Standee

A standee is a printed cardboard piece — a character, monster, or vehicle, usually illustrated on both sides — that slots into a small plastic base and stands upright on the board. It does the same job as a miniature: marking a specific figure’s position and letting you tell it apart from every other piece at a glance. It just does it in two dimensions instead of three.

Publishers reach for standees because they’re cheaper to produce, lighter to ship, and let the art stay crisp and fully painted right out of the box, no assembly or paint job required. They’re also flatter to store and less likely to snap off at a thin ankle, which is a real consideration on a game that’s going to get packed up and shipped back out for someone else’s rental night.