Review: Storeroom Inc.

Introduction & Overview

Like every year, the world-leading storage company, Storeroom Inc., releases hundreds of exclusive items over four thrilling days. An unmissable event for collectors from all over the world and a massive business opportunity in a multimillion-dollar market.

This is how Storeroom Inc. is presented to us, a design by Jorge Tabanera Redondo, responsible for games such as Barrio, Cudillero, or Urban Sketchers. First published in 2025 by Brainpicnic in a multilingual edition in Spanish, English, and French. The artwork is also handled by Jorge Tabanera Redondo himself, who has already illustrated games like Cities, Phoenix New Horizon, or The Voynich Puzzle.

It plays with 2 to 4 players, with a recommended age of 10 and up, and an approximate duration of 20 to 30 minutes. The MSRP is €19.95. For this review, a review copy of the Spanish, English, and French edition kindly provided by Brainpicnic was used.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 20×15×6 cm (a small rectangular box similar to Floriferous), we find the following components:

• 114 Cards (63×88 mm):
  • 70 Item Cards
  • 16 Amateur Customer Cards
  • 20 VIP Customer Cards
  • 4 Storeroom Cards
  • 4 Reference Cards
• 16 Coffee Tokens (wooden)
• 20 Agents (3 junior and 2 senior in each color) (wooden)
• Office Tile
• Coffee Machine Tile
• 40 Money Tokens (cardboard):
  • 16 of value €1,000
  • 8 of value €3,000
  • 8 of value €5,000
  • 8 of value €10,000
• First Player Marker (wooden)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Storeroom Inc. is a game in which players represent antique galleries seeking to acquire the most valuable pieces at the annual storage event to fulfill their clients’ requests. The game takes place over four rounds, each consisting of three main phases. During the first phase, players take turns placing their agent tokens (junior or senior) on one of three available locations: the coffee machine (to gain coffee tokens), the amateur clientele (to claim face-up demand cards along with coffee), or the entrance of the various storerooms (where they stack while respecting the capacity limit of available items). In the second phase, agents are retrieved from top to bottom in the stacks (“last in, first out”), collecting one or two items depending on the agent type: coffee, amateur customer cards, or item cards from the storerooms (which can be found in open or closed boxes). During their turn, players may spend coffee to peek secretly at closed boxes. In the third phase, players can visit the office to sell sets of items to customer cards (VIP or amateur) by fulfilling their numerical or color requirements and collecting the payout in cash. After the fourth round, players add up the money earned from their sales along with a bonus for any leftover coffee. The player with the most money is declared the winner.

Key Concepts

Let us begin with the Item Cards. These represent the goods that players can acquire from the storerooms and subsequently sell to their customers. They are divided into five categories identified by a color and a symbol, with each featuring numerical values ranging from 0 to 6 (value 0 cards represent broken dishes). On the table, they can be presented in two ways: as open boxes, showing their face with the exact item and number, or as closed boxes, displaying a card back that only reveals the color and a range of four possible numbers.

At the start of each round, the item cards are laid out in a grid of rows. At the head of each row, a Storeroom Entrance Card is placed. These double-sided cards show the allowed capacity for each storeroom based on player count (a maximum of three items for two players, or four items for three and four players), serving as the base on which players stack their agent tokens.

Agents are the wooden pieces players use to perform their actions and are divided into two types: Junior Agents (thinner) and Senior Agents (thicker, effectively acting like two juniors stacked together). These pieces are placed on the coffee machine, amateur customers, or storerooms during the first phase of the round, only to be retrieved in reverse order of arrival (the last placed on top of the stack is the first to resolve). Junior Agents allow taking 1 coffee or collecting 1 item from a storeroom, whereas Senior Agents allow taking 2 coffees or collecting 2 items.

Coffee Tokens represent cups of coffee that players can collect and spend during their turns. They allow a player to secretly peek at the contents of a closed box in a storeroom, returning the spent token to the coffee machine. Additionally, the amount of coffee remaining on the coffee machine at the end of a round determines how many open boxes will be revealed in the following day, and any coffee held by players at game end provides extra cash.

The Coffee Machine Tile and the Office Tile organize the component supply and game actions. On the one hand, the Coffee Machine Tile serves as an action space to place agents and as the general supply for coffee tokens. The Office Tile functions as the bank where the money supply is kept, as well as the space where players turn in their customer and item cards to complete sales and collect the corresponding banknotes (as well as to discard excess cards if the hand limit is exceeded).

