NoPro’s 2024 Gift Guide for Immersive Fans & Makers

Presents. Tokens of affection. Stocking stuffers. Gifts.

Whatever you call them they’re a bona fide good thing. You express care through a physical object and it lasts forever. Or until it gets forgotten in a junk drawer somewhere. Look: it’s the thought that counts and we have been doing some THINKIN’ this year.

You’ll find games & experiences & books & mementos all up in this list. Objects and memories they will hang on to forever. Or that maybe you’ll hold on to forever IF A CERTAIN SOMEONE GETS THE HINT.

Ahem.

This is the SIXTH YEAR of the guide, and you can check out the 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 editions. And since we are bad at capitalism, what you find below don’t involve any kickbacks or AI-generated shill text. We’re shilling by hand for FREE, friends. But we DID reuse this graph from last year because we are environmentally conscious!

THIS YEAR’S CATEGORIES

• EXPERIENCES IN A BOX
• VR & VIDEO GAMES
• BOOKS
• GIFT CARDS
• COLLECTABLES
• GRAB BAG

EXPERIENCES IN A BOX

BoxTWO by Neil Patrick Harris and Theory11

The followup to the beloved hit
$34.99, exclusively at Target

Perfect for: Any One Who Loves Surprise And Delight In A Box, Puzzle Heads, Magic Enthusiasts, Escape Room Lovers, Neil Patrick Harris Fans

Good news for all of the BoxONE fans out there, as Theory11 and Neil Patrick Harris have come out with a sequel! Impressively constructed and beautifully designed, this box holds more puzzles, surprises, and secrets than you might expect at first glance. And similar to their previous boxed game, this is a game for one player which takes inspiration from escape rooms, alternate reality games, and more; however, BoxTWO leans slightly heavier on brainteasers, magic tricks, and other illusions compared to its predecessor. Without spoiling too much, I’ll say that the experience starts with a very cool-looking skeleton key and goes to some pretty impressive places from there. Total play time for BoxTWO is around 2.5–3 hours and I had a blast taking over basically my entire kitchen table on a weekend evening. Pro-tip: it helps to have a smartphone nearby as well as a laptop or tablet. And, just like BoxONE, this box is completely resettable, which means you can finish your playthrough and gift it to someone else to keep sharing the joy. (Note you don’t need to have played BoxONE to enjoy BoxTWO.)

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

Clue: Treachery at Tudor Mansion

The Clue mysteries deepen
$16.99

Perfect for: Classic Board Game Lovers, Introducing Friends and Family to Non-Traditional Gaming, LARPers

While yet again Mr. Boddy has been murdered by someone with something somewhere in the mansion, this time players work together and explore the mansion by laying down tiles and completing beginner friendly puzzles. The group I played with included a high school teenager and their 40-something parents with everyone having a grand time, collectively digging this experience’s collaborative take on the classic board game. Additionally, we elected to do some (totally not required) light-roleplaying, performing in voices and engaging in improvisation, which heightened the gameplay and added some hilarious, goofy laughs.

– Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator & Remote Experiences Editor

The Morrison Game Factory — PostCurious

A puzzletale where the medium is the message
$39

Perfect for: Those Who Love Their Puzzles With Stories, Fans of Classic Board Games, Immersive Heads Who Like to get Hit in the Feels

Do you know someone who gets choked up at Pixar movies and also is always asking to go to the new escape room in town? Well, do I have something that will keep them busy!

The Morrison Game Factory is an absolutely lovely story disguised as a mysterious collection of board games that rolled off an assembly line. It might be the only copy. Your recipient is the one person who can figure it out, and what they find will surprise them and might just get them to melt a little on the inside. Or a lot. The Pixar thing is a good guide.

Watch out: one of the early puzzles is tricksy, but it’s well worth pushing (or looking things up) to get into the flow of this beautiful story.

— Noah Nelson, Publisher and guy who definitely didn’t cry at Inside Out, Wall-E, or any of the Toy Story movies. Shut up.

