BOX: Santa's Kitchen - 2024 Dec. 04

[AnnirasSweets]

New Mystery Box and Goal

On Sale for 28 Days



Santa's Kitchen currently on sale at 16 Gems for 28 days.
*Box will either be removed or listed for full price after sale*

Cookin' For Christmas - 28 Day Goal
Have 1 Elf Waiter
Have 1 Elf Cook
Have 1 Elf Dishwasher
Have 1 Elf Dining
Have 1 Elf Culinary Artist
Have 1 Elf Ticket Station
Have 1 Elf Prep Station
Have 1 Elf Kitchen
*Rewards: $1,000, 90 xp

NOTES:
- Players must be Level 12 or higher to receive the Mystery Crate Goals.
- Mystery Crate Goal is optional. Its purpose is simply to showcase the items contained within the related Mystery Box.
- Opening the box via the goal book does NOT assure you a certain a prize. All crate purchases are RANDOM.
- This goal will not impact your playing or your odds when purchasing the box.
- It is not necessary to make your box purchases through the goal to have your prizes count in the goal.
- The goal task will automatically check off the items as you randomly win them from the box.
- Clicking 'Open' in the goal book will simply take you to the current Mystery Box, it will not award a prize or deduct gems.
- You will only be charged gems when you click on the Mystery Box in the Market as you do for all box purchases.
- Odds given for each prize level are NOT cumulative - odds remain constant each time a box is tried
- You can visit the Master Box Guide thread HERE for more details on Mystery Boxes in general or details on all previous box releases.

---

Have you tried this box? Would you like to share pictures of your prizes on display? Please reply in the thread with a picture of your prizes!

How to Post a Photo on the Forums

[AnnirasSweets]

There was a mix up with my image files so I'm not 100% sure the exact date the box dropped. If anyone knows for certain that my deduced date is incorrect, let me know and I'll change the info.

First thoughts of the box itself: Cute items.

But I do have a few issues: Firstly, why have the same exact name for both the BS and RS box; both of which were released in the same week? My guess would be it was a way to save time but I don't think that will work well in the long term. My first thought was about the issues or extra work it'll create in the future when either box gets ported to the other game. That's just a layer of confusion that's best avoided, I think.

The bigger thing that's got my brain going is that every item in the box is a reskin of the Haunted Dining Box items. Everything about them is the exact same except coloring and details: elves instead of ghosts, cream stone appliances/counters instead of grey steel. Even the same number of dishes in the sink, the position they're in, the way the food is set on the counters, etc.

I'm sure it's a way to save time and work for the s8 team and I can understand it from a business perspective. But, to be honest, I'm really not sure how to feel about it. As a one-off, it's not a huge deal, I suppose. But seeing this does have me trying to mentally recall every new item we saw in the past few months and whether they were originals or reskins I didn't notice.

And if this is the beginning of a new creative direction, then it's definitely something I think we players should think about. Do we want boxes filled with reskins and few to no original items? I'm don't find reskinning unexceptionable in every situation and I'm not angry about it or anything like that.

I do, however, think this is a slippery slope and a situation that players should be aware of so they can make informed choices on how they're spending their premium currency/real life money.

[slayer7000]

Annira, I'm actually gonna have to disagree with you on this one! This is my favorite box released in either of the story games this year, and I would rather have re-skinned items that are visually appealing and detailed in my restaurant or bakery vs the recent trend of uninspired, bland, and weirdly sized items.

I agree it may be a slippery slope; but I think the best application is reskinning crates like this to fit different holidays. As long as they put as much care into making sure everything fits the theme, as they've done here!

From a business perspective, I would also love if it allowed them to give more time to sales and goal prizes, but I also know that's me being optimistic!

I wonder if they'd be able to find a balance in the future of using existing models and adding new details (such as a few extra pots in the sink) to make them feel distinct enough.

[AnnirasSweets]

Annira, I'm actually gonna have to disagree with you on this one! This is my favorite box released in either of the story games this year, and I would rather have re-skinned items that are visually appealing and detailed in my restaurant or bakery vs the recent trend of uninspired, bland, and weirdly sized items.

I agree it may be a slippery slope; but I think the best application is reskinning crates like this to fit different holidays. As long as they put as much care into making sure everything fits the theme, as they've done here!

From a business perspective, I would also love if it allowed them to give more time to sales and goal prizes, but I also know that's me being optimistic!

I wonder if they'd be able to find a balance in the future of using existing models and adding new details (such as a few extra pots in the sink) to make them feel distinct enough.

To be fair, I never said I was against it or that it was a bad choice. My intention with the post was to open the subject to discussion so players are aware of what they're seeing and getting for their gems.

I do agree wholeheartedly with you that finding balance will be key going forward with reskinning decos. I like the idea of adding or switching a few details up to make them appear more unique, that's something that could definitely add more value to the items.

[raekins819]

I totally agree. This box and the ghost one have been 2 of my favorite. It's nice to get some "kitchen" themed items. The reskinning makes it easy for me to redecorate for the seasons without having to readjust everything. Also the ticket station is very different from the elf one and the classic kitchen.

[raekins819]

Oh I forgot to mention the "elf cook disappears when rotated. This should probably be flagged to storm8