles as a card lifter during play.
• Modular system covering the Dominion Base Game and all current expansions.
• Standardised sizes keeps the number of different Cascades small.
• Every size is available for Sleeved and Unsleeved cards.
• Custom labels (slide-in) for both front and side.
• A removable token holder fits into the rightmost front slot for expansions that need it.
• To hold player mats, two of the front slots are merged in the 202 and 400 Card Cascades.
• Every printed part shows its model designation and version, for easy matching and upgrades.
• Designed specifically for FDM printing on Bambu 1- and 2-series printers.

Just 8 different Cascade sizes cover all Dominion Expansions. Depending on what printer you have, you'll need to print a maximum of 6 different ones. In addition, some boxes that can be used if you don't organise your expansions by set will be added over time.
Card Cascade Used by Large printer Standard printer

168 Card
Alchemy, Cornucopia, Guilds,
Dark Ages 2/2 ✓ ✓

202 Card
½ of Adventures, Renaissance, Menagerie and Allies ✓

244 Card
Adventures x2, Nocturne x2,
Plunder 2/2. ✓

300 Card
Base Set across 2 identical boxes ✓

324 Card
Intrigue, Seaside, Prosperity,
Hinterlands, Empires, Rising Sun,
Dark Ages 1/2, Plunder 1/2, Base 2/2 ✓ ✓

333 Card
Any set with up to 30 card types ✓

400 Card
Adventures, Renaissance,
Menagerie, Allies ✓ ✓ (Unsleeved)

472 Card
All the bulkiest base cards for up to 6 players ✓ ✓ (Unsleeved)

560 Card
Base Set ✓

650 Card
Dark Ages, Nocturne, Plunder ✓

246 Card
Just the bulky cards from the Base set. Use a 324-card box for the regular cards. ✓ ✓

Card Cascade is available in versions for both sleeved and unsleeved cards. Both versions hold the same number of cards, but the sleeved versions are physically larger to accommodate the thicker and wider cards.

If your printer has a standard 256 × 256 mm build area (for example a Bambu Lab P1S or X1C), the Base Set and some larger expansions are split across two Cascades instead.

If your printer has a larger build area of at least 325 × 320 mm (for example a Bambu Lab H2S, H2D or H2C), every Dominion expansion fits in a single Cascade.

Cascades are identified by their maximum card capacity (for example 324 Card or 650 Card ). The exact model number is shown in brackets.

Unsleeved, all but the Base set and the largest expansions fit in a single Cascade:
Expansion Larger printer Standard printer
Base Set 560 Card (L6.40.12.45-Un)

2 × 300 Card (S5.40.12.45-Un)

OR

246 Card + 324 Card (S2.40.12-30.32.Un + M6.21.10.62.Un)

Intrigue 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Seaside 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Alchemy 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un)
Prosperity 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Cornucopia 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un)
Hinterlands 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Dark Ages 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Un) 324 + 168 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un + S4.16.10.32-Un)
Guilds 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Un)
Adventures 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un) 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un)
Empires 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Nocturne 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Un) 2 × 244 Card (M4.21.10.32-Un)
Renaissance 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un) 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un)
Menagerie 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un) 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un)
Allies 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un) 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Un)
Plunder 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Un) 324 + 244 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un + M4.21.10.32-Un)
Rising Sun 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un) 324 Card (M6.21.10.45-Un)
Arcana TBD TBD

The sleeved Cascades are physically larger to accommodate the thicker and wider cards, so more sets need to be split across two Cascades if you have a standard printer:
Expansion Larger printer Standard printer
Base Set 560 Card (L6.40.12.62-Sl)

2 × 300 Card (S5.40.12.62-Sl)

OR

246 Card + 324 Card (S2.40.12-30.32.Sl + M6.21.10.62.Sl)

Intrigue 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Seaside 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Alchemy 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl)
Prosperity 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Cornucopia 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl)
Hinterlands 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Dark Ages 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Sl) 324 + 168 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl + S4.16.10.32-Sl)
Guilds 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl) 168 Card (S4.16.10.32-Sl)
Adventures 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Sl) 202 + 244 Card (M4.21.10.45-M-Sl + M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Empires 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Nocturne 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Sl) 2 × 244 Card (M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Renaissance 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Sl) 202 + 244 Card (M4.21.10.45-M-Sl + M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Menagerie 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Sl) 202 + 244 Card (M4.21.10.45-M-Sl + M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Allies 400 Card (M8.40.10.62-M-Sl) 202 + 244 Card (M4.21.10.45-M-Sl + M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Plunder 650 Card (L8.50.10.62-Sl) 324 + 244 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl + M4.21.10.45-Sl)
Rising Sun 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl) 324 Card (M6.21.10.62-Sl)
Arcana TBD TBD

