NoPro’s Holiday Gift Guide (2020 Edition)
Whether you’re thinking outside or inside the (mystery) box, we’ve got you covered
Alright, you know the drill.
Holiday gift giving season is around the corner, but before you can give the gifts you gotta get the gifts. Some of you will go DIY — from making clothes and cosplay pieces, to designing elaborate games for your friends and loved ones across multiple platforms — for the rest of us, it’s time to shop.
Below you will find ideas for Films, Experience Boxes, Games, Tech, Books, and even Fitness that immersive fans, and possibly yourself, will love.
Oh, and if you need more ideas, check out our friends over at Room Escape Artist for their 2020 Gift Guide.
(And for the record: we don’t have any affiliate codes on any of this stuff.)
FILMS
The Game (1997)
Feature Film
$3.99 (rent on iTunes or Amazon Prime)
Perfect for: ARG-heads, people who live in liminal spaces, interactive storytellers
Even though the film is over 20 years old by now, countless immersive creators — including the folks who made The Beast — have been inspired by this tale of a lonely but wealthy banker who finds himself thrown into a surreal game where he can’t tell the difference between what is fiction and what is reality. To say more would be to rob new viewers of discovering all of The Game’s surprises. But if that’s not enough to sway you? It’s David Fincher with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Enough said.
— Kathryn Yu
The Imagineering Story
Documentary mini series
Available on Disney+, $6.99/month or give a gift subscription for $69.99 for one year
Perfect for: Theme park fans, worldbuilders, aspiring Imagineers
Created by Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter of famed animator Ub Iwerks), this six part documentary miniseries takes a look at the magic of Disney Imagineering, from its humble beginnings as W.E.D. Enterprises to the work it does today on attractions like Avengers Campus and Rise of the Resistance. Disneyphiles of all ages will likely drool at the behind-the-scenes shots of concept art, architectural renderings, prop making, and animatronic build-outs. And the series doesn’t shy away from showing some of Disney’s missteps, either, like the launches of California Adventure and Hong Kong Disneyland. For anybody who’s ever dreamed of building theme parks, this series is for you.
— Kathryn Yu
Where the Others Are
Filmed Immersive Theatre
$10 (buy on Vimeo)
Perfect for: Horror fans, immersive theatre aficionados
LA-based E3W Productions is also known for their critically-acclaimed immersive shows (In Another Room), ARGs (ARCANA), and indie-horror film (The House on Pine Street). And E3W Productions’ Where the Others Are is the next best thing to the original intimate immersive theatre experience for horror fans.
With the sound of cicadas keening in the night air, you’ve arrived at your dear friend Maggie’s decaying Airstream trailer. She needs your help, but for what exactly? Has Maggie lost touch with reality or has something otherworldly happened to her husband Ben?
— Laura Hess
EXPERIENCES IN A BOX
Camp Christmas
Interactive Experience in a Virtual World
$12 — $67+
Perfect for: Families with young children; people who really, really love Christmas
After last year’s smashing success, Camp Christmas is back, and its fully remote transition means you don’t have to be a Denver resident to attend! Pick up a virtual ticket to Base Camp for just $12 where you’ll get access to the Camp Christmas online world. There you’ll explore themed virtual Christmas campgrounds and join in on holiday activities, daily camp events, and DIY crafts. You’ll even get a welcome package in the mail to kick off the experience! For an extra $30-$60, have one of five themed “adventure bundles” shipped to your loved one’s doorstep, which includes curated crafts and access to additional gated content, on top of the standard base camp experience.
— Danielle Look
Issue in a Box
Experience Box
$70
Perfect for: The person in your life that subscribes to the New York Times, follows TIME on Instagram, and watches Netflix Original documentaries.
Pop-Up Magazine is a brand known for its annual live tour that features magical, non-fiction storytelling productions. In light of the current pandemic, they claim they will bring the same multi-sensory experience within a limited-edition, food-themed collection packaged box that is sponsored by Instacart. The website shares a glimpse into what is to come saying the package, “features chef and author Samin Nosrat (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat), bestselling novelist Karen Russell (Swamplandia!), musician and podcast host turned Netflix star Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder), artist and author Leanne Shapton (Swimming Studies), artists and creative collaborators Jason Fulford and Tamara Shopsin, acclaimed poet Ada Limón, and more.”
It seems like a perfect multi-sensory gift for any nonfiction consumer, whether they are spending these holidays alone or in good (safe) company.
