Opening boxes is the core experience on BOXED. Every box contains a pool of possible items, and when you open one you receive a single item from that pool. This article covers how an open works, the options you can set before you open, the free boxes and starter packs available to new accounts, and what to do if an open will not run.

You spend gems to open a box and receive one item from that box's pool. Every box publishes a visible drop table showing all possible items and the chance of each one, so you can see exactly what is inside before you spend anything. You can open between 1 and 5 boxes at a time, preview a box in demo mode for free, choose which opening animation you prefer, and use a key to open one box in a matching price range at no gem cost. Every result is provably fair and independently verifiable, results are final once the open completes, and the item you receive goes straight to your inventory where you can sell it back for gems, withdraw it, exchange it, trade it in, or display it.

The flow is the same every time:

If you need gems first, you can Purchase Gems from your account. For everything about gem balances, sources, and pricing, see Gems: the complete guide.

You can set the quantity for an open between 1 and 5 boxes. A quantity above 1 runs each box independently against the same drop table, so each box in the batch produces its own item, and the total gem cost is the box price multiplied by the quantity. If you want to open more than 5, you can run another open as soon as the first one finishes, since there is no cooldown between opens.

Demo mode lets you run a box without spending gems, so you can see the animation and get a feel for the box before committing. A demo open does not cost anything and does not produce a real item, so nothing from a demo lands in your inventory.

Demo opens also do not count toward your daily streak. If you are building a streak, you need at least one real box open or one battle that day. Streaks are explained in Levels, XP and daily rewards.

An opener is the animation that plays while your item is revealed. The opener you choose has no effect on the item you receive or on the item chances. It is purely a presentation preference, and you can change it whenever you like in your settings. The available openers are:

Quick Open is the fastest option and a good choice if you would rather skip the animation entirely. You select your opener in your settings rather than on the box page itself, so if you cannot find the option while looking at a box, open your settings and change it there.

A key lets you open one box for free within a matching price range. Each key is tied to a gem price range, and it can be used on any box whose price falls inside that range, which is why a key may work on one box and not on another. Keys are earned as level rewards, among other sources, and are a way to open a box without spending gems from your balance.

Keys apply to single opens only and do not work on a multi-quantity open. If you want to use a key, set the quantity to 1 and apply the key there. If you want to open several boxes in one go, you can still do that by paying with gems and saving your key for a separate single open.

A new account receives a free box in each category, so you can try the platform before spending anything. Items pulled from a free signup box behave slightly differently from other items: they cannot be sold back or withdrawn until you have purchased at least 500 gems on your account. Everything else about them is normal, so you can hold them in your inventory or display them in a Binder in the meantime, and the sell-back and withdraw options unlock as soon as you pass 500 gems purchased.

Starter packs are time-limited discounted gem bundles available for the first 72 hours after you create your account. There are three tiers:

Once the 72 hour window closes, starter pack pricing is no longer available, but standard gem bundles remain available at any time, and gem vouchers and gift codes are another route to gems.

Every box result on BOXED is provably fair, which means the outcome is generated cryptographically and can be independently verified after the fact. The server seed updates at midnight UTC, and you can check any past result yourself. The full method is documented in Provably Fair.

Results are also final. A completed open cannot be reversed, re-rolled, or refunded. What you can control is everything before the open: the box you pick, the drop table you read, the quantity you set, and whether you preview it in demo mode first.

Your item goes straight to your inventory, and it stays there until you decide what to do with it. From your inventory you can:

There is no time limit on this decision, so an item can sit in your inventory for as long as you like. A full comparison of the options is in Cards: sell back, withdraw, exchange or display.

Box opening is not the only format on BOXED. You can open the same boxes alongside other players in Box Battles, build your own box in Forge, or try Vending machines and Hop or Drop. Every gem you spend on any of these earns XP toward your level and daily rewards.

Yes, every box displays its full drop table before you open, listing every possible item and your chance of pulling each one. Nothing in the pool is hidden from you.

An open cannot be undone or refunded once it completes, because box results are final. What you can do beforehand is read the drop table, preview the box in demo mode at no cost, and set your quantity. For a full list of what is and is not refundable across BOXED, see Refunds: what is refundable.

You can open between 1 and 5 boxes in a single open. To open more than 5, run another open straight afterward, as there is no waiting period between opens.

The opener you choose does not change what you get and does not affect item chances in any way. Openers are animation styles only, and you can switch between TCG Opener, Classic Scroll, Motion Spinner, Legacy, and Quick Open in your settings at any time.

Keys work on single opens only, so they cannot be applied when the quantity is set above 1. To use your key, set the quantity to 1 and apply it there. You can still run a multi-quantity open by paying with gems and keeping your key for a separate single open.

Demo opens do not produce real items and do not count toward your daily streak. They are a free preview of the box and its animation. To keep a streak going, you need at least one real box open or one battle that day.

Items from free signup boxes cannot be sold back or withdrawn until you have purchased at least 500 gems on your account. Until then you can keep the item in your inventory or display it in a Binder, and both options unlock automatically once you pass 500 gems purchased.

Starter packs are discounted gem bundles offered for the first 72 hours after you create your account, in three tiers: Essential at 2,000 gems, Advanced at 4,000 gems, and Deluxe at 8,000 gems. After 72 hours the starter pricing is no longer available, though standard gem bundles can be purchased at any time.

An item you receive goes to your inventory, where you can sell it back for gems, withdraw it as a physical card, exchange it for another item of similar value, trade it in on the Marketplace toward a graded slab or CS2 skin, or display it in a Binder on your profile.

Box opening is not rigged. Every result is provably fair and can be verified independently after the fact using the published seeds, and every box shows its complete drop table with item chances before you open it. The verification method is documented in Provably Fair.