There are 60 Copper, 40 Silver and 30 Gold in the base set, and the Cascade only makes room for 40 cards in the front pocket. You therefore need split the Copper across two pockets.

If you're printing the single-Cascade version, note that the card sliders have room for 12 cards each rather than the standard 10. This is to allow you to store Duchy and Province cards (12 each) in sliders, and to store the 24 Estate cards across two sliding slots.

There is a special Cascade, size 246, that is designed to only hold the “bulky” base cards and is optimised just for this. Try it, but you need to store the rest of the base kingdom cards somewhere else. The 324-card Cascade works well for this.

If you play with 6 players, there is a special 472 Card Cascade that is designed to hold all of the bulky cards for up to 6 players. That's 120 Copper, but also includes curses, Platinum, Estates, etc.

The deepest Cascades have 9 rising slots, and more doesn't really work. This is because Dominion cards ideally rise by 16 mm (to show the entirely title), but 9x16 mm is much higher than the standard box height. When there are 9 rising slots, each only rises just over 9 mm; this is usable, but less is just not good enough.

This is why the best sets have at most 5-6 risers, allowing you to really see all of the cards. For smaller printers, you may have to choose one with more risers, just know it's a tradeoff. To be precise, the rise is 87 mm / #Risers, or 16 mm, whichever is smaller.

Most of the card holders are designed for 10 cards, but with a bit of slack. Yes, you can fit in 12 cards, but it's a much tighter fit. For example, this means that it's possible to fit 12 Gardens in a normal slot, though it's not as nice as when you store a normal stack of 10 cards.

There is room for the Randomizer cards in every Cascade. Personally I prefer to keep them unsleeved, as they undergo much less wear than the Kingdom cards and are less likely to be mixed into the game accidentally. Sleeved Randomizers should also fit, although I haven’t tested this.

Some expansions include player mats and/or tokens. To accommodate this, some of the designs merge the two rightmost front pockets so they can be used for player mats. For all of the designs, I have included a removable token holder that can hold up to two types of token.

Renaissance is an interesting example as it includes both. Therefore, the 400-box design includes a half-depth token holder so you can slide the player mats and a half-depth token holder into the large right hand slot and have it all fit beautifully.

Each box has room for a slide-in label in front and on the side. The front label is the same size for all boxes, which makes it nice and easy.

From v6.0, side labels come in a small number of standard widths (32, 45 and 62 mm) and every box takes one of these standard sizes. The label width is part of the box’s model number (the fourth number), so for example an M6.21.10.45-Un box takes the 45 mm side label.

Labels are available as a separate print profile for each expansion, named after the set (for example “Seaside Labels”). Each profile contains ready-to-print plates: labels for the single-Cascade version (unsleeved and sleeved), labels for the split two-Cascade versions where those exist, and a plate of spares. Every plate name spells out the set, the sleeving and the exact box model it fits, so simply print the plate that matches your box.

Every Cascade has a unique model designation like L8·50·10·62·Sl . This is what it means:

• L = Large width, i.e. 5 horizontal card slots. Medium is 4, Small is 3.
• 8 = Eight sliding card holders.
• 50 = Capacity of each front pocket
• 10 = Capacity of each holder slot, normally 10 for Kingdom cards.
• If the capacity is variable (the first slot can be different), it will be shown as with an additional - 40 , for example.
• 62 = Width of the side label in mm.
• Sl = Sleeved cards (Un = Unsleeved)
• -M = When two front slots are merged to hold Player Mats instead of cards.

The same designation is used consistently throughout the system so that boxes, lids, pushers, holders and accessories can always be matched correctly.

