Protecting 1.5" Chipboard Squares w/ Labels Affixed to Both Sides

Look for self-adhesive transparency sheets available at most Office Depot-type stores. They are clear plastic sheets with an adhesive on one side ... you peel off the backing and spread down on top of your printed work.

That's what I used when making boards and prototype tiles. I've found it works best to print as many tiles as fit onto one of those full-sheet labels ... stick the whole label page onto the chipboard ... then stick the whole self-adhesive transparency sheet ... then use a rotary cutter and metal straight edge to cut out the tiles.

Also, it is good to have a soft-edged squeegee type tool for smoothing down the transparency sheets.

Hope that's helpful,
-Bryk

+1!
This is the principle behind Aqueous and UV coatings. Put the coating on at press time and it works with the ink.

Also, you can get gloss or matte spray acrylics. I like matte for my miniatures, but the gloss might look really nice for your board. (It will also reflect light more, so it might be harder to read with some colors and lighting combos).

The standard for most game cards is an Aqueous coating (gloss). Some card games use a "limited slip" coating with a smidge of grit in it. For your cards, a regular spray acrylic will duplicate the look and feel of a standard aqueous coating. That said, it may be hard to get a consistent coat across all the cards, so you'll want to experiment first. Depending on the paper you might not want to coat them at all.