Customers are divided into two types: VIP Customer Cards and Amateur Customer Cards. Both indicate which item combinations they demand and the monetary payout they provide (requiring a minimum of three items per sale). VIP Customers request combinations of specific items with exact numbers and colors, allowing neither duplicates nor broken dishes, and are kept hidden in players’ hands. Meanwhile, Amateur Customers are available in a face-up display on the table and look for numerical patterns (matching numbers, pairs/triples, straights, or broken dishes) regardless of card color.

Finally, Money is represented by banknotes and acts as victory points. It is earned primarily by fulfilling customer card demands at the office by selling them the required items, as well as from leftover coffee at the end of the game. At the end of the fourth round, the player who has amassed the most money is declared the winner.

That is enough to get started.

Setup

1. The Coffee Machine is placed on the table along with the supply of coffee tokens.
2. Next, the Office is placed in the center of the table and the bank of banknotes is set beside it.
3. Likewise, the four Storeroom Entrance Cards are placed showing the side corresponding to the player count.
4. After shuffling the Amateur Customer deck, three cards are dealt face up on the table, placing the remaining deck face down next to them.
5. In 2-player games, remove the eight VIP Customer cards of one color. Shuffle the VIP Customer deck and deal four cards face down to each player. Each player chooses two to keep in hand and returns the other two to the deck, which is reshuffled and placed face down on the table.
6. Shuffle the item cards and place sixteen cards across the storerooms (four per storeroom), setting eight open boxes (face up) and eight closed boxes (face down) according to the established order. Place the remaining deck face down to the side.
7. Each player chooses a color and receives:
   • A reference card.
   • €3,000 in banknotes.
   • Agent tokens of their color (3 Junior and 2 Senior at 2 or 3 players; 2 Junior and 1 Senior at 4 players).
   • Starting coffee tokens taken from the supply (4 at 2 players, 3 at 3 players, and 2 at 4 players).
8. Randomly choose the first player.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Storeroom Inc. takes place over 4 rounds. Each round is structured into four phases.

Phase I: Agent Placement

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, players take turns placing one of their agent tokens (Junior or Senior) onto one of the three available board locations. At any point during their turn in this phase, a player may spend one of their coffees to secretly check the contents of a closed box and return it to its place. This phase ends once all players have placed all of their agents.

The available locations are:

• Coffee Machine. Allows placing an agent on top of the existing stack, if any. Each player may only place a single agent in this location per round.
• Amateur Customers. Allows claiming one of the available Amateur Customer cards that does not already have an agent on it. Unlike the other areas, stacking agents is not permitted on these cards (maximum 1 agent per card).
• Storerooms (1, 2, 3, and 4). Allows placing an agent at the entrance of the corresponding storeroom, stacking it on top of those already present, if any. Each storeroom has a maximum capacity depending on player count (up to 3 items in 2-player games; up to 4 items in 3-4 player games). An agent cannot be placed if their retrieval capacity exceeds the storeroom’s remaining capacity (a Junior agent requires 1 capacity slot and a Senior agent requires 2).

Phase II: Agent Retrieval

Agents are retrieved location by location. In locations with stacked tokens, the token on the very top of the stack always acts and is removed first. Likewise, whenever it is a player’s turn to act, they may spend a coffee to secretly inspect one of the face-down item cards. Upon retrieving an agent, the player gains the corresponding items based on the type of token used:

• Coffee Machine. The player takes 1 coffee if they used a Junior Agent or 2 coffees if they used a Senior Agent (as long as coffee remains available on the machine).
• Amateur Customers. The corresponding card is added to hand and, additionally, the player receives 1 or 2 coffees depending on whether the placed agent was Junior or Senior.
• Storerooms. The player must collect 1 item if they used a Junior Agent or 2 items if they used a Senior Agent from those available in that storeroom (choosing freely between open or closed boxes).

The phase ends once all agents have been retrieved.

Phase III: Sales

Simultaneously, players may fulfill the demand of any Customer cards (Amateur or VIP) in their hand by delivering the required items. To complete a sale, a minimum of 3 valid items must be delivered. The player places the customer card along with the sold items into the Office and takes the indicated banknotes from the bank based on the number of items delivered.

