As mentioned in a previous post, I recently received two subscriptions from the company Tabletop Monthly with some cool board game goodies and nerdy accessories. I’ve been looking forward to diving into them for some time, and this week I’ve finally had some time to check them out in more detail. I focused on the “Hardcore” box set, with the more competitive and complex games as opposed to the “Family” subscription. Here are the items I received in this month’s box:

Board Game, Car Wars- A Steve Jackson Games creation based on gladiator style automobile combat, Car Wars is highly focused on dice rolling and maneuvering vehicles around a track. The game is highly customizable and complex, with a comprehensive rulebook and a number of different types of vehicles and weapons. Games can be played either in a single duel format or a multi-session campaign style, depending on preference. Average price is around $16, so it is a majority of the value in this box set.

Expansion Pack, Star Wars E-Wing– One of the more popular competitive games on the market, the Star Wars Miniatures game is a war game with a number of expansions available. I currently don’t own the core game for this expansion, but it is on my wish list so this is a good opportunity to start my collection of miniatures. The E-Wing miniature is worth about $10 and is helpful add-on to what looks like a cool game.

Heroes of the Storm mystery mini- This was the one extra in the box I didn’t have any information on, but it looks like Heroes of the Storm is a miniatures set created by Blizzard Gear which has a number of different cute minis for collection. I got the Clear Variant mini character Nova, from the StarCraft set. A cute little addition as part of another “collect them all” series, I personally won’t have a strong urge to collect more but still think it’s pretty cool. Each miniature is part of a random draw, and cost about $10 per mini.

So now that I’ve given a rundown of the items in the box, here are some of my thoughts on the box and its contents:

• The contents of the box are worth close to what you’d pay for them normally, with a slight discount overall (shipping is not included in this pricing breakdown). Ultimately you’re not saving an insane amount of money with this subscription, but they do provide you with a fairly good deal. I’m sure the totals will vary slightly from month to month, but it looks like the boxes will be worth the $30 subscription for the items you receive monthly.
• The mystery of the box is part of the charm of the subscription, but you might have to be prepared for getting one or two items here and there that you simply won’t use. Still, of the 3 items I received I plan on using two of them quite regularly, so there’s definite value there. There is also a chance for receiving something that you already have of course- this is more likely to occur with people who have large gaming collections, but it could happen to the casual gamer as well depending on the situation.
• I would definitely recommend finding the right box for you early, because not everyone would want to play the hardcore games and not everyone would want to play the family games. There will be some people who would like the idea of getting both boxes, and that is certainly an option. However, you would be paying $60 a month so depending on how much you budget out for board games a month you may have to pick your preference.

Overall I was quite happy with the mystery box I received for “Hardcore” games- I will be reviewing the “Family” subscription later this week, and am hoping to have the same results!