VIDEO GAMES

Meta Quest 3

The best bang for your buck in XR
Console
$499 for the 512 GB model

Perfect for: Anybody Who Wants To Escape To A Different Reality; Anybody Who Wishes They Were Batman; Video Gamers and Non-Gamers Alike

With one of the best Batman games in years, Batman: Arkham Shadow, as the free pack-in this season and a host of major releases arriving soon there has never been a better time to jump onto the Quest platform than Holiday 2024.

For the cash conscious there is the Quest 3S ($300), which mixes and matches some of the older Quest 2 parts with the brains of the Quest 3 to make for an affordable entry point. But, for our money, whether you are meeting friends in Walkabout Minigolf, gliding through Gotham as Batman, smashing fitness goals in Supernatural, unpacking your new Starship Home, or stalking massive monsters in Skydance’s Behemoth, the graphics of the top of the line Quest 3 are worth it if this isn’t your first go round. I say this as someone who wasn’t so sure after having the the Oculus Go, and the Quest 1 & 2.

This is the device I wanted all along.

There’s also the whole “tariffs” thing that’s getting talked about, so grabbing tech purchases before all that happens isn’t a bad idea.

— Noah Nelson, Publisher and giant Batman nerd

Star Trek: Resurgence

Boldly go…
Video Game (PC and Consoles)
$24.99

Perfect for: Trekkies, Telltale Game Fans, RPG Players Whose Group Has Canceled Tonight’s Session Last Minute But You Still Want to Play

Set a year after the U.S.S. Enterprise stopped Shinzon’s coup of the Romulan Empire, players don the pips of both First Officer Jara Rydek and Ensign Carter Diaz aboard the U.S.S Resolute. Their mission: to uncover the sinister party derailing a peace negotiation and its connection to a mysterious space anomaly. If you ever wanted to live an episode of TNG, Resurgence perfectly captures the tone, look, and feel of that beloved era through a high stakes plot. The game’s biggest success is that important choices not only have real weight to them, but come out of the blue, requiring split second and difficult decision making.

– Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator & Remote Experiences Editor

Alan Wake 2

Wake, Alan, wake…
Video Game (PC and Consoles)
$49.99 and up

Perfect for: Survival Horror Fans (It’s Actually Scary!), Twin Peaks Fans, Anyone Who’s Into Reality-Bending Narratives

Alan Wake 2 is a mind-bending, genre-twisting, meta-focused trip into the power and meaning of art and the stories we tell. It’s also an excellent video game. As the story unfolds, it surprises and delights at every turn with new twists on gameplay and the way it’s telling the story. This lets it scratch a very similar itch to immersive theatre pieces rich in mystery and the unknown. On top of all of that, an immersive theatre show based out of a hotel in New York City features prominently in the game!

— Kevin Gossett, LA Reviews Editor

Star Wars: Outlaws

Scoundrel? Scoundrel. I like the sound of that.
Video Game (PC and Consoles)
$52.49 and up

Perfect for: Star Wars Fans, People Who Love a Video Game With an Animal Companion, Anyone Who Ever Wanted to Get a Crew Together For a Heist

Earlier this year, I spent a couple of weeks inhabiting the role of Kay Vess: a talented but very green thief who stumbled her way into the biggest heist the Outer Rim has maybe ever seen. She also definitely has the cutest, and most competent, animal companion ever seen in a video game.

As someone who has played every major Star Wars game that’s ever been made I can say, without a doubt, that the open world action of Outlaws is what I’ve been looking for, well, for a very long time. If you are a fan of the “scum and villany” side of the Star Wars galaxy, this one lets you inhabit that world in the closest thing we have yet to a full immersive sim in the franchise. Yes, I’m counting the later Dark Forces/Jedi Knight games in my accounting here.

Are there some of the telltale signs of the “Ubisoft open world game formula” here? Sure. It’s an Ubisoft open world game. But it’s a Star Wars one of those, and it has a rather addictive variant of sabacc (the version of poker that Han Solo won the Millenium Falcon with) that has proven popular enough that there are some, ah, unlicensed ways to play it.

