ABOUT BOXENTRIQ
Factsheet / Press Information
Developer | Johan Åhlén |
---|---|
Website | www.boxentriq.com |
Genre | Code-Breaking, Logic Puzzles, Lateral Thinking, Room Escape Games |
Platforms | Android and iOS |
Pricing |
Free for the first 10 levels. More levels are available as in-app purchases. No Ads. |
Press/Business Contact | |
Address | Johan Åhlén AB, Box 41, 234 21 Lomma, Sweden. |
Summary | Boxentriq is a unique puzzle game that takes you on a journey through logic puzzles, codes & ciphers based on real-world mysteries. To solve the challenges of Boxentriq you need problem solving skills, creativity, and the ability to think outside of the box. |
The birth of Boxentriq
It all started with a web puzzle
Back in October 2015 I launched the web puzzle Boxen, but it was only available in my native Swedish. It became popular beyond all expectations, and notorious for its difficulty. Only about 10 persons people managed to solve all 30 levels; the first Joel Eriksson, also known as the man who solved the mysterious Cicada 3301 puzzle.
Cicada 3301 was one of my biggest inspirations
I’ve always loved brainteasers. The combination of really difficult logical puzzles, and the various theories about who Cicada 3301 really are, caught my attention. I liked Cicada 3301 a lot also because it required not only technical skills to complete. I hadn’t been as fascinated since I read Gödel, Escher, Bach in my youth.
This led me not only to late nights of puzzle solving, but also to research hacker culture and other shadowy organizations. I thought I should do a puzzle game on this theme myself.
Much patience
Following the popularity of Boxen, I decided to create something bigger (and in English). I funded it through Kickstarter around spring 2016. My backers have shown extreme patience, because I was a big time optimist and thought I would be finished with the new game during that same year. Instead I kept getting new ideas, and at one point I even rewrote the entire game.
From Boxen to Boxentriq
I decided to change from Boxen to Boxentriq to make it more unique. The original name, Boxen, came from “thinking outside of the box” (or rather its Swedish translation). Boxentriq also contains the elements "eccentric", "iq" and "trick", which are words that I think really do represent the game.
An unusual game
I’ve seen many other puzzle games, with high to exceptional difficulty. However, they usually aren't much more than a bunch of puzzles, not related through any story or path. Many puzzles require too much guess work, and can be impossible to solve without heavy hints from others or the solution itself. That’s frustrating to puzzlers who enjoy the satisfaction of finding the answers themselves.
Boxentriq contains a varied mix of carefully balanced puzzles, which require a combination of witty reasoning, lateral thinking and technical skills to solve. All related through a storyline. It also contains many twists and surprises, awaiting those who dare to try it.
- Johan
Fun facts
When I was around 12 years old, I (kind of) launched my first game, an adventure game for Sinclair ZX Spectrum (ancient computer that was popular long time ago).
I advertised in Sweden’s leading computer magazine (probably spent 4-5 dollars on buying a text-ad) and sold less than 10 copies. The graphics really sucked, and I surely wouldn’t have won any awards with that game.
However, it was the beginning of my path in development and a couple of years later I shared first place in the national “Programming Olympics” for secondary school students. I’ve also got a few other awards since then. But that’s another story!
Credits
Game Design & Development: Johan Åhlén
Images
Trademark
Boxentriq® is an internationally registered trademark. All rights reserved.