Phase IV: Maintenance

Unless it is the fourth round, proceed as follows:

• New VIP Customers (Optional). Each player may draw 2 cards from the VIP Customer deck, keep 1 in hand, and return the other to the bottom of the deck.
• Hand Limit. No player may start the next round with more than 9 cards total in hand (combining items and customers). For each card exceeding this limit, the player must discard it to the Office and pay a €1,000 penalty.
• Replenish Cards. Discard any unclaimed Amateur Customer cards and reveal 3 new ones. Next, remove all leftover items from the four storerooms and deal 16 new cards (distributed across 4 storerooms of 4 cards each), placing face up (open boxes) as many cards as there are coffee tokens remaining on the Coffee Machine, and the rest face down (closed boxes).
• Pass the First Player Marker. The first player marker is passed to the player on the left.

A new round then begins.

Game End

The game ends after the fourth round. When calculating final scores, take into account:

• The total value of banknotes accumulated from completed sales.
• €1,000 for every 2 coffees in the player’s possession.

The player who has amassed the most money is declared the winner. In case of a tie, apply the following tiebreakers:

• The player with the fewest item cards left in hand.
• The player with the most remaining coffees.

If the tie persists, tied players share the victory.

Personal Opinion

There is no doubt that Jorge Tabanera Redondo has rightfully become one of the most promising and distinctive illustrators in our board game scene. His casual line work, brimming with charisma and sensational use of color, has endowed his projects with an overwhelming identity.

Thus, we can highlight recent works like Cities (its tocho-review here) or Phoenix New Horizon (its tocho-review here), where an almost obsessive attention to detail stands out above all else. Jorge does not merely set the scene on components; he fills every corner with tiny stories, textures, and playful nods that invite you to linger visually. It is a recognizable signature that provides tremendous aesthetic substance and elevates the table presence of any title.

However, Jorge’s involvement in the hobby goes beyond the brush, as he already boasts an interesting catalog of works under his own name as a designer. Designs like Barrio (its tocho-review here) or Urban Sketchers (its tocho-review here) show that Jorge not only understands how to seduce from the cover, but also how to interlock mechanics. This dual status as a full author and illustrator allows him to devise propositions with total coherence between theme, visual development, and gameplay experience.

Yet, while on an artistic level I have completely surrendered to his talent, the truth is that as a designer I have not quite connected with good old Jorge. I am still waiting for that design where both facets align satisfactorily enough. Today presents a fresh opportunity for that to happen with the game at hand. Let us see, then, how this Storeroom Inc. behaves on the table, but not before thanking Brainpicnic for the review copy that makes this rambling write-up possible.

– I don’t know, Rick, it looks fake… – In Storeroom Inc., we take the helm of a prestigious antique gallery with the goal of being crowned the best treasure hunters of the year. The setting transports us to the open house days of a giant storage company releasing endless forgotten boxes and belongings, turning each storage unit into a hotbed of commercial opportunities. With the support of our team of agents and turning to the classic coffee machine for valuable inside information, our mission will be to locate the most coveted items to fulfill the demands of both casual buyers and a demanding VIP clientele.

The game is structured over four rounds divided into three phases. Everything revolves around worker placement with reverse-order resolution using stacks. On each turn, players place junior or senior agents on three possible spaces: the coffee machine—which provides tokens to secretly inspect closed boxes—, amateur customer cards, and the four storerooms.

Once all players have placed their pieces, they proceed to retrieve them in order. In spaces where stacking is allowed, resolution occurs in reverse placement order, that is, from top to bottom, so that each player claims item cards or contracts depending on the type of pawn used.

After resolving all spaces, players proceed with a phase where they can fulfill the orders of the customers in their hand. Each delivery yields income based on the set delivered. Finally, before preparing the next round, players must adhere to a hand limit of nine cards, including customers, facing penalties if they exceed this amount on top of having to discard the excess.

The game ends at the conclusion of the fourth round, at which point players check who has accumulated the most money, adding a bonus for any retained coffee tokens to the banknotes earned during the game. The player who has managed to amass the largest sum of money claims victory.

Well, that gives you more than enough context to dive into dynamics and impressions. At the start of the game, each player holds two VIP customer cards (after choosing from four) demanding specific item combinations with exact values and colors. On the table, we have a layout of four storerooms, each with four items that can be either visible (showing their color and value) or hidden (showing their color and a possible range of values). When examining them, the first logical impulse would be to place an agent straight onto the storeroom containing one of the pieces we need.

However, resolution via a LIFO stack (last in, first out) puts the brakes on that impulsiveness. Placing your worker before anyone else means being at the very bottom, leaving you exposed so that any opponent can drop their marker on top and choose before you can act.