Look: the more you know Star Wars, the more this game pays off, but it is also just a whole vibe. That classic Star Wars vibe. Which is why YouTubers preemptively hated it. Because they hate fun for a living, and wouldn’t last two minutes in Mos Eisley.

– Noah Nelson, podcast host who swears he’s good for the coaxium as soon as he takes this quick trip to Akiva to see a Rodian about a ion converter

BOOKS

2120 by George Wylesol

A mind-bending choose your own adventure graphic novel
Graphic Novel
$30

Perfect for: People Who Like Puzzles in Their Stories, Anyone Chasing an Immersive Vibe in a Book

At its heart, 2120 by George Wylesol is a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel. However, it has loftier goals in mind as it tells a story that relies on that specific medium to convey the feelings and emotions that it wants to. Like the best immersive theatre, 2120 is a journey into a very specific world that regularly disorients the reader and forces them to reorient to figure out where to go next and what it all means. By the end, you’ll be left with a story that sticks with you, even as you contemplate starting over from the beginning.

– Kevin Gossett, LA Reviews Editor

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way Written By Ryan North and Illustrated by Chris Fenoglio

Get your nacelles in order
Graphic Novel
$24.99

Perfect for: Trekkies, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and Sci-fi fans, Anyone Who Loves to Laugh Out Loud

While starting off as a seemingly regular (and way to early) morning aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos, Lower Deck’s crew member Beckett Mariner appears to be stuck in a time loop. Or maybe a hologram? Or a Borg AND Gorn attack? EIther way, WTF is that KKKKKKKKHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN?!?!?!? In this hilarious graphic novel that requires zero knowledge of Lower Decks (though general Star Trek knowledge elevates the humor), readers are encouraged to keep making choices and exploring options, as you never know what piece of information you’ll pick up that’ll help Mariner figure things out. Immersive fans will greatly appreciate how the creative team delightfully makes the most of this narrative genre.

– Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator & Remote Experiences Editor

Hyper-Reality by Curtis Hickman

Make your own reality
Book
$49.95

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Perfect for: Students of Immersive World-Building, Aspiring XR & Themed Entertainment Designers, Magicians Who Want to Amaze At Scale

The original version of The VOID was an incredibly ambitious pre-pandemic vision of what location-based VR could have been. It set a template and a standard, and just when the company was getting ready to break the mold and start really innovating on how people would play together, it all went away.

This book is not about that. Nor is it about the future plans of the founders.

What it is, instead, is a goldmine of thinking about building immersive experiences in virtual reality from one of the creative forces behind the company, Curtis Hickman, that is totally applicable to live action immersive creation as well. Hickman uses his training as an illusionist, his background in special effects, and his upbringing as the son of one of the architects of Dungeons & Dragons’ most beloved settings to bear on an incredibly well constructed theory of the case of what makes virtual immersive experiences tick.

This is one I recommend to my students who want to go deeper into the realm of making immersive worlds.

— Noah Nelson, who isn’t just a pop culture reference machine but actually teaches at a university level, though you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s always talking in the third person

GIFT CARDS

Astra Lumina Gift Card (Dallas, Los Angeles, Philly, Seattle )

Give someone the gift of a magical night walk
$45–200

Perfect for: Your Hard To Please Family Members, Fans of Installation Art, Lovers of Nature Walks, Astronomy Buffs

Moment Factory’s popular outdoor nighttime light walk is a great gift for folks who’ve never tried an immersive experience before or whose tastes run more towards museums and arboretums. Inspired by astronomy, the experience takes attendees on a wondrous journey through the stars, using light, sound, music, projection mapping, and so much more. Even better, it’s great for both a date night for couples or an outing for the whole family. Whether you’re buying for someone who’s 8 years old or 80 years old, Astra Lumina is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

Hatch Escapes Gift Voucher

A host of fantastic games under one roof
$25–300

Perfect for: Escape Room Buffs, Walking Sim Fans, Anybody Who Hasn’t Tried Their Experiences Yet

Know someone in Los Angeles who enjoys immersive games and hasn’t visited Hatch Escapes? Maybe they’re an escape room enthusiast who hasn’t had the chance to play Lab Rat yet. Or they’re a walking sim and podcast buff who’s never heard of the Thea Award-winning experience The Nest. Or perhaps you know a fan of The Ladder (also a recent Thea Award winner) who is itching to get back and do another run through and make different choices this time around. Luckily for us, Hatch Escapes Gift Voucher is a great choice for all of these folks! With vouchers starting at $25, you can give the gift of Hatch Escapes this holiday season. That’s the easy part; the hard part might be your recipient trying to decide which of these fantastic immersive experiences to spend it on.

