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For the last few Christmas’ and Birthday’s, I’ve been slightly bereft of ideas of what to ask loved ones to get me. Whilst I enjoy the element of mystery that allowing a loved one to use their initiative brings in these situations, often when you say, ‘please can I have some board games’, or even ‘please can I have a board game which involves engine building, worker placement or area control’, you are likely to either get vacant looks or the latest version of Monopoly. So, when I spotted a year or so ago that Zatu did varying levels of a Mystery Box (either one off or monthly subscription), my interest was certainly peaked.
Zatu offers 4 different types of Mystery Box: Miniatures, Premium, New Releases, and Mega Mystery. For Birthday and Christmas over the last year I’ve got the Mega Mystery box a couple of times- a box at the top end of the cost bracket at £99, but promising a minimum of 4 great games, one Top Rated Game, Bonus accessories or games, all with an RRP of over £130. In previous boxes, I’ve had some great pulls- Beast, The Stardew Valley Board Game, Cockroach Poker, Flux: San Francisco, Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game, just to name a few. And so, this month, with my Birthday coming up, I thought I would request another Mega Mystery Box - and this time talk you through everything that I got with it, and my initial thoughts on each!
A Warhammer Space Marine Figure
So, I don’t collect Warhammer or Space Marines- so I think it was a Space Marine Figure? The figure wasn’t in a box, just loose in its plastic sprue frame, so I’m not 100% sure. So, it wasn’t something immediately of interest, but I have been half considering taking up Warhammer or model making in some form- there’s something that seems quite soothing about the painting. Perhaps I’ll give it a go, and this model can be my first!
Pack of Card Stand Bases
I don’t currently have that many games which require these card bases- but I’m sure these would have come in useful for many other people! Not one to write home about, but potentially something which could be handy in the future.
That’s not a hat! Demo
A small sleave of cards which give a taste of the larger ‘That’s Not a Hat!’ game. Again, not something that’s necessarily going to be on anyone’s Christmas list (the demo that is, not the full game), but its five minutes of fun which might help you decide if you like the sound of the full, 2023 Spiel Des Jahres nominated game.
Mind Meld (RRP £19.99)
The concept of the game Mind Meld will be one familiar with many of you, as the core concept has been a classic verbal party/improv game for some time. Indeed, if you search on YouTube ‘How to play Mind Meld’, you are more likely to find explanations for the verbal game than this game! Essentially, you draw a card with key words to choose from, and both have to come up with the same word which connects these key words. A nice little party game for two or more people, which is surprisingly fun and addictive.
Life in Reterra (RRP £29.99)
A fun game with plenty of replayability, based in a ‘not-so-distant future, where our world has been reclaimed by nature’. A bright, light strategy game with lovely artwork, focusing on tile placement, and building the right buildings at the right time in order to maximise your bonuses. Easy to learn, but difficult to master, this game has tonnes of buildings with unique powers and scoring criteria, so there is always a new tactic to try. A fun and interactive little puzzle game for years 10+ and adults alike!
Inferno - Retail Edition (RRP £49.99)
Have you ever got into a board game rage, and told another player to ‘Go to Hell’? Well in Inferno you can, without upsetting anyone or being uninvited to board game night! Inferno is a uniquely themed game which involves advancing souls through hell, among other actions, taking inspiration from the Divine Comedy in which Italian poet Dante explores the nine circles of hell. I haven’t played this game yet, but I am interested to- although granted, the dark theming of this game won’t be for everyone. This is one that I am unlikely to be playing with my Father-in-Law, a Church Minister, for example…
Rock Hard 1977 (RRP £59.99)
Rock Hard 1977 is a game designed to showcase what it was like as an up and coming rock musician in the 1970s, and was designed by Jackie Fox (member of the 1970s rock band “The Runaways”). As such, it does a great job exploring this lifestyle- from balancing having a day job and trying to make it as a full-time musician, to taking ‘Candy’ to give yourself an extra action- all the while being cautious of getting a ‘Sugar Rush’ which would mean you needing to go to ‘Recovery’. It has plenty of replayability and variability, with different characters to play and events to explore, but at its heart it is a relatively easy to pick up worker placement game, which I enjoyed much more than I thought I would!
Is it good value?
On a purely monetary basis, yes. When you tot up the RRP of the games (ignoring the demo, card stands and figurine), the total cost is £160. When you consider that the box itself was £99, that represents good value for money. If you wanted to (I’m not suggesting that you should!) you could probably resell the contents of the box second hand and not be far away from getting your money back!
But even from an enjoyment factor of trying new games that you might not have otherwise, I would say yes, it is. I often find myself getting caught up watching reviews and recommendations about new games, and fixating on getting X or Y game based on said reviews and awards. However, some of my favourite games are ones which I have just stumbled across and clicked with, which aren’t necessarily popular with reviewers. And that is where the mystery of these boxes can be great fun. They get you playing games you wouldn’t otherwise have spent your well-earned money on.
Who would enjoy this?
I would not recommend this particular Mystery box to someone who was under 16 years old- there’s too much risk that there might be a game in the box not intended for that age bracket. As an example, Inferno is 15 years plus, and Rock Hard:1977 is 14 years+ (although I would argue that there are nuances within Rock Hard: 1977 which this is too you- for example ‘Candy’ being a metaphor for drugs, and there being a few event/action cards which allude to other proclivities within the 1970s rock scene not intended for children).
I also would not recommend this particular box to someone who is not an avid board game ‘fan’ or wanting to explore becoming one. Some of the games in these boxes can be quite heavy for those without a passion for the hobby. I’d instead recommend trying out specific ‘stepping stone’ games to get into the pastime, at least to begin with.
However, I would recommend this to board game hobbyists, who are open to trying something new and not saving up with a particular game in mind (after all, if you want a specific game, why not just buy that game instead of risking it on games which you may or may not like?). The excitement of being able to open a box of games and not know exactly what is in there is much the same as you would get from opening Pokémon booster sets or wrapped presents under a Christmas tree. It is a gamble? Yes. But it certainly keeps the hobby interesting, trying something that you might not normally choose to.