{"id":15326,"date":"2025-12-04T01:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/?p=15326"},"modified":"2025-12-04T08:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T12:35:21","slug":"final-thoughts-about-boxed-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/?p=15326","title":{"rendered":"Final Thoughts About Boxed In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Boxed In<\/em> came from wondering what a competitive version of <em>Shut the Box<\/em> might look like. Giving each player their own tray made the game immediately more interesting, and most of the development came from quick playtests with ChatGPT\u2014mainly experimenting with doubles penalties, pacing issues, and ways to keep the game from stalling out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We found a few solid ideas, like the Stalemate Release rule, but I never quite reached a final version that felt fully balanced. Still, the process paid off. A lot of what we learned while testing <em>Boxed In<\/em> directly shaped the design of <strong>Reactor 21<\/strong>, which grew out of the same experiments but landed in a much stronger place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed-In-Rules-Version-Summary.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed In Rules Version Summary.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-e7a2d959-dcc2-46d8-89e9-5723f35c7b02\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed-In-Rules-Version-Summary.pdf\">Boxed In Rules Version Summary<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed-In-Rules-Version-Summary.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-e7a2d959-dcc2-46d8-89e9-5723f35c7b02\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/boxed_in_version_1_rules.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of boxed_in_version_1_rules.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-662f545a-5605-4fa4-85cb-edb1ce86c566\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/boxed_in_version_1_rules.pdf\">boxed_in_version_1_rules<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/boxed_in_version_1_rules.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-662f545a-5605-4fa4-85cb-edb1ce86c566\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_2.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_2.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-24a8499b-7ab4-4889-b37f-c143b198368e\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_2.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_2<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_2.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-24a8499b-7ab4-4889-b37f-c143b198368e\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_3.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_3.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-7bd7cc2c-7c43-47a2-b67f-d72f78d3e345\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_3.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_3<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_3.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-7bd7cc2c-7c43-47a2-b67f-d72f78d3e345\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_4.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_4.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-6fc15831-fb99-4a87-a1b6-eb20c2688cd7\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_4.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_4<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_4.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-6fc15831-fb99-4a87-a1b6-eb20c2688cd7\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_5.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_5.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-f2c00ef2-1851-4a1c-b641-ac25b1cdd399\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_5.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_5<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_5.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-f2c00ef2-1851-4a1c-b641-ac25b1cdd399\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_6.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_6.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-2ec2a9ed-8a9b-4729-9293-67e6d9ff3b3a\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_6.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_6<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_6.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-2ec2a9ed-8a9b-4729-9293-67e6d9ff3b3a\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_7.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_7.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-43d38f43-f282-4fbb-a561-171e2204ea77\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_7.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_7<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_7.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-43d38f43-f282-4fbb-a561-171e2204ea77\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_8.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Boxed_In_Rules_Version_8.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-5d32b23c-d884-4ff7-8f98-4586f2763f75\" href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_8.pdf\">Boxed_In_Rules_Version_8<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Boxed_In_Rules_Version_8.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-5d32b23c-d884-4ff7-8f98-4586f2763f75\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In the beginning, both players are just getting their boards started. You roll, claim a few easy tiles, and see what kind of shape your board is taking. It\u2019s mostly about opening things up and seeing where the numbers fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the game settles in, you\u2019re making small adjustments based on what the dice give you. The doubles effects add a little movement, but most of the time you\u2019re just trying to keep your board flexible and avoid boxing yourself into a corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Toward the end, there are fewer open spots and each roll gives you a couple of decisions to think through. The Stalemate Release rule helps keep things moving, and you\u2019re mostly trying to keep the board workable long enough to reach your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The boards were purchased directly from Amazon. I&#8217;ve attached a screenshot of the product photo from the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1-1536x1025.png 1536w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.25.19-PM-1.png 1580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is a screenshot of how my playtest with ChatGPT looked on my screen&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"634\" src=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-1024x634.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-1024x634.png 1024w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-1536x951.png 1536w, https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-03-at-11.58.51-PM-2048x1267.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boxed In came from wondering what a competitive version of Shut the Box might look like. Giving each player their own tray made the game immediately more interesting, and most of the development came from quick playtests with ChatGPT\u2014mainly experimenting with doubles penalties, pacing issues, and ways to keep the game from stalling out. We &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/?p=15326\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Final Thoughts About Boxed In&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[154,139],"class_list":["post-15326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-design","tag-documentation","tag-marked"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15326"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15351,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15326\/revisions\/15351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rmu.andrewyames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}