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

Life & Trust Gift Experience

Trust your soul with us…
$320

Perfect for: People Sad About Sleep No More Closing, Those Looking for the Next Big Thing

Part of Life & Trust will feel familiar to people who have visited the other promenade-style immersive show in New York City. This show is absolutely its own thing though, as stories about the influence of money, power, and the people propped up or constrained by those things unfold in front of you. The themes are fitting considering Life & Trust takes place in an old bank in the Financial District; the space is incredible and the sets are excellent. The most compelling part is the focus on a large number of small stories with clear arcs that make for a fulfilling experience if you stick with one character.

— Kevin Gossett, LA Review Editor

Immersive Gamebox

Get your game face on
$19.99 — $34.99 per person per game

Perfect for: Your Friends Who Won’t Play an Escape Room With You, Groups of Varying Age or Skill Level, People Who Get Sick From VR, Anyone in General

Two years after I first played Immersive Gamebox and I’m still raving about it, with several return trips since then. The concept is simple: move about the room (untethered, wearing a visor) to interact with the game projected on the walls.

I’ve played three games and have my eye on three others yet to play, but I really don’t think you can make a wrong choice when it comes to selecting the game. With 20 locations in the US (and an additional 11 internationally), there’s a good chance there’s one close to you or your loved one!

— Danielle Riha, Denver Curator

Meow Wolf Portal Pass Supremium

Access the full spectrum of the multiverse
$79 and up

Perfect for: That Person You’re Trying to Goad Into a Road Trip, Immersive Superfans, Anyone Who Lives Near a Meow Wolf and is Going to be Near Another Meow Wolf Next Year, Reticulans Trapped in this Agonizing Dimension

The Portal Pass Supremium offers “one year of access to the Meow Wolf Universe, including House of Eternal Return, Omega Mart, Convergence Station, The Real Unreal and Radio Tave.” So that’s Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, and Houston. Kids passes start at $79 and adults at $97 until December 5th, so it’s a pretty good time to grab them if you know Meow Wolf is on the 2025 agenda.

COLLECTABLES

McKittrick Hotel Snow Globe

Our hearts, in ice
$50

Perfect for: Sleep No More Aficionados, Macbeth Obsessives, Immersive Theatre Fans in New York City, Anybody Who is Mourning the Show’s Closing in NYC

Sleep No More in New York City is closing, for good, this coming January, after a years-long run in Chelsea. Yes, you can be sad that the show will soon be gone (though other versions may live on in other countries), but don’t miss out on one last chance to raid the McKittrick Hotel’s gift shop. One of my absolute favorite items from the gift shop — and now a prized possession — is a beautiful Sleep No More-themed snow globe. Give it a hearty shake and watch as snow flakes gracefully fall down on Birnam Wood, represented by a few pine trees, all lovingly set atop the ballroom floor’s star-shaped coven symbol. Even better, there’s an Easter Egg hidden inside the snow globe. Spoiler alert: it might take some effort to find it, but there is a tiny version of Punchdrunk’s signature mask hidden among the snow. Simply delightful.

