Game Box Monthly is a subscription service that sends you a new indie tabletop game monthly. It’s a great way to start a family game night tradition in your home or have friends over for a night of competition and drinks. When you sign up, you tell them what games you already have so they never send a repeat of what you have in your closet. You can also tell them what kind of games you enjoy so they can curate your subscription to what you love.

I decided to try the Game Box out for a month.  To see how the quality measured up and if the games were as fun as the service makes them appear to be, I was sent a sample box without taking my own tastes into consideration.

The game arrived in a plain brown box. Nothing special notifying me who it was from aside from the address label. That’s fine. While a pretty box is fun, it’s really what’s inside that matters. You’ll see the packaging at the top of this article. The game was tucked gently inside without much room to move, so it got here in great shape.

The game I got was Artifacts, Inc. by Ryan Laukat and Red Raven Games. It’s a combination card and dice game for 2-4 players where you take turns rolling for expeditions. You discover artifacts, then sell them to museums. The game instructions say you can focus on the sales, creating museum majorities, having the best combination of expeditions and buildings, or searching underseas for lost cities and hidden treasures.

I have to say that set up was pretty daunting. The game makes use of money tokens, wooden blocks, several categories of cards and seven dice. The instructions were a little confusing and I got frustrated quickly. However, the game itself is pretty cool. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes fun. You just have to get past the frustration first. I wouldn’t play it with young children due to the confusion level, which is probably why the game is marked for ages 13+.

I think Game Box Monthly is worth the $25 plus shipping that it costs. While the game was a bit cheaper on Amazon, I think the subscription service is a great way to try new games that you didn’t even know existed. It adds some variety to game night to keep it fresh. Whether you play with friends or family, having something new is always appreciated.

You can sign up for Game Box Monthly here. Choose from monthly payments or prepay for three or six months for a slight discount.