— Michaela Ternasky-Holland
The Curious Correspondence Club
Puzzle/Paper Craft/Ephemera
$23 — $180
Perfect for: Escape room fans, puzzlers
If you’re a fan of the idea of mail based experiences such as Hunt A Killer or The Mysterious Package Company, but the cost of entry gives you pause, The Curious Correspondence Club might be up your alley. An offshoot from the creative minds of The MPC, offers a series of envelopes literally packed with delightfully designed ephemera, paper props and a fun narrative inviting you to explore the mysteries of an ancient secret society. While the puzzles might not be hard to the grizzled puzzler, they offer an entertaining challenge for a solo or family afternoon adventure. A single adventure, or a subscription to this fun, stay-at-home outing might be a great mailbox stuffer for your favorite puzzle fan, or for your favorite ephemera collector.
— Anthony Robinson
S.O.U.P. by Crack-A-Nut Mysteries
Narrative Puzzle Box
$77 plus shipping
Perfect for: Puzzle and mystery aficionados — newbie-friendly, family-friendly
Appealing both to players’ sense of wonder and secret vanity, Crack-A-Nut Mysteries’ newest box is a light-hearted investigation into the supernatural that is personalized for the recipient(s). As new recruits for the Society for the Observation of Unknown Phenomena, players receive customized welcome packets and a series of puzzle assignments investigating the weird, the legendary, and the unexplained. For those who prefer their mysteries to be free of murder and the macabre, S.O.U.P.’s charming and playful style fills a largely unoccupied niche. (And for those who do want to be spooked, consider Crack-A-Nut’s previous box, Root of All Evil.)
— Lauren Bello
Hunt A Killer Horror: Blair Witch
Narrative Puzzle Box Subscription
$30/month plus shipping for one episode; $165 for the series w/free shipping
Perfect for: Those who love a creepy mystery
Have someone who loves The Blair Witch Project, or the kind of horror story that plays up the feeling of the hairs on the back of their neck standing up because they realize that something is just wrong? Treat them to this trip back to Burkettsville, Maryland and another mysterious disappearance. I’ve only played the first episode, but with Hunt A Killer’s reputation, signing up your loved one for a season of spookiness isn’t a bad bet.
– Noah Nelson
GAMES
Carte Rouge
Physical Game/Puzzle
$29
Perfect for: Puzzle Nuts and ARG-heads
One of the joys of a legacy game is after play, you have a gameboard infused with the memories of adventure. Carte Rouge, although lacking the alterable elements of a legacy game, captures that spirit, infusing a deck of cards with narratives, codes, puzzles, and mysteries. The cards are gorgeous and classy, and every hand of poker I’ve played with them after decoding has felt suffused with the evenings of adventure I spent working my way through them.
— Blake Weil
The Eleventh Hour
Puzzle Book/Picture Book
$8.99–13.95
Perfect for: Younger Immersive Lovers
When I look back on the many things that primed me to love immersive theater, my favorite children’s book, The Eleventh Hour, comes to mind. Hidden in the sumptuously illustrated pages telling the story of an eleven year old elephant’s costume party gone wrong are puzzles that will challenge even a seasoned escape room fiend. Who ate the birthday feast while no one was looking? You (and your kids!) will find a new layer to the mystery every time you pick it up. Splurge on the hardcover if you can; the illustrations deserve the size and print quality it offers.
— Blake Weil
Arkham Horror: The Card Game and Mansions of Madness
Card and Board Game
Card Game Base Set: $44.95 — Board Game Base Set: $99.95
Perfect for: Those who love sandbox immersive experiences and don’t mind playing games for over two hours only to lose because you went insane
Did you enjoy Lovecraft Country? Curious to see if you could survive an encounter with those same monsters? Fantasy Flight Games provides two player-driven narrative based games exploring H.P. Lovecraft’s world. In The Card Game, build a deck of cards that allows you to conquer difficult choices in a multipart campaign. Or in the Mansions of Madness, explore haunting locations, question witnesses, and solve puzzles as the free and required companion app constantly ups the stakes. Regardless of which game you play, the decisions you make define the ending. Did you save the world? Or did you doom humanity to a terrible fate?
