---
title: "Board games, puzzles and video games: not Media Mail"
description: "No. USPS rules that games, including board and video games, are entertainment, and jigsaw puzzles aren't on the Media Mail list. What they cost instead."
canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/games-and-puzzles/
last_updated: 2026-10-19
publisher: "The Reseller Index"
---

# Can you send board games, puzzles or video games by Media Mail?

USPS's rules: No

**No. USPS's ruling on computer media says games, including board games and games in an electronic format, are used primarily for entertainment and don't serve the purpose of Media Mail, and it rules video games ineligible in any form, disc or system.** Jigsaw puzzles and card games aren't on Media Mail's closed list of qualifying items either, so all of them ship by Ground Advantage: $8.39 to $13.42 online for a 2 lb box. A rulebook or strategy guide sold on its own is a different item: a book of at least eight pages with no ads qualifies.

Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026

## The rule, in USPS's words

Quoted from the official pages linked below each quote, checked Oct 19, 2026.

> “games, including board games and games in an electronic format, are used primarily for entertainment and they do not serve the same purpose as books, films, or other qualifying Media Mail.”

[USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-334.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334: Computer-Readable Media Eligibility for Media Mail Prices (updated July 2018)

> “video games, whether on CD-ROM, diskettes, or similar software, regardless of form, or playable systems including computers, do not meet the standards for Media Mail.”

[USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-334.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334: Computer-Readable Media Eligibility for Media Mail Prices (updated July 2018)

> “Video games, computer drives, and digital drives do not qualify for Media Mail prices.”

[USPS: Media Mail](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm) · USPS: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail)

> “Only these items may be mailed at the Media Mail prices:”

[Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility

> “the purpose of this favored subclass is to promote 'educational, cultural, scientific, and informational values'”

[USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334, quoting the Postal Rate Commission (1984)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-334.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334: Computer-Readable Media Eligibility for Media Mail Prices (updated July 2018)

## What it costs to ship

Media Mail costs the same to every US address, with a 1 lb minimum ($4.39) and any fraction of a pound rounded up. Ground Advantage, USPS's ground package service with tracking included, is priced by weight and zone: online is USPS's commercial price for labels bought online, and the counter price is retail.

*USD, weight not over. USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026; Ground Advantage includes USPS's temporary holiday prices, in effect until 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027 (Media Mail isn't affected). Selling platforms and label services can have their own rates.*

| Package | Media Mail (if it qualified) | Ground Advantage online, Zones 1-9 | Ground Advantage at the counter, Zones 1-9 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| One video game, 8 oz | $4.39 | $7.33 to $8.95 | $8.40 to $10.20 |
| 1 lb | $4.39 | $8.01 to $11.22 | $10.05 to $13.65 |
| 2 lb | $5.13 | $8.39 to $13.42 | $11.30 to $19.80 |
| Boxed board game, 3 lb | $5.86 | $9.04 to $16.30 | $11.80 to $23.15 |
| 5 lb | $7.34 | $10.35 to $20.24 | $13.75 to $27.45 |

### Worked examples

- A boxed board game, 3 lb: Ground Advantage, $9.04 to $16.30 online or $11.80 to $23.15 at the counter. Media Mail would have been $5.86.
- One video game in a padded mailer, 8 oz: $7.33 to $8.95 online.
- A 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, 2 lb: $8.39 to $13.42 online.
- Sent as Media Mail anyway and opened: a 3 lb board game is short $3.18 to $10.44 against Ground Advantage online, which USPS can take from your label account or collect from your buyer ([inspection](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/inspection-and-postage-due/)).

Every weight from 1 to 70 lb: [Media Mail rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/media-mail/) · [Ground Advantage rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/ground-advantage/)

## Edge cases

- A game sold as educational: the ruling names board games and electronic games without an exception.
- A game packed with books makes it a [mixed box](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/), and the whole package pays the higher price.
- Consoles and computers are out too: the ruling names playable systems including computers.
- A game's soundtrack on CD or vinyl is a sound recording, and a movie on DVD or Blu-ray is a video recording, so both qualify ([DMM 173.4.1e](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1)); the game disc itself doesn't.
- A game manual or strategy guide sold on its own has to meet the book standard, eight or more printed pages and no ads except announcements of books, so one that advertises other games doesn't qualify ([DMM 173.4.1a](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1)).

## What to do

- Buy a Ground Advantage label online; it's $8.01 to $11.22 for 1 lb against $10.05 to $13.65 at the counter.
- Shipping games often? Prices and platform labels are in [how to ship video games](https://resellerindex.com/guides/how-to-ship-video-games/).

## Related questions

- [Can software, blank CDs or flash drives go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/computer-media/)

  Prerecorded media only. Prerecorded computer media and their manuals qualify; blank CDs and DVDs, flash drives, hard drives and video games don't.

- [What if I ship a book and a non-media item together by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/)

  Whole box pays more. Unless the extra item is a permitted enclosure, the whole package pays the higher price, and USPS can fine concealed higher-priced mail.

- [What happens if USPS inspects a Media Mail package and it doesn't qualify?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/inspection-and-postage-due/)

  Postage due. USPS may open any Media Mail package. If postage is due, it can charge your label account, return the package, or collect from your buyer.

- [Can coloring, puzzle and activity books go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/activity-and-coloring-books/)

  Mostly no. Crossword, pattern, poster, iron-on transfer and cut-out books don't qualify; workbooks do. USPS hasn't named coloring books.

[All 25 Media Mail questions](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/) · [Cheapest way to ship books](https://resellerindex.com/guides/cheapest-way-to-ship-books/)

## Sources

Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 from each official page below.

- [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-334: Computer-Readable Media Eligibility for Media Mail Prices (updated July 2018)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-334.htm)
- [USPS: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail)](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm)
- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm)
- [USPS Notice 123: price list (effective Oct 4, 2026), Media Mail and Ground Advantage prices](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)
- [USPS: temporary price change for 2026 holiday shipping (Aug 25, 2026)](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0825-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2026-holiday-shipping-season.htm)

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