Well, I've had some time to unpack the box and give everything a once-over. But before I start listing the contents, how on earth did they get this box to me in two days? I checked DHL's website: for a 13 pound package going from Madrid to my zip code via Worldwide Express, the price is between $260 and $325. This means they made very little money on my purchase, broke even, or lost money. They must have had a heck of a deal with DHL to ship a box the weight of a bowling ball halfway across the world and still come out ahead.
Anyway, let's crack this thing open! You'll want to follow along with the Kickstarter page, if you're interested in seeing the differences between what was pictures and what was delivered.
We start off with a warning! This is NOT a joy! Will this end up being a portent? We shall see...
The top of the box. The box itself isn't too sturdy, which is a function of how it's held together, moreso than its materials. Each individual piece is solid enough, except for the chintzy metal latches. The lid and the front bow and flex, as they are attached to nothing else. I know they really wanted the front of the box to fall away once opened, but it ends up sacrificing some structural integrity.
The front of the box. No, I wasn't incredibly lucky and snagged the very last box; they allowed backers to choose their numbers. So, I of course went for dead last.
Journey with me if you dare, into the spoiler zone! (No actual puzzle spoilers, just box contents!)
i.imgur.com/DWjYqWf.jpgThe box when first opened. It's mostly as illustrated. There are three compartments on top, a middle shelf, and three compartments on bottom.
i.imgur.com/TxUSmr3.jpgThe welcome pack. Sealed with a sticker, not wax. Not a big deal, but they shouldn't have gone for a wax-like sticker. Just use the Rhomb symbol or something.
i.imgur.com/vA60yvp.jpgMysterious symbols behind the welcome pack!
i.imgur.com/6lm20Uq.jpgThe welcome pack contained only the welcome letter and the membership card. I was a little upset at first, but I did eventually find the rest of what supposed to the in the welcome pack, in different box locations.
Lacking any obvious "open me first", I delved into the middle shelf.
i.imgur.com/CTLGTBM.jpgThis was my first big disappointment of the box. The game map is printed on glossy poster paper, whereas it's clearly a cloth map in the Kickstarter.
i.imgur.com/JmWtGyg.jpgThe "game levels" book came out next, which is a softcover, divided into different chapters. This is our first big clue as to how to approach the puzzles in the box. Each level will call out various components in the box to be used together, like a rebus puzzle. All the components for a particular puzzle will have the same identifier, like a star or a circle, to keep you on the right track.
i.imgur.com/FGiDJkP.jpgNext I pulled out some more disappointment: the passport, the arcanum, the instruction book, and the ruler. Big letdown from the Kickstarter. The passport was supposed to be an actual replica passport, the arcanum was supposed to be hardbound, and the ruler was supposed to be a wooden or plastic folding ruler, not some cheap cardboard folded in half. The instruction book was a welcome sight, although it should have probably been placed outside the box, alongside the "this is not a joy" warning.
i.imgur.com/O6v8V2d.jpgThe remaining contents of the center shelf: a puzzle piece with a key, a medium-sized black "string tie" envelope (yes, I had to look up what those are called), and a large black padded envelope.
i.imgur.com/rqVJb1W.jpgInside the string tie envelope, we have a letter explaining that these are the "historical documents". Only thing is, this letter was the last thing in the envelope. I withdrew everything with the flap of the envelope to the rear, not to the front, so I found the contents to be in reverse order.
i.imgur.com/9VdADoX.jpgThe historical documents themselves. About 15 thick, glossy photos, bound by a rubber band. These are good quality.
i.imgur.com/b8YoSng.jpgMembership certificate, which should have been in the welcome pack, as it is hardly a "historical document".
i.imgur.com/i1ZEtgx.jpgInside the large padded envelope: a variety of large, chunky, cardboard puzzle props, many of which are meant to be punched-out and manipulated. Very thick and durable.
That's it for the middle shelf; let's head up to the upper compartments!
i.imgur.com/H87il7I.jpgWe have "crypto objects", "key to eternity", and "investigation tools".
The crypto objects are fairly straightforward: a cardboard rectangle with some colored dots, a soft plastic cylinder with some binary on it, and four little black cardboard popsicle sticks with puzzle references.
i.imgur.com/EOpLRyu.jpgThe key to eternity compartment contains a variety of objects. First we have the graphene key, which was a focal point of the Kickstarter. NFC chip inside, although the hand does not separate from the key, as originally illustrated. There are ~170 cards in two decks, along with three oversized cards, which I'm sure are used in a variety of different ways. There's also what I can only describe as an incense or candle bowl, with a sticker of a sun in the middle. Lastly, we have a little leather or imitation leather wallet.
i.imgur.com/BKdYad1.jpgA tad disappointed, as this was supposed to contain lockpicks, but instead contains a credit-card-multitool, just a rebranded version of the Wallet Ninja. I've tried many of these in the past, and in my opinion, they're rarely worth the trouble. Sure, the bottle opener works fine, and the letter opener is easy enough, but using it as a screwdriver or hex socket wrench? My fingers would bleed before I would accomplish the task. Sorry for the multitool digression, onto the investigation tools!
i.imgur.com/IjNCvqN.jpgThere's a good amount of stuff in here, including a white ribbon with some symbols, a sand timer, a pair of dice, a lapel pin, a tiny paintbrush, the USB wristband, a handful of small black circles (which I'm fairly sure are supposed to be used as stands for the pointing hands seen in the Kickstarter), a black peg (similar to what you would use to attach a board game spinner to its backing), a small black twist container (similar to those used for makeup), a pencil, a complicated pen (it measures inches on one side, centimeters on another, has a spirit level on another, has a stylus nub on top, and also writes normally), a pen that both writes in UV ink and has a UV light on top, and an extendable magnet. The bodies of the two pens are sadly plastic instead of metal. Not that any of us need to write in UV every day, but still.
i.imgur.com/2Xg7b9s.jpgWhat the heck is in this makeup jar? It's a very thick, viscous black liquid. I initially thought it might be ferrofluid, but it doesn't react to the magnet at all. I'm going to abstain from rubbing it on my face for now.
