people, out of an overabundance of creativity or just a love of the game (or hate of the publishers components), make homemade versions of the game with exceptionally good components.
MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld talks about his Fab Lab -- a low-cost lab that lets people build things they need using digital and analog tools. It's a simple idea with powerful results:
Canon Inc. provides a wealth of free download materials on this site.The site is full of interesting content, like Paper Craft and Scrapbook, so you're sure to find something you like.