Mystery Boxes, Blind Booster Packs, and Surprise Subscriptions

09. April 2026 um 21:50

Have you ever bought a mystery box, a blind booster pack, or a subscription with an unknown assortment inside?

In the early days of COVID, Megan and I signed up for Universal Yums, a treat box subscription service. Every month we would open a new box together and do a taste test of the various sweet and salty treats, and we’d often pair it with a thematically related movie. It was a delight.

I’ve also purchased my fair share of Magic booster packs over the years, most often to draft with friends, not to collect, sell, or compete in tournaments. I can’t deny the thrill of opening a booster and looking through the contents for the first time.

Yet that’s probably the extent to which I’ve engaged with mystery boxes. I don’t like most surprises, and I’m selective about the things I buy–quality and specificity over quantity.

Recently I asked livecast viewers what they thought about mystery boxes. Reactions were mostly mixed at best, and many were fairly negative, with people talking about how blind buys play into gambling compulsions and how they can cheapen a brand.

However, many people also acknowledged that they have enjoyed at least one mystery box (across a wide range of categories): Specific IPs they enjoy, category-specific subscription boxes (tea, chocolate, etc), and when they were just starting a new hobby.

So I’m curious what you think: Have you ever had a good experience with a mystery box, blind booster pack, or surprise subscription?

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18CZ

The Tao of Gaming

Von: taogaming

09. April 2026 um 15:24

Played 18CZ yesterday … apparently it was my second time, but the first was pushing a decade ago. (I do vaguely remember playing it, in that I can tell you where I was when I played it, but no details of the game). The “hook” of CZ is that there are small, medium and large companies, and larger companies can buy out smaller companies and get their trains, cash, tokens, etc. They don’t even have to be connected.

Like many of “Lonny’s” games, there are novel mechanisms. There’s also a fixed time scale (as compared to a fixed bank). Apart from the S/M/L companies, there are also privates that are auctioned off and provide cash flow and can be sold to companies for a slowly increasing value (based on turn), which is quite interesting in terms of capitalization. They also have some special powers, but all privates with the same income stream have the same powers.

Having played this and now a growing number of Lonny’s games (1848, 1880: China, 1840, 18 Lilliput, 18 Mag, and Russian Railways) …. I’ve never loved any of them, although I would play them all again. (China especially deserves a second try, I think). He’s got interesting ideas, but he’s thrown them at the wall and — at least for me — they haven’t stuck.

Rating — Indifferent (but would play again).