The Return of the Game in a Box!

[Rykion]

Is the Doctor Who box like a box that a motherboard would come in? Or more like the old redbox .... box.

I don't mind, mind, just I saw a review and I wasn't sure if that was the box it shipped in.

The Doctor Who box is a single piece that unfolds rather than a 2 part box with bottom and lid.

 

[TerraDave]

it makes one wonder why RPGs ever stopped. I don't think it's an economy of scale thing, as plenty of niche products (I'm looking at you Albedo: The Roleplaying Game) used to come in boxes. Does it really come down to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons uses books, ergo all serious games use books?

What was interesting about this is that in the mid 80s or so, TSR did continue to put other RPGs in boxes.

I think books took off with other companies as RPGs became something to read, and not just play. This was especially pernicious in the 90s.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I don't think it's an economy of scale thing, as plenty of niche products (I'm looking at you Albedo: The Roleplaying Game) used to come in boxes. Does it really come down to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons uses books, ergo all serious games use books?

Boxes are (or at least were when I last discussed this with anyone in publishing, about two years ago or so) far more expensive than putting out even a hardcover.

Some publishers are willing to eat the extra cost. Sometimes (like if you're selling an "intro" game) the extra costs might be mitigated by extra sales. Sometimes, if you really want to include things like dice, or have multiple books (like a player's and a DM's), it's the only viable way to go.

And maybe prices have come down in the past few years, for all I know.

But there were definitely solid financial reasons why they fell out of favor for a good long while.

 

[Erik Mona]

Let's see if people are still doing them in 2 years.

One problem with boxes is that they are VERY easily damaged, so not only are the up-front costs higher than a book, but the returns and spoilage is off the charts.

--Erik

 

[Plane Sailing]

The Doctor Who box is a single piece that unfolds rather than a 2 part box with bottom and lid.

...and is actually bigger on the insider than it is on the outside, which is neat.

 

[Stormonu]

I love boxed sets, especially campaign and adventure sets. Back in 3E, Goodman came out with a boxed campaign set and WotC did the Player & Starter set as boxed sets, but it was really disappointing not to see more things as boxed sets. 3E FR as a boxed set probably would have had the fans rolling on the floor in ecstasy - especially if it had that 4-poster map that came out in Dungeon/Dragon.

My only dislike of boxed sets is that people at bookstores tend to open them and rifle through the contents - which then either get ripped, lost or taken.

 

[El Mahdi]

deleted

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

I remain a fan of boxed sets. Cubicle 7 are releasing one for Call of Cthulhu later this year. One of my favourites remains the German edition of Horror on the Orient Express. Has lots of nice bits & pieces inside and completely fills the (deep) box.

 

[JohnSnow]

Boxes are (or at least were when I last discussed this with anyone in publishing, about two years ago or so) far more expensive than putting out even a hardcover.

Some publishers are willing to eat the extra cost. Sometimes (like if you're selling an "intro" game) the extra costs might be mitigated by extra sales. Sometimes, if you really want to include things like dice, or have multiple books (like a player's and a DM's), it's the only viable way to go.

And maybe prices have come down in the past few years, for all I know.

But there were definitely solid financial reasons why they fell out of favor for a good long while.

I've heard that before. The question I can't help but wonder is why? Despite the cost, board games come in boxes - they always have. Those murder mystery games come in boxes. And so, not surprisingly, early RPG's came in a box. The advantage of a box, of course, is that it (hypothetically at least) contains everything you need to play.

Hasbro (and all the other big game companies) have always sold games in boxes. The "books only" thinking is probably that RPGs are less reliant on a specific board and game pieces, and so they don't justify the added cost of packaging. I suspect it can initially be attributed to increasing rules complexity and page count. It's obviously easier (and cheaper) to publish longer and more complex rules in book format. But a game in that format only feels like a game when people know what it's for, or have someone to teach it to them.

I guess I'm suggesting that there's another issue at play here. Is is possible that the added cost of the box is justified because it makes the game SEEM more accessible to casual and new gamers? In other words, does the cost of putting a starter RPG in a box make sense because it makes the game seem more like, well, a game?

I'm thinking the answer to that very well might be yes.

Look how many people took up playing RPGs during the boxed set days without anyone to introduce them. Then consider how many new gamers you know who've taken up RPGs without being dragged in by someone who already played. Clearly, if you look at it from a business perspective, something changed about how accessible the hobby was. Was it the phaseout of the boxed set? I think it's entirely possible.

 

[Chainsaw]

I've heard that before. The question I can't help but wonder is why? Despite the cost, board games come in boxes - they always have.

Economics of scale and volume? I'm guessing those boardgames outsell D&D (now) by quite a bit.