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

Meow Wolf Vista Boss

Feel nostalgic for something from an alternate universe
Analog 3-D Image Viewing Device
$29.50

Perfect for: Collectors of Retro Tech, Meow Wolf Fans, Lovers of Inconvenient Photography

One of my favorite souvenirs from my various Meow Wolf trips is a View Master-like device called the Vista Boss. (In fact, I have three of them currently sitting on the shelf next to me: one for each location I have visited.) The Vista Boss is a handheld device which allows users to view stereoscopic 3D photographs when they hold it up to their faces; in this case, the viewer can see tiny slide photographs of different exhibits within The House of Eternal Return or Omega Mart, for example. Each viewer comes with two cardboard slide reels which get inserted into the plastic viewer; depressing on the mechanical lever advances to the next slide. Basically, like having a little piece of Meow Wolf in your home, allowing you to escape to the “Glowquarium” or “Brrrmuda” whenever you want. And pushing down on that plastic lever to get to the next photograph is just really, truly satisfying. Ker-chunk!

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

Black Series Galaxy’s Edge & Halcyon Accessories — Etsy

The galaxy awaits
Price varies

Perfect for: Halcyon Passenger Manifest Members, Cosplayers, Disney Adults, Star Wars Superfans, Space Antifa, Publishers of No Proscenium

Whether it is a little tray of food from the Crown of Corellia for your Hondo Ohnaka action figure, an Aurebesh decoder ring, or a Kessel Sabacc set there is a universe of fan crafted Star Wars stuff on Etsy that is awaiting you.

From stuff to role play with to displays for toys, the legacy of the Galactic Starcruiser lives on, and beyind that just about every flavor of Star Wars fan can be given the perfect gift.

All the better if you own a 3D printer, because there is a wealth of stuff available that way. Or just send these links to the Star Wars fans in your life with a “Have you seen these?” and give them the joy of getting lost in a galaxy far far away for a few hours as they have their minds blown.

– Cerk Tython, rare acquisitions & planetary scout services specialist

GRAB BAG

Dispatches From Elsewhere

Based on “real” life…
Anthology Television Series
$44.98 on Blu-Ray; $24.99 for purchase on Amazon Prime Video; price varies on other streaming services

Perfect for: Anybody Seeking a Little More Magic in the Mundane, Anybody Who Wants to Get Lost In Another World Sometimes

Dispatches From Elsewhere is a TV show created by Jason Segel based upon the real-life Jejune Institute, an alternate reality game played in San Francisco. Despite generally positive reviews, and some buzz in the immersive community, it had the unfortunate coincidence of being released in March 2020 when, let’s just say, a lot of other people had something else weighing heavily on them.

I myself was someone who started the series, bounced off it hard, and didn’t think to pick it back up until recently. Is watching a bunch of fictional characters discovering an alternate reality game compelling, as television? Yes, yes, it is, especially when they’re played by talented actors like Sally Field and André 3000.

And I have to say, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing, Dispatches From Elsewhere really captures a lot of what I love about immersive art and entertainment: the feeling that there’s something magical behind every closed door; that sometimes you should just shut up and have a dance party; that there’s someone out there who gets you, no, really gets you; that everyone else’s life is as deep and rich and complex as your own; and that joining a greater cause can bring complete strangers together. (Plus: if you’re strapped for time, you should know it’s only 10 episodes long!)

– Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Exec. Editor Emeritus

AromaPrime oils used in The Burnt City

Scents drifting through the underworld
From £13.99

Perfect for: Those Still In Mourning, Perfume Collectors, and Eccentric Home Curators.

PEEP: Oud, Bistro: Hot Apple Pie, Tat Shop: Incense, Tent: Kasbah.

Painting the scentscape of a space is a delicate art but can have a drastic effect on experience: the whiff of an iconic smell can throw us back months, years, even decades to a specific place. Apart from the lovely flicker of light, aroma is why we buy candles — to set the mood of a space.

Enter the iconic scents used throughout Punchdrunk’s epic The Burnt City. Hailing from four of the most notable spaces on set, these oils will stand out from the typical floral potpourri or citrus burst: the scents listed here are technically fan-identified but generally assumed to be the real McCoy.

A clever gift with slow-blooming dividends for homemakers and set designers alike.

– Shelley Snyder, London Curator

P.S.

Did you know that you can GIFT a Patreon subscription?

Yeah, neither did we!

So yes, that means it is possible to give someone the gift of the NoPro Newsletter!

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.

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