— Patrick B. McLean
Bioshock: Infinite on the Nintendo Switch
Video Game
$11.99
Perfect for: Story-driven gamers and McKittrick devotees
Originally released in 2013, Bioshock Infinite has since been touted as one of the most immersive video games of all time, garnering countless fans singing its praises (myself included). Its recent re-release on the Nintendo Switch offers those new to the game a super accessible platform to play it on, and those familiar with the game a fantastic excuse to play it again (and again). Creator Ken Levine even cited our beloved Sleep No More as inspiration for the game, and it shows. Players do not need to have played the previous Bioshock games to enjoy this installment, and the Switch package includes the Burial at Sea and Clash in the Clouds DLC.
— Leah Ableson
Blaseball
Fantasy Sports Browser Game
Free or various Patreon tiers (blaseball.com)
Perfect for: ???
Blaseball is almost impossible to summarize in the space I have here, but let’s give it a go: it’s a browser-based baseball simulation created by The Game Band where participants can watch and bet on simulated games where the players can’t stop playing, they’re at risk of being incinerated, and are at the whims of various gods including a peanut, a giant squid, and an embodiment of capitalism. Blaseball is kind of immersive because a thriving fan community has begun roleplaying the various players on Twitter and an offhand joke lead to an in-game trial on the Blaseball Discord. It also has some ARG elements that participants can find weird ways to interact with in-game. The most prominent resulted in the participants moving a dead player into a specific spot on a board, resulting in their resurrection. Whether you’re looking for some immersive-lite roleplaying or some interesting ARG/game mechanics, Blaseball has something for everyone.
— Kevin Gossett
TECH
Oculus Quest 2
VR Console
$299 / $399
Perfect for: VR first-timers and addicts alike
The most expensive item on this list, but a staple nonetheless: the Quest 2 is notably more improved in multiple respects than its predecessor. Better battery life, increased resolution, and lighter weight all lead to a standalone system for VR at home or on-the-go. While it won’t be the thing you show off at house-parties for a while (obviously), this headset is sure to provide those necessary “out-of-home” experiences. The only caveat is requiring a Facebook account to use it… if that doesn’t dissuade you, then you have thousands of awesome experiences to discover.
— Will Cherry
BOOKS
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Novel
$12.99
Perfect for: Lovers of immersive who also like to read
I suppose if we can’t actually attend magical shows with hidden mysteries around every corner, reading about them in a book will have to do as a temporary replacement! The Night Circus is an incredible novel that details the journey of a mystical traveling circus and all the magic — both sleight of hand and maybe something a bit too close to real — that it contains. Upon closer inspection, some super immersive fans might notice some similarities to a beloved, long running show in NYC, but I’ll leave it up to you to connect the rest of the dots!
— Allie Marotta
Caravel by Stephanie Garber
Legendary by Stephanie Garber (Caravel series, #2)
Finale by Stephanie Garber (Caravel series, #3)
Novel
$11–18 each
Perfect for: Readers who are “punch-drunk” on immersive experiences
Caraval is a monumental once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, and two sisters are invited to attend by a mysterious stranger. Once there they fall deeper and deeper into the legends of the island as the veil between what’s only a performance and what’s real grows thin. Ideal series reading for fantasy readers who miss the seductive open world immersive experience, and an excellent companion gift to Morgenstern’s The Night Circus.
— Shelley Snyder
These Pages Fall Like Ash
Immersive Fiction
£20 UK, limited run of 1,000 (buy directly from the creators: purchase by December 12 if shipping to Canada/USA, by December 16 if shipping to Europe)
These Pages Fall Like Ash combines two books: one physical, one digital. A user-driven experience, These Pages is an evocative antidote to our newly constrained, pandemic lives. How each participant chooses to engage with the work is theirs to decide; the key is how the experience cultivates fresh curiosity through the familiar and acts as a catalyst for reflective daydreaming.
— Laura Hess
FITNESS
Supernatural for Oculus Quest Gift Card
Fitness App
$49/3 month; $99/6 month; $149/year
Perfect for: VR Warriors
Yeah, it can be a bit dodgy to get someone a fitness thing for a gift, but for Quest owners who dig on games like Beat Saber and Pistol Whip for the health benefits a subscription of any length to Supernatural is basically a no-brainer. New workouts drop every day of the week, and the app has expanded to feature stretching, meditation, and short pick-up sessions of various intensities. Plus the music library is so vast that you’re bound to find something you can groove to.
– Noah Nelson
Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, new home of NoPro’s show listings.
NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers. Join them today!
In addition to the No Proscenium web site, our podcast, and our newsletters, you can find NoPro on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, in the Facebook community Everything Immersive, and on our Slack forum.
Office facilities provided by Thymele Arts, in Los Angeles, CA.
