Exploring the Internet is bound to yield all sorts of treasures.
One of these many finds are subscription boxes, boxes full of curated items sent to your door for a monthly subscription fee. The types of boxes are quite varied, ranging from food to books, and pet supplies. But what about gamer related subscription boxes? Here are 5 that would be a shame to miss out on.
5. Nerdache Box
Nerdache Cakes is a burgeoning home bakery in Clifton, New Jersey. The owner, Ant Roman, designs her sweets to resemble video game, sci-fi and comic book characters and icons of all kinds. The company began its development from a Tumblr account and the bakery makes custom cakes, cookies and cupcakes that can be ordered online.
Nerdache box is a monthly box that contains treats of all kinds. Every month has a different geeky theme. A recent box featured the Legend of Zelda.
While it is possible to buy a single box, the boxes sell out quickly. Subscriptions are recurring 2-month or 3-month plans and do save a little money from buying single boxes. This way you can get a box every month without having to beat the rush. The plans can be canceled at any time. The only drawback is that the plans are not cheap: a 2-month plan costs $107 total, counting 2 months of $46 payments and a shipping and handling fee of $15 for each box.
Unfortunately at this time it appears the subscription buttons on the site are nonfunctional.
4. Loot Crate
This is a fairly popular box in the geek community. Founded in 2012, Loot Crate features an array of different items every month, from t-shirts and stickers to Funko-Pop dolls. Often the gaming items are mixed in with other cool toys and gadgets from comics or even T.V. shows. Some of the most recent themes have been fantasy, covert, and play.
But one of the unique aspects of this subscription is the chance to win the Mega Crate every month. Past Mega Crates have given away gaming computers and even game themed Legos. Each Mega Crate is estimated to be worth around $2000 or more.
Plans range from 1 month to 1 year, the price ranging between $20.00 ($14 per month, plus $6 shipping and handling) and $216 ($12 per month, plus $6 shipping and handling per box).
3. Geek Fuel
Geek Fuel is another subscription box containing toys, games, collectibles, Steam codes, and other goodies. Each month’s theme is a mystery until the box is released, unlike other boxes such as Nerdache Box, which reveals the contents of each shipment before the box ships out. Most Geek Fuel boxes include an original t-shirt design, food, magnets, a game, and a glass, mug or coaster.
Subscription plan options are quite similar to Loot Crate’s, as they range from $24 for a one month plan ($18 for the box and $6 shipping and handling), and $239 for a year's plan ($14 for the box every month and $6 shipping and handling per box, billed once a year).
2. My Retro Game Box
This particular game box is a little different in that in every monthly box there are 3 retro games you get to keep. To better attend to each individual’s personal tastes, every subscriber is asked what consoles they own and what games they like (and do not like). The subscription service currently supplies games for the NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, the Sega Mastersystem and the Sega Megadrive. They also ask to make sure your console can run PAL games.
Though games are not likely to be in mint condition the curator ensures that every game works. The service is based in the UK but does ship to the rest of the world.
The base subscription is £20 (currently $30.66) per month and shipping varies based on Royal Mail rates, costing a minimum of £28.50 (currently $43.69) for monthly shipping to the world (outside of Europe). That totals about $74.35 for the subscription box, and shipping without tracking, per month. Monthly shipping with tracking to the rest of the world costs approximately £33 (currently $50.58) per month.
1. IndieBox
Indie gamers rejoice! IndieBox is a subscription box devoted to computer-based indie games. Each month IndieBox sends collector's edition game boxes to subscribers' doors. The box includes a retro-style game box, USB game cartridge, color manual, and original soundtrack, as well as other collectibles such as stickers or keychains. All boxes come with an individual Steam key.
Each game is chosen based on a set of standards. All games included in the subscription must be compatible with Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux platforms. The game must have a score of 75 or better on Steam or a rating of 8.0 or better on IndieDB, as well.
Every month's game is announced the first week of the month, and each one ships out towards the end of the month. Tracking is included. Plans range from a 1 month recurring plan (costing $24 every month subscribed, more if you live outside the US due to shipping and handling) and a 6 month plan ($20 per month, more outside of the US due to shipping and handling) that bills you $120 every 6 months.
Many other gamer and nerd subscription boxes exist
This article touches on some of the better gamer and nerd subscription boxes out there, but there are many more to be found. Quite a few are listed on sites such as My Subscription Addiction, but not all. Even if you do not have the money to spend on a monthly subscription box, they are still a great deal of fun to look at.
If you do venture into the world of subscription boxes, take care to read reviews and commentary. There are a few scams out there. Do not let this discourage you, however. There are many real subscription boxes out there, game themed or otherwise. Just do your research, and don't forget to enjoy!
References
A partial group of subscription boxes we’ve run [Online image]. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
[Arcade Block subscription box contents picture]. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
Box [Online image]. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
[Geek Fuel subscription box contents picture]. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
Mega Crate March 2015 [Online image]. (2015). Retrieved June 3, 2015.
[Nerdache Box subscription box contents picture]. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
SWTG Web Promo [Online image]. (2015). Retrieved June 3, 2015.
Published: Jun 3, 2015 07:23 am