The Lost Nine

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and one lucky doc’s got a very special puzzle, in the shape of a box. Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem introduced the eight classic reindeer, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (Thunder (later changed to Donner)), and Blixem (Lightning (later changed to Blitzen)) to the world Christmas culture in 1823. The list was enhanced in 1939 with the addition, by Robert May, of reindeer number nine, red-nosed Rudolph.

From the creative mind of Akhil Sudeep and his holiday workshop in Kerala, India comes a festive puzzle follow up to his breakout hit “Malabar Safe” that follows the trail of these nine feisty reindeer. It has been a pleasure to follow along and witness Akhil’s journey from the initial copies of Malabar Safe to the final set in the 100 puzzle edition. Each new production wave took on new detail, precision and craftsmanship. Along the way, he made a lovely Christmas edition which adds a few extra surprises to the puzzle, including what appears to be the seeds of the future Lost Nine box. In the special edition Safe, there are also nine hidden reindeer, and a few other well themed treats to find. You can follow the evolution of the safe puzzles, and his current projects, on his Instagram page. He has most recently been working on his follow up creation, the Black Gold box, but took a detour along the way to the scenic mountain forests of the North Pole. Akhil shared the story of the snowy sidetrack with me.

“The concept for The Lost Nine Puzzle Box began when my dad asked me, “Is there something special planned for Christmas this year?

At that time, my plan was to finish my existing project, The Black Gold Puzzle Box. However, the Black Gold concept kept growing and eventually became a much larger project than I had anticipated. Even if I completed it on time, I would only be able to make four boxes before Christmas. Since it takes nearly two months to build a single box, it’s far more efficient to produce multiple copies at once. Because of this, I realized I wouldn’t be able to deliver the Black Gold puzzle to a larger audience before Christmas. This led me to start ideating The Lost Nine Puzzle Box on July 3, 2025. At that point, I was working on two live projects simultaneously.”

Akhil was working on both projects, unsure if he would complete the Christmas puzzle in time and more dedicated to the larger box. In October, “I received an email from someone who wanted to buy a Malabar Safe Puzzle Box as a Christmas gift for his father. He had seen it on Chris Ramsey’s Facebook page. That message really touched me. Since all the Malabar Safes were sold out, I told him about The Lost Nine instead. After that conversation, I returned to The Lost Nine and began working on it again.”

courtesy of Akhil Sudeep

Akhil’s puzzle boxes have a distinct appearance and personality to them, as a direct result of his design and crafting process, which is painstaking and meticulous. He has already come a long way from his first pieces, and has acquired new tools to streamline the process and heighten the beauty. Lost Nine is very impressive to behold, warm, attractive and well made, with wonderful details. “The Lost Nine Puzzle Box is built using layers of different woods. For this project, I used a blend of Mahogany and Wenge. First, the wood is cut using a bandsaw and reduced to strips measuring approximately 10 mm by 7 mm. These strips are then selected individually and cut into smaller pieces. The entire box is assembled piece by piece. This process takes a long time, but it allows me to experiment with arranging different woods in various ways.

For this box, I aimed to make it as compact as possible using these wooden strips. It’s a time consuming process, but I truly love how it looks in the end. I made three working prototypes, each one improving the solve steps, story, and overall appearance. After that, I finalized the type of wood and graphical elements to be used. Throughout this process, I almost gave up on the project multiple times, but my dad constantly motivated me to keep going. My original plan was to make at least 40 boxes, but due to time constraints, this was reduced to just 10. I can’t thank my customers enough for their support, which helped me set up a small woodworking workshop. This allowed me to craft these boxes faster, more efficiently, and with better quality. I also recently purchased a small 3D printer, which I used to create the final piece of the box.”

Crafting a story around the box adds significantly to the enjoyment of the experience. With the story, which guides you to find all of the wandering reindeer, each hidden move becomes a reward in its own right, and propels the overall solution. There are some well disguised moves, a few tricky secrets to discover, and a surprise ending that is delightful. The attention to detail, both outside the box and as deeper layers are revealed, is charming and brings the piece alive. It’s a wonderful holiday treat.

“What I love most about this project is that, even though the past few months were tough, I somehow pushed myself to finish it. The best part is that this box wasn’t created by me alone, my parents and my brother were deeply involved in the process. From the story and graphical elements to the appearance, mechanisms, and even the decision to add a bell inside the box, it was a true family effort. Working together as a family to create these boxes is what makes them so special to me.”

Here's an apropos toast in the spirit of the holidays. The cocktail is based on the ever popular Moscow Mule, a delicious combination on vodka, lime and ginger beer that was invented in the 1940’s as a marketing ploy to sell Smirnoff vodka and surplus ginger beer. The copper mugs gave the drink a recognizable brand and novel appeal as well – great marketing! I’m a bigger fan of this drink when the vodka is replaced with rum, a version known as the “Dark and Stormy” that pairs well with pirate themed puzzles, IMHO.

A common trend to lend some holiday flavor to the Moscow Mule is the addition of cranberry juice to the formula. It’s festive, seasonal and cheerful. I do love the names for these versions, such as the “Russian Reindeer” or the “Yule Mule”. Of course I had to improve on these versions, while sticking with the reindeer theme. Rather than cranberry juice, I used a delicious liqueur that always seems to make an appearance in my cocktails this time of year. I also kicked up the sweetness quotient with some homemade grenadine, and I used a hibiscus ginger beer. What can I say, it’s one rockin’ reindeer! Ho Ho Ho – cheers and Happy Holidays.

Red Reindeer

2 oz vodka

1 oz lime juice

½ oz cranberry liqueur

½ oz grenadine

4 oz ginger beer

Build ingredients in a glass or mug over crushed ice and stir. Lime wheel garnish.

Thank you Akhil for these beautiful hand crafted drinks coasters, too!

explore more:

Sleigh Ride

The Lost Nine

Starstruck

The Black Pearl