Generic gaming kit
A generic gaming kit, also known as an emergency game kit is a collection of pieces that are not specific to any one game, but can be used to play many games. A set of Icehouse pieces is an important component of such a kit, because it allows a wide range of games to be played. If a generic gaming kit is based around an Icehouse set, it may also be called an Icebox. Some common components that might be contained in such a kit include:
- A set of 4 or more stashes of Icehouse pieces
- Dice, both ordinary six-sided and the standard sizes of polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)
- A chessboard, chessboard bandana, or set of chessboard wedges, depending on portability and modularity needs
- A volcano board
- Pencil and paper
- At least 20 each of three or more colors of marking/counting stones
- A piecepack set
- A deck of Tarot cards
- A deck of playing cards
- Checkers
- Screens for hiding each player's pieces (for instance, in RAMbots)
- Drawstring bags, for randomly drawing pieces out
It's great if a generic gaming kit can be portable. That way, you can carry the components needed to play hundreds of games. Looney Labs sells some nice little bags for this purpose. Toolboxes and lunch boxes can be good for carrying generic gaming kits, as can a compartment in a backpack.