One Million Checkboxes players hid binary, QR codes and rickrolls among the boxes during its two week war

One Million Checkboxes, a website with one million checkboxes that players could check or uncheck, became an obsession for many in the two weeks it was online back in June. Players fought to fill all the boxes or undo the work of others, creating a complex battle that involved hidden messages encoded in the checkboxes.

Nolen Royalty, the developer, shared on Twitter that half a million people visited the site within days of its launch, with 650,000,000 boxes checked in the two weeks it was online.

To prevent offensive messages, Nolen made the rows of checkboxes scale to the size of the browser, ensuring that messages spelled out by checked boxes would only align and be readable at specific widths.

Each checkbox represented a bit, the most basic unit of information in computing. Some players used the checkboxes to spell out messages in binary, leading to surprising discoveries like hidden website URLs in the database.

Players also found ways to create intricate images and messages using bots, including a Discord group called “Checking Boxes” where players gathered to collaborate and create. Nolen was impressed by the creativity and talent of the players and looked forward to seeing what they would create next.

Nolen reflected on the experience, recalling his own childhood spent exploring and experimenting with computers and how it shaped his current work. He found joy in providing a platform for others to express themselves and create in a playful and creative environment.

Despite some concerns about bots on the site, Nolen celebrated the creativity and innovation of the players in the Discord group, recognizing them as the future game developers and creators. He expressed excitement for the future projects that would come out of the group’s collaboration.

Nolen’s work, including One Million Checkboxes and other projects, embodies a nostalgic and playful spirit of the internet, reminding players that “The internet can still be fun!”