Box Two By Neil Patrick Harris

A solid game that would've been better received but for Box One being super awesome and AI taking off over the last couple of years. Still fun, with a few nice surprises and cool ideas, though the chat mechanism was somewhat restrictive and tedious. A step down from Box One, unfortunately, though I nonetheless appreciate the effort.

Absolutely not worth seeking out. You can tell there's a lot of care put into making this but its hard to appreciate that when using the frustrating chat system to enter solutions. There also isn't enough content in the box and the puzzles aren't particularly interesting this time around. I would hesitate to lend my copy to a friend unless they really wanted to see it for themselves. It's hard to recommend this over an exit game which is much cheaper, although not always reusable.

It’s fine. Definitely less good than Box One, but Box One was quite a standout. The vibes / style / components are quite good but the actual puzzle content is meh. Online chat interface is pretty terrible. They could’ve actually paired you up with another person; would’ve been an interesting gimmick at least. Instead we get the “chatbot with a human name and face and delays sending messages like it’s ‘typing’ response”. I strongly dislike these bots in all contexts, and I’m sad to see them used here. 3/5

Fun time with a solo game! Most of the puzzles were fun and I enjoyed the overall experience (also appreciate that the game is fully resettable so others can enjoy it too!)

This was good but not great. Thin and uninteresting plot. clunky chat. quality pieces though.

It’s not quite a sophomore slump, but it’s close. A lot of risks were taken to make this game different, but they weren’t always worth it. One of the weirdest features of the box is hard to interact with, hard to read, and tedious to deal with. The hint system and chat mechanism is too robotic and limited, though it is a clever idea. I think everything attempted is better in concept than practice; it still is ultimately a fun experience. Expect tedium, expect awkwardness, and expect joy.

Box One by Neil Patrick Harris (yes, that NPH!) was a masterpiece, so I was head-over-heels when I saw that there was a sequel in stores. Despite the name, Box Two isn’t so much a sequel but rather a new puzzle box. The props and box itself are used in very creative ways, and unraveling each secret was perplexing but fun. The big “gimmick” with this game is that you have to play with a partner “online” (don’t worry, it’s not a real-life person partner per se). So does it live up to the original? Nope. In fact, if it weren’t for NPH’s glowing personality and humor, as well as the ingeniously built box itself, I probably would have disliked this. It’s a somewhat disappointing experience IF you’ve played Box One and were expecting anything even close to that experience like I was. The entire game here is listening to the “online partner” as they hold your hand through the puzzles. The way it’s set up, you technically can’t just do the puzzles alone without the partner’s input. And often, the partner will just walk you through the puzzles and nearly give you the solutions. It’s a strange experience where difficult-to-solve puzzles are easily handled because you’re being told what to do. The hardest challenge is an extremely sadistic opener puzzle that is both the biggest time waster and unfun task. Once I got through the easy end, I was expecting for the fun to truly begin, but I was left dumbfounded. I don’t mean to sound like I hated it, because I was still genuinely excited to see the props cleverly unfold and NPH’s personage glow. However, I felt like my expectations were too high after the utter genius that Box One presented. If you haven’t played Box One, you may like Box Two for what it is. Either way, I much more recommend that 1st box for one of the most memorable board games ever. Here’s hoping NPH makes a Box Three that is truly… legen… wait for it… DARY.