RITUAL: What Happens After You Open the Box?

RITUAL is a handcrafted game we built for the moments that matter most, the ones around a long table with people you love, where the conversation goes somewhere unexpected. Each box is one of a kind, carved by hand, holding 49 engraved designs that will never be repeated. This year we gave two of them away, and asked one question to enter: what ritual or tradition brings the people you love closer together?

Two stories stayed with us in a way that felt like they needed to become stewards themselves. In our world, a steward is what you become when a RITUAL box comes to you, not a winner exactly, more like someone entrusted to carry it forward. Tanisha and Bob each received their own RITUAL box, and we knew the story couldn't end there. A box like this isn't really finished until it's opened, held, lived with a little. So we went back to them and asked what that moment actually felt like, once the box was no longer an idea and was sitting right there in their hands.

Here is what they told us.

Tanisha

The first thing Tanisha noticed was the craft. Not the design or the questions inside, just the object itself. "My initial impression upon opening the box was the craftsmanship, the details and the smell of the wood." Then came the welcome letter, tucked inside its own envelope. "I thought the letter was absolutely divine. It smelled like the wood from the box which I loved. I could feel the energy that was put into writing it. I felt a part of a community."

What struck her wasn't surprise exactly, since she hadn't come in with expectations to overturn. It was something quieter. "More of an invitation to dive deeper into self discovery."

"I honestly don't think it compares to other games I have played, especially the craftsmanship." - Tanisha N.

Bob

Bob came in with a head start. He had seen an early version of RITUAL that Topaz shared with the community a couple years ago, so opening his own box came with a kind of anticipation already built in. "The first thing I noticed was the smell of the wood and the beauty of the box itself. Since I had seen the version Topaz shared with before, I was full of excited anticipation, knowing how beautiful I remembered the original was. I loved the beauty of the contrasting wood, the intrigue of the designs and looking forward to exploring the questions."

He wouldn't call what he felt surprise either. It was more of a recognition. "More a reminder of the power of the symbols themselves, to draw you to them. Magic." And when we asked if RITUAL matched what he expected going in, his answer was simple.

"It's like nothing else I've experienced in a game." - Bob N.

What stays with us

Reading these back, the thing that keeps standing out is the word steward. Neither Tanisha nor Bob talked about winning something. They talked about being trusted with something, about a weight in their hands that felt like more than wood and hinges.

That was always the idea behind RITUAL. Not a prize, but a passing on. Something that gets heavier with meaning every time it changes hands, not lighter.

With love,
Luana Costa
The Skin Deep Head of Social Media & Community