Box ONE

by Neil Patrick Harris (Theory 11)

Players: 1 (technically can be more)

Age: 14+ (I'd say 10+ is fine)

*Internet access required

Awards: Best Overall "Table-Top Game" Of The Year (2020) - Bullseye Award

A single-player tabletop escape game? Designed by Neil Patrick Harris? Is this for real?

Yes, it's real — and it's spectacular!

Box ONE is an incredibly clever, cheeky and fun game that reflects the years of thought and effort that was put into its design. You just don't see many games designed for a single player, and while it can technically be played together by a group, I would highly recommend playing it alone, then resetting the box and giving it to the next player to enjoy.

I don't want to give away too much, except that the game begins as soon as you open the box. I was initially a little disappointed as it didn't look like much at first glance, but that's part of what makes it so great — the game is jam packed with little surprises, and there are many twists and turns that take you to places (literally and figuratively) that you never would have expected.

You do need internet access and your own device to play the game. A phone is doable, but I found that things worked much better on my laptop. Like many real-life escape rooms, there is a story that runs through the game, and it's a very fun one that puts NPH's persona to good use. Apart from a little bit of trivia, there are your regular brain-teaser puzzles, hunt and seek, codes to decipher, and fantastic integration of technology that adds a sense of authenticity and timeliness to your mission.

As escape room enthusiasts with a few rooms under our belts now, we each found the game to be pretty easy, though we understand it couldn't be too difficult as it's designed to be played by regular folks across a wide range of age groups. There is an arbitrary stop in the game that requires you to come back later, which I understand can frustrate a lot of players, but you can bypass this by simply changing the date on your computer. Without this stop in the game, I think it took me about an hour to finish, but from what I've read, the actual time spent playing the game for most people is 2-3 hours.

What impressed me most about Box ONE is the production value given the relatively low price point (currently retails for USD 34.95 on the official website). Despite being made to be sold in Target, the game box looks beautiful and has many well-designed and well-crafted pieces. Most of all, it can be reset, which means it is a game that everyone in the family can play individually and then be given or re-sold to others.

As far as tabletop escape games go, Box ONE is in a class of its own. I wish it were longer and more challenging, but given the target market and budget, this is already as good as can be reasonably expected of a game like this.

Rating: 9/10