Theory 11 / Neil Patrick Harris: BoxONE (Play at Home)

Pure Class

A game uniquely designed to challenge only ONE person – and it seems that person is you! And only you. Alone. Can you handle it?

If you haven’t heard about BoxONE then where have you been hiding? Although in your defence, at the time of writing this game is exclusively available through Target in the US. We had to utilise our American family to get a copy shipped over, and at great expense too, but was it worth it? Read on to find out…

BoxONE is a game that was developed by the actor/legend/superhero, Neil Patrick Harris and was designed to break the norms of boardgames that state you always need more than one person to play, BoxONE is designed to be played by one player (we played as a two and it still worked fine).

BoxONE is a collaboration between Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) and theory11 – theory 11 claim to “produce the world’s finest playing cards, and magic tricks”. We own a pack of their NPH playing cards, and we can confirm, these are top quality. Knowing the quality of their other products, we had high hopes for BoxONE.

So, after spending a small fortune on shipping from the USA to the UK, the day finally came when we finally had BoxONE in our possession. We decided to wait for a special occasion and so it seemed appropriate to play BoxONE on Boxing Day in the UK. Excited was an understatement.

CONCEPT/EXECUTION

BoxONE is a bit of an anomaly as it sits between board games and escape games. Escape game enthusiasts are unlikely to be challenged, and board game fanatics won’t like that they can play it only once. Saying that, this is a game that must be played by everyone, everywhere.

I could write an essay about the quality of this game, both in the production value and the sheer quality of the products but I’ll keep this short. Every little detail about this game has been thought about, and everything is there for a reason, the quality of the box alone just oozes class.

Although this is a play at home box game, there are elements that transport you into an online world which ramps up the immersion no end. The level of immersion that NPH has created in this game is both surprising and impressive, but coming from someone with such a vast acting resume, you really wouldn’t expect anything less.

Once you finish the game there is a link to a video which shows you how to reset the game, so if you’re careful, you can pass it onto someone else for them to enjoy.

PUZZLES

Probably with this game, the less I say about the puzzles, the better.  But observation is key, and you will find trivia, decoding and make sure you follow instructions well.

Our experience of escape rooms was probably a bit of a curse for this game as we found a number of the ‘surprises’ before we were supposed to. They still had a system in place so you couldn’t just jump right to the end though.

Enthusiasts are unlikely to find this game challenging, but the puzzles are solid and I lost count of how many times we said “that’s clever” while playing.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

There would be nothing worse than sitting down to play this game only to get stuck and not be able to continue. But fear not, NPH has a webpage you can visit that will get you back on track.

The hint system is set out in a way that you can easily find the bit you’re stuck on and not accidentally reveal any spoilers for other sections. The clue system stops short of giving you the solutions to the puzzles, but if you need the solution you can send a message to NPH games and they will give you some help.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Everything about BoxONE is top quality, and it was truly a delight to play. Enthusiasts won’t find it overly challenging but don’t let that stop you, it was a true delight.

TOOLS REQUIRED

• Computer with an internet connection
• Pen and paper may help

Final Rating:

Puzzles
Concept/Execution
Clue System
Value for Money
Enjoyment

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Team: 2 players

Time Taken: 59 mins

Website: https://boxonegame.com