Cascades are also identified by their maximum card capacity (for example 168 Cards or 650 Cards ) to make them easier to distinguish at a glance. You will typically not fill them to capacity, as the front slots are calibrated to hold the biggest number needed, even if other card types have fewer cards.

Each Cascade is supplied as a complete 3MF project with organized build plates:

• Box and required pushers
• Lid with the Dominion logo
• Sliding card holders
• Optional token holder (Only needed for a few sets)

The plates are pre-arranged for printing and include colour changes where appropriate.

Labels are printed separately from the matching label profile – see “A note on Labels” above.

The designs are optimised for an 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.2 mm layer height, arc fitting and arachne wall generation. The .3mf files include these settings already.

If possible, use a different colour lid for each set, and use that same colour on the labels. This makes each set visually distinct.

Print the required parts, then do the following:

• Insert the front and side labels, making sure they are snug so they don't fall out.
• Insert the sliding card holders in the box, starting with the lip-less Rear holder
• Hang the pushers so they fall into their storage compartment at the back of the box
• Add the cards to the box

Please join r/cardcascade to get updates on new games or features, chat with others about how to best print or use it, and anything else. I'd love to hear from you there.

Card Cascade was originally designed for Dominion, but I will adapt it to other popular games if there is enough demand. Links to other designs below:

• Card Cascade for Compile
• Card Cascade for Food Chain Magnate
• Card Cascade for Innovation
• Card Cascade for any game using mini cards

Card Cascade is intended to be a long-term modular storage system rather than a collection of random, unrelated boxes.

Instead of creating a separate design for every Dominion expansion, the system uses a small number of standardized Cascade sizes. This keeps printing simple, reduces the number of parts to choose from, allows you to reuse parts between expansions, and makes future expansions straightforward to support.

This also means that some Cascades have a bit of spare capacity for particular expansions. This is an intentional trade-off that keeps the overall system simpler while remaining flexible.

Every major printed component is marked with its model designation and version. Version numbers will follow a simple compatibility scheme:

• Major version changes indicate that new parts are mechanically incompatible with previous versions.
• Minor version changes indicate cosmetic or printability improvements while maintaining compatibility with existing parts.

• Every Cascade now has an additional box with a blank lid , making them easier to adapt for any game
• Internal space has been optimised by moving the sliders forward slightly, and every Cascade is 1-2 mm less deep
• Each Cascade now includes a Rear Holder without the connecting lip . This means the reamost holder no longer will touch the back of the box.
• The holder lip c onnecting each other card holder has been optimised to fit better

• Every Cascade now has just two pushers , and the lids to match, increasing the amount of space in the back pocket that can be used for player aids, rules, etc. A lot of testing revealed that the middle pushers were unnecessary.
• The back pocket now has a thumb cutout every 70 mm , making it easier to get to its contents.
• The default Seam Placement has changed to Back . With the prior default, it turned out that many seams (i.e. layer change position) were placed on the sliders inside the box, making for an uneven surface that prevented the holders from sliding smoothly.
• The holders' side slots are flared a bit, compensating for printers that cause elephant's foot.
• The box floor now is 2.0 mm thick , making it a bit stiffer and thus safer to carry.
• The lattice in holders and box has been made around 10% sturdier . The prior version was a bit too fragile and could break too easily both during print and when used.
• The logos on the lids now adapts better to the box size, scaling up and down as needed.
• The embossed text (capacity, model number, etc) now fits better on awkward-sized components; previously, it sometimes overflowed the component, or was too small.

• The geometry of the pusher lock (which slots into the lid for play and the box for storage) was unstable for very shallow Cascades, affecting the single-set Cascades such as the 246-card model. The change to fix this is small but breaks backwards compatibility, hence the major version increase.

• The holder now has 0.4 mm more space for cards, which makes the cards fit better. The holders still fit within the same box. (This is fixing a regression; the earliest versions had this space already!)

