Wildcard Box or Single-Sport Mystery Box: Which to Pick

Pick the Wildcard Box if you would be happy opening a football shirt, a rugby shirt, a Gaelic jersey or a basketball jersey, and you want the sport itself to be part of the surprise. Pick a single-sport mystery box if there is one sport you love and you would be disappointed by anything else. Both keep the team a secret. The only real question is whether you want the sport kept secret too, and this guide helps you answer it in a few minutes.

If you already know you are in the mood for the full surprise, the Wildcard Box page has the sizes. If you are still weighing it up, read on.

Mystery football shirt vs mystery sports shirt: the core difference

Every mystery box asks you to give up some control in exchange for a surprise. The difference between the two types is how much control you hand over.

With a single-sport box, such as our mystery football shirt, you choose the sport before you buy. The surprise is the club or country on the front. You know you are getting a football shirt; you just do not know whose.

With the Wildcard Box, we pick the sport as well. You choose your size, and that is the only decision you make. When the lid comes off, it could be any of four sports:

• Football, as a football shirt.
• Rugby, as a rugby shirt.
• Gaelic, as a Gaelic jersey.
• Basketball, as a basketball jersey.

So a mystery football shirt is one surprise. A multi-sport box is two surprises stacked on top of each other: first the sport, then the team. Our guide to how the multi-sport mystery shirt box works covers the Wildcard Box in full if you want the longer version.

Side by side: Wildcard Box or single-sport box

Here is the comparison at a glance. It only lists things we can say for certain about each type of box.

Nothing in that table makes one box better than the other. They suit different people, and the rest of this guide is about working out which one you are.

Which mystery box suits you? A quick decision guide

Run through these questions honestly. The answers usually settle it.

Would any of the four sports disappoint you?

This is the big one. Picture opening the box and finding a basketball jersey, then a Gaelic jersey, then a rugby shirt, then a football shirt. If even one of those makes your heart sink, choose a single-sport box. The Wildcard Box only works if you would be happy, or at least curious, whichever one turns up.

Do you follow more than one sport already?

If your weekend runs from the Premier League on Saturday to the Six Nations on Sunday, the Wildcard Box is built for you. It reflects how you actually watch sport, rather than forcing you to pick a favourite.

Are you building a collection?

Collectors who already have a drawer full of football shirts often enjoy the Wildcard Box most, because it adds variety they would not have chosen themselves. Two rules help here: you never get the same sport twice in one order, and you never get the same sport back to back if you order again. You will not end up with four of one sport by accident.

Is it a gift?

If you know the person's size but are not sure which sport they would rank first, the Wildcard Box takes that guess off your hands. If you know they live and breathe one sport, a single-sport box is the safer bet. Our guide to choosing between a mystery box and a single shirt as a gift goes into the gifting side in more detail.

When a single-sport box is the better pick

There is no shame in wanting certainty. A single-sport box is the right call when:

• The person only watches one sport. A football-only fan may not thank you for a basketball jersey, however good it looks.
• You want to wear it to a specific kind of match. If the plan is to wear it on the terraces or in the stands at a rugby ground, pick the sport you will be watching.
• You are filling a gap. If your collection is missing rugby, it makes sense to target rugby rather than leave it to chance.

Each sport in the Wildcard Box has its own single-sport route on the UK store:

• Football only: the mystery football shirt.
• Rugby only: the rugby union mystery shirt.
• Gaelic only: the mystery Gaelic football jersey.

When the Wildcard Box is the better pick

The Wildcard Box comes into its own when the surprise is the point. It suits you if:

• You like trying new things. A shirt from a sport you have never followed is a nudge to watch a match and learn the story behind the colours.
• You want a talking point. Opening the box with friends and calling the sport before the lid comes off is half the fun.
• You are buying for an all-rounder. Someone who will happily watch anything with a ball in it is the ideal Wildcard owner.
• You have no team to protect. There are no team filters on this box, so it suits people who are relaxed about which side turns up.

Landing a sport you do not know well is easier than it sounds. If a rugby shirt arrives and the number on the back puzzles you, the basics are simple: a fifteen-a-side rugby union team has eight forwards and seven backs, and the forwards wear 1 to 8 while the backs wear 9 to 15 (sources: World Rugby's beginner's guide and Wikipedia). Our explainer on rugby shirt numbers takes it from there.

What you get either way

Choosing between the two boxes is about the sport, not about quality. Whichever sport lands in a Wildcard Box, these things are fixed:

• Every shirt is 100% authentic and officially licensed.
• It arrives with its tags.
• It is never a pre-match or training shirt.
• You choose the size, so the fit is your call.
• If it misses the mark, the exchange is free.
• One box, one payment. It is not a subscription, so there is nothing to cancel.

If you are new to mystery boxes in general and want to know what to check before ordering from anyone, our guide to whether mystery shirt boxes are legit is worth a read first.

Can you mix the two?

Yes, and it is a sensible way to hedge. Some people buy a single-sport box for their main sport and add a Wildcard Box alongside it for the fun of not knowing. You get the shirt you were sure about plus one you could never have predicted.

If you do order the Wildcard Box more than once over time, the no-repeat rule keeps things interesting: you will not get the sport you had last time. You still cannot steer it towards a particular sport, though. The rule removes repeats; the pick is still ours.

For a closer look at what each of the four outcomes is like, see our guide to which sport you will get in a Wildcard Box.

FAQs

What is the difference between the Wildcard Box and a mystery football shirt?

With a mystery football shirt you know the sport and the team is the surprise. With the Wildcard Box we pick the sport as well, so it could be football, rugby, Gaelic or basketball.

Can I choose the sport in a Wildcard Box?

No. We pick the sport and you find out when you open the box. If you want one sport for certain, choose a single-sport mystery box instead.

Which box is better as a gift?

If the person follows several sports or loves a surprise, the Wildcard Box. If they only care about one sport, go for that sport's single-sport box.

Will I get the same sport twice from the Wildcard Box?

Not in one order: every box in the same order is a different sport. If you order again later, you will not get the sport you had last time.

Is the Wildcard Box a subscription?

No. It is one box and one payment, with nothing recurring and nothing to cancel.