This tension forces careful timing when deploying agents, both junior and senior. Visiting the coffee machine not only guarantees future resources, but spending a cup lets us peek secretly at a closed box, turning uncertainty into an informational advantage—though it is true that this often serves as a last-resort action when nothing interesting remains.

If, upon using a coffee, we discover that a hidden box contains the exact number for one of our customers, sending a senior agent there will secure us two cards while limiting our rivals’ room to maneuver. Nevertheless, we must keep an eye on the storeroom’s capacity, as a senior counts as two slots, and without careful attention, access to that storeroom might get blocked even if a junior could still have fit.

After retrieving our agents, it is time to head to the office. Here arises the dilemma between cashing in a quick, modest sale with an amateur buyer to build capital, or hoarding cards in hand aiming for the hefty payout of a VIP customer. The catch is having to deal with a strict nine-card hand limit—including customers—meaning you must carefully calculate how many you can afford before being penalized by forced discards.

One of the intriguing aspects of the design lies in reading your opponents’ acquisitions. Given that VIP customer cards demand specific combinations of values and colors without duplicates, tracking which items rivals claim becomes essential.

When a player begins collecting different values of a single color, deducing the requirements of their hidden VIP customer and anticipating the exact pieces they need to maximize income becomes straightforward. This information transforms simple set collection into an engaging exercise in tactical deduction. Identifying these patterns lets you modulate your aggressiveness when placing agents, whether to jump ahead in a storeroom stack and snatch the key card that seals a lucrative sale, or to avoid unnecessary fights over high-demand rows.

As you can see, Storeroom Inc. is a filler combining worker placement and set collection in a breezy and appropriately tense manner, ensuring each round introduces escalating stakes. Each player knows full well where they want to place their agents, yet everyone wants to do so last to be the first to pick. Naturally, pulling that off requires enduring considerable stress over the fear that a rival might beat you to the punch, filling up the storeroom and shutting you out of the coveted item entirely.

The game scales reasonably well, though maximum tension is perhaps generated with four players at the table. At this player count, turn order also becomes crucial, because the remaining players can follow a reactive approach and systematically leave the first player at the bottom of every storeroom stack. Still, it is rare for all players to want a card from the exact same storeroom. With two players, there is far more control and turn order feels “fairer” to participants. Ultimately, like any game featuring drafting and set collection mechanics, it scales well.

Regarding replayability, it is a straightforward design with a high enough level of interaction that it does not need extra mechanisms to inject variety. Optimizing your hand and squeezing the maximum cash out of each customer is already tricky enough without having to throw asymmetric elements into the mix. Games flow smoothly and play quickly, making it easy to hit the table if it clicks with your group.

To give you some reference points among games that combine worker placement and set collection, it plays in the same league as Targi (its tocho-review here), the aforementioned Cities, or Kero. I know two of these are strictly two-player games, but they generate similar vibes and dynamics, and I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. What is crystal clear to me, though, is that to date, this is Jorge’s finest design.

Moving on to production, we find more than respectable quality, featuring cards with great core thickness, linen finish, and excellent snap (sleeving might be necessary if played frequently, given the hidden information and the need to prevent marked cards). The wooden components have good density and sizing, especially the coffee tokens, which are double-sided screen-printed. Furthermore, the cardboard punchboards offer decent thickness and density, punching out smoothly. Everything comes packed tightly into a box with zero wasted space. The rulebook is well structured, although its graphic layout might not do it any favors.

In the visual department, we are treated to a casual, highly expressive comic-book aesthetic. The customer cards feature caricatures packed with personality and dynamism, boasting a pop art flair that fits the lighthearted tone of auctions and storage units perfectly. Meanwhile, the front-facing depiction of items and the cluttered cover composition, crammed with nostalgic details, evoke the curiosity and charm of hunting for treasures amidst storage clutter.

And let’s wrap this up. Storeroom Inc. comes across as a tactical, dynamic filler combining worker placement with stacking and reverse-order resolution alongside set collection aimed at satisfying customers. The ongoing struggle for tempo when positioning agents generates constant tension, where holding out lets you get ahead in the stack at the risk of being shut out due to room capacity. This back-and-forth is greatly enriched by the deduction involved in tracking opponents’ acquisitions and the nagging pressure of the hand limit. While turn order in games with more than two players can lead to frustrating moments if rivals set their minds to it, the package overall delivers a brisk experience with a healthy dose of interesting decisions that keep players fully engaged. For all these reasons, I give it a…