A Potion Explosion Lifehack

Anytime you can take a problematic, complicated, or tricky situation and make it simpler is, of course, ideal. And the best way to simplify such things is usually with equally simple solutions, using basic tricks and knowledge to make one’s life a little easier. Traditionally this was just called being resourceful or having ingenuity, but in today’s world, the act doing such things is commonly known as lifehacking.

Well, lifehacks apply to gaming as well, and we thought we’d share one for Potion Explosion. Because marbles.

Potion Explosion is a 2016 release by Cool Mini Or Not. In this lightweight game of potion making, you are attempting to be the first to complete a number of potions as a means of proving who the best alchemist student is. You do this by way of an assembled cardboard dispensary tray that houses several dozen marbles. During the game you are continually adding and removing marbles to the tray, and aside from an occasional stuck marble, everything works fine.

The trouble comes when it comes time to put it into or take it out of the game box. As you’d assume, the most efficient way to store the contents of the game would be to leave the marbles in the dispenser, but because it’s a form-fitting insert, there’s no room to easily get your hands underneath the tray to support the weight of a marble-laden tray. However, because of the way it’s constructed, attempting to pick it up anywhere but from underneath causes it to come apart, inevitably leading to marbles going everywhere and you spending time reassembling the tray, thus defeating any hope of making the process easier.

One suggested solution is gluing all of the pieces together permanently. This can work at keeping the marble tray in one piece, but it doesn’t make getting the tray into and out the game box any easier.

So here is a really simple solution to both problems – not unlike how you sometimes get batteries out of a remote – by using a simple piece of ribbon.

Ribbon is ideal because it’s stronger than string or yarn but it lays flat on the table unlike thicker materials, which means you don’t have to remove it during gameplay if you don’t want to.

Simply get a length of ribbon, roughly about 24 inches (or about 60 cm), and tape the two ends together. Then run both lines underneath the tray somewhat equidistant from one another.

Before lifting you’ll also want to ensure that the front side of the ribbons are in the troughs. If they’re underneath the rectangular parts of the front piece, the tension of lifting it will cause it to rise up, and you’ll get marbles everywhere. Otherwise, you’re good.

With both sides in place, you’re able to move it with all the marbles (and the tray itself) intact, thereby making it much easier, quicker, and more efficient at getting it to and from the table.

Now go enjoy making some potions!