• Card holders: Easier to get cards in and out of the right slot
• Taller in the back so they nestle together better than before
• Added lips bridging one holder to the next. This makes it much less likely that you put a card in the wrong holder, or even between holders.
• Simpler, more regular cutouts that are easier to print well.
• Tighter margin with the sliders so they wobble less when in use.
• Added finger holes to make it easier to get entire stacks of cards out.
• Box: Back pocket more useful, and connects with new Card Holders
• Added padding to the left and right front slots, so cards sit neatly in front of the rising slots
• Added lips bridging to the first sliding card holder
• Made the back pockets deeper so they are more useful for cards and accessories, and added a finger cutout
• Made the back pockets wider, so they utilise all the space not needed to store the pushers
• Added holes to the rear inside back wall, saving around 10% of weight and plastic.
• Lid: Provides more stable support, easier to insert
• Moved the pusher slots further towards the edge to provide a more stable base for pushing up the card holders. Now aligns with the hole in the bottom of the box.
• Existing v6.x components remain compatible, so you can choose to reprint a subset if you wish to upgrade

• More games now benefit from Card Cascade support. These are published as separate projects on Makerworld.

• Small Cascades have just 2 pushers that were positioned under the card slot dividers for stability. However, it turns out to be better to move them further to the side.
• For Large Cascades, it seems excessive to have 4 pushers, so the new lid just uses 3 for both Medium and Large.
• You can benefit from this change by just reprinting the lids of affected boxes. All other components are compatible.

• The side labels no longer size with the box, which makes it much easier to have custom side labels
• Removed all labels from Cascade 3mf files
• Added a print profile with all necessary labels for every expansion, plus blanks

• Added a new 246-card Cascade to hold just “Bulky base cards”. It uses a variable cascade system that allows all of the very bulky cards to fit into one fairly small box. You'll need to store the normal Kingdom cards somewhere else.

• Reduced the spacing between sliders slightly to make the box tighter.
• Angled the sliding card holders to make it easier to insert the cards
• Angled the front card holder slots to make it easier to see the cards
• Rounded the box corners to improve sturdiness and make it easier to close the lid

• Initial release

Card Cascade didn’t appear fully formed on release. The current design is the result of many prototypes, many kilos of test prints, and a great deal of feedback from both Dominion players and the 3D printing community.

I started out downloading and trying a few other solutions, but I found that each solved only some of the problem without quite matching the way I wanted to play. Some were wonderfully compact but awkward to use. Others made the cards easy to browse but were bulky to store. Some required a unique box for every expansion, while others didn’t cope well with sets containing unusually large piles of cards such as Ruins, or tokens, or player mats.

Along the way, my own design changed from the initial idea. Some of the more significant changes along the way include:

• Integrated pushers became removable. The first versions had the pushers be part the lid itself, and the pushers slid between the cards when not in use. While this made setup slightly faster, the long thin pushers proved surprisingly fragile, aligning the lid accurately during play was fiddly, and they occasionally bent some of the cards when I closed the lid. The removable pusher system was probably the single biggest design improvement. Although it adds a few seconds of setup, it made the lid dramatically stronger, reduced the risk of damaging cards, simplified printing and allowed the overall box to become smaller.
• Angled card holders were removed. Early on, the sliders leaned the cards backwards slightly, which looked attractive and naturally presented the card titles. Unfortunately the geometry was more difficult to print consistently and the angle limited the number of sliders I could fit in a box. The current vertical holders are simpler, stronger and take up less space, and still provide great visibility once raised into the cascade.
• Interchangeable labels were introduced. Rather than embossing expansion names into each box, Card Cascade now uses removable front and side labels. This allows the same box to be reused for different expansions, makes it easy to add future expansions, and lets you create your own custom labels.
• Token and mat storage was added. Based on feedback, I added a removable token holder together with variants that accommodate player mats for expansions that include those.
• Standardization was increased. Throughout development I gradually reduced the number of unique box sizes by allowing a little spare capacity where appropriate. This dramatically simplified the overall system while still comfortably accommodating every official expansion.

Many smaller improvements followed as well, including stronger joints, simpler assembly, clearer model identification, version marking on components, and print layouts optimized for multi-plate 3MF projects. This was v4.5, which was the first public release, and it's improved a LOT since then :)

Special thanks go to my wife, Mamta, whose ideas and constructive criticism helped shape many aspects of the final design. The removable pusher system, one of the biggest improvements in the project, was originally her suggestion after watching me struggle to find a reliable integrated solution.

I'd love to see you on Reddit, showing pictures of your prints, hearing your questions, suggestions and feedback.

Happy gaming!