What Is Nex Playground
Nex Playground is the small, colorful console that turns your living room into a motion-controlled game space. In Fruit Ninja, you slice fruit with your arms; in Starri, you move to the music. Its built-in camera follows your movements, so you play without holding a controller. Up to four people can join in together.
The Nex Playground console costs $299 at its regular U.S. price and includes five games. The box contains the console, camera cover, remote, HDMI cable and power adapter. The remote is just for the menus; once a game starts, you're the controller.
For more games, the optional Play Pass opens a library of 60+ titles. It costs $89 for 12 months or $49 for three months. You don't have to add it: the console and its five included games are ready to play on their own.
All that moving around isn't just for fun; it can have a medical purpose too. A provider can connect active play to a specific health condition, whether the player is your child or you.
Why Nex Playground Qualifies for HSA/FSA
Nex Playground qualifies when a licensed provider connects its use to your health condition in a Letter of Medical Necessity. The letter documents why active play is part of your care, and with that on paper, your HSA or FSA can pay for the console.
IRS Publication 502 includes the “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” in its definition of medical expenses. Here are some of the common conditions a provider can document, and what research on active video games found for each:
- Childhood obesity or overweight. Active games turn screen time into time spent moving. A 2023 systematic review pooled seven randomized trials in children and teens with overweight. Kids playing active video games saw a bigger drop in BMI z-score (BMI compared with kids the same age and sex) than the control groups did. Publication 502's Weight-Loss Program entry also lets you include amounts you pay to lose weight “if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease)”.
- Developmental coordination disorder. Movement games are full of repeated motor tasks, like reaching for targets and reacting to them. A 2018 systematic review of motor-based interventions looked at approaches for developmental coordination disorder and found positive motor benefits from active video games.
- Stroke rehabilitation in adults. Nex makes its games for kids and families, and adults can play the same motion games. A 2025 Cochrane review found virtual reality and interactive video gaming slightly better than other therapy approaches for arm function, balance and activity limitation.
These aren't the only ones. If your provider connects active play to a different health condition you or your child has, Nex Playground qualifies just the same.
How to Get Nex Playground Covered With a Letter of Medical Necessity
A Letter of Medical Necessity for Nex Playground comes through one of two routes:
- Through Crates, typically in under 24 hours. Start with the short online health assessment, which takes about 2 to 3 minutes. A licensed provider reviews it and, if you qualify, issues a letter for the console that's valid for 12 months and renews each year.
- Through your own doctor, a few days to a few weeks. A provider who already treats your condition can write it. Book a visit, say you want to buy Nex Playground with HSA/FSA funds, and ask them to document how active video games help prevent, manage, or reverse your condition. Make sure your doctor signs and dates the letter; the visit could include a copay.
How to Buy Nex Playground With HSA/FSA Funds
Get the letter first, then buy the console from any store and get your HSA or FSA money back.
- Get your Letter of Medical Necessity first. Use either option above, through Crates or your own doctor.
- Buy Nex Playground anywhere. Pay with your personal card, online or in store, and keep the itemized receipt showing the console and amount paid.
- Get your funds back. Let Crates file the claim with one-click reimbursement, or upload the letter and receipt yourself. Keep the console's receipt and your letter with your tax records if you're using an HSA.
Which Nex Playground Products Qualify
The Nex Playground console qualifies with an LMN documenting its medical purpose, wherever you buy it. The $299 purchase includes the hardware and five starter games. Want the bigger game library? Play Pass qualifies too when your LMN names it, because its games deliver the same active play.
| Product | What it is | Regular U.S. price | HSA/FSA eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nex Playground | Camera-based active play console with five included games | $299 | Yes, with an LMN |
| Play Pass | Subscription that unlocks 60+ more active games | $89 for 12 months or $49 for 3 months | Yes, with an LMN |
Using pre-tax HSA/FSA funds can save you up to 30%. If your combined federal, state and applicable payroll taxes come to 30%, the $299 console saves you $89.70 in taxes, so it effectively costs $209.30 before sales tax and shipping. Your own number depends on your tax rates. Regular prices checked October 18, 2026.
Shopping for other exercise gear too? Our workout equipment HSA/FSA guide shows how other equipment qualifies with a documented medical purpose.