I also plugged in the USB bracelet, and sure enough, there was a copy of all the game content, including scans of all the books and photos. Comes out to 1.68 gigs, so there's definitely a lot to chew on.
i.imgur.com/9BRcrMw.jpgLet's see what's in the bottom of the box. We have the "dreams chamber", the VR goggles, and "augmented soul clothing".
i.imgur.com/l7UZQDi.jpgFirst up is the "dreams chamber", which contains three drawstring bags.
i.imgur.com/vvxcwC5.jpgInside the yellow bag, we have the figures to be used for the game board. There must have been some sort of issue with the octopus figure, because it's been very obviously 3D printed, contrasted to the other models. I mean, it's VERY different. They couldn't have used grey filament? They also included a little stick...thing, wrapped in cord.
i.imgur.com/5LcPB3l.jpgThe white bag is a bit strange, and contains a broken-apart circle puzzle, two strings, a tealight candle, and two hollow pastic cylinders. On top of each cylinder is a sticker.
i.imgur.com/q1nR46B.jpgThe red bag contains a cylinder puzzle, and a set of keys. Strange, I haven't seen any locks yet.
i.imgur.com/v5kRwbh.jpgI take a break from unboxing to refresh my Tetris skills. It gives me some Roman numerals, which I have absolutely zero context for right now.
i.imgur.com/MGf7FUP.jpgThe virtual reality glasses cubby contains a user manual, an oval case containing the goggles, and a rectangular box.
i.imgur.com/S1W0UVz.jpgi.imgur.com/PtC7nPk.jpgInside the rectangular box is the most difficult object I found to describe, so I will just call it "magnifier eyeglasses with side lights". I honestly forgot these were going to be included. My only complaint is that they used very thin wireframes, when they should have gone with a thicker, plastic frame. These things are visually impressive to say the least, though, and I audibly chuckled as I tried to wrap my head around what exactly I was holding.
i.imgur.com/ez5YjJc.jpgBefore I open the VR goggles case, the user manual informs me that the headset is made out of edible silicone, which is great, because I'm fairly sure I'm down to my last box of mac & cheese.
i.imgur.com/a2WU5da.jpgi.imgur.com/93SnUTn.jpgThe goggles themselves are very well put together. They have a three-point headstrap, and weren't annoying to wear at all. My only complaint is that it was a bear to initially assemble. The silicone holes which though which the headstrap is threaded are just barely large enough to accommodate it. Sure, it means the entire thing is very secure once assembled, but I was worried I was going to tear the silicone. The lens distance adjustment knobs are also recessed very far into the headset itself, and cannot be adjusted by hand. At least, not by my sausage fingers. Once it's set up, however, it works great. I've tried a few of these Google cardboard-esque headsets, and this is definitely my favorite.
i.imgur.com/CK5FI3W.jpgi.imgur.com/k9jkZgb.jpgi.imgur.com/sO1W3GM.jpgLastly, we have the "augmented soul clothing". A shiny gold drawing bag contains the t-shirt and the NFC ring. Everything in here looks great, although the ring box doesn't work. It's a small nitpick, but the NFC ring is so wide that it doesn't slide down into the foam of the ring box, like a ring normally would. A small nitpick, to be fair.
i.imgur.com/EH64p5y.jpgThe world adventure map! Or, adventure world map.
That does it for the unboxing! There only obvious things that were officially listed as part of the Kickstarter and are missing are the small locked box and the "cube circuit" puzzle, although there is definitely room for them to be hidden somewhere. Since I also have a set of keys with no locks, I'm guessing I'll need to disassemble the overall box itself at some point.
Overall, there are definitely some disappointing parts to this box. The world map being a poster instead of cloth really irked me, and the red octopus is just laughable. I also wish the books would have better matched the sizes and materials from the Kickstarter.
All in all, the box does have an wide variety of content, and I'm excited to dive into some of these puzzles. One thing I'm extremely impressed with is the speed of production: less than ten months from the end of the Kickstarter to my doorstep. Sure, they had originally planned to ship inside of six months, but I've been on Kickstarter for a while and let's be honest, that was never going to happen. For the variety of objects in the box, ten months is amazing. I do think it ended up a double-edged sword, though. I would have much rather the boxes shipped in January and be delivered by boat, if it meant that some of the issues with the box could be rectified.
Ultimately, the question is, should you buy this? This Kickstarter was invariably compared to Wilson Wolfe, which is fair. Both Kickstarters launched within a month of each other, and were running concurrently for a few weeks. Granted, Wilson Wolfe hasn't been delivered yet, but I feel fairly safe in saying that Wilson Wolfe will be more immersive, while the Enigma Box will have a wider variety of physical objects. At a glance, I definitely think the Enigma Box is going to be the more "gamey" of the two. The deluxe Enigma Box is also more expensive than the Wilson Wolfe platinum box, so there is also a financial consideration at hand. All in all, if you don't mind the more "gamey" experiences that exist in our shared hobby, and you don't mind the delivered product being about nine-tenths of what is pictured on the Kickstarter, I would recommend that you dive right in, because the water's fine (or at least, the water is free of pathogens and is at a reasonable temperature for water-related activities).