Fleur-de-Keys

Matt Magee has been thinking about puzzles his whole life. Which is what led him, a few years ago, to create The Box of the Celts, an incredibly complicated and intricate puzzle literally packed with problems. He wanted to make something that checked all the boxes for him, including all the various types of puzzles he loved in a single epic object. It remains a tour de force to be reckoned with, a “puzzler’s puzzle” requiring serious solving chops, patience and perseverance. Most hobbyist creators would have been happy with that, and left well enough alone. In Matt’s case, it was merely the seed of what would … grow. Matt shared the evolutionary biology of his newest horticultural hybrid.

“I shipped out Box of the Celts back in 2021, and I have been working on Fleur-de-keys ever since (after a very slow start). Box of the Celts was my first puzzle box, but it really exhausted all of my ideas because I didn't hold anything back - any cool mechanisms I could think of got incorporated into the box in one way or another. For a long time the "design" for Fleur-de-keys was just daydreaming in my free time and brainstorming ways I could top my first outing.

There were so many challenges along the way... Designing/producing a puzzle is an emotional roller coaster ride: Cool mechanical idea! Nope, not an interesting puzzle. Another idea - this one should work! Not physically possible to build. Got a prototype! Doesn't work as intended. Redesign it and tweak and tweak and tweak til' it works! But...it's not compatible with other steps of the puzzle. More engineering! No gonna work, have to scrap it. Replaced that step with something way cooler! And on and on...

The very first step I designed and prototyped (a mechanism for the lid of the box) was really, really cool. I had built a lot of the other mechs around that idea, and it made it all the way to my first full prototype, but unfortunately, it was just too unwieldy and didn't work well with the rest of the puzzle. I scrapped that step altogether and went back to the drawing board to build a completely different mechanism for that part of the puzzle. I came up with a different step but surprisingly enough, as it evolved, I realized that the new mechanism I designed actually captured much of the same feel of the original step but in a more elegant way that was a major improvement in every way.”

Matt has come up with many new ideas, some completely novel and some novel implementations of familiar concepts. While not immediately obvious from the outward appearance, the puzzle changes and grows in extremely interesting ways as the layers are unlocked. The perfect name references the numerous locks and keys you will discover, and don’t forget the fleur, either. During a lengthy stretch of no progress I dubbed the puzzle “Little Shop of Horrors”, and Matt agreed one might think of it as an Audrey II. You’ll see.

“The inspiration for me behind Fleur-de-keys was one word: "transformation". I wanted to build something that evolved in unexpected ways as you solved it. I also wanted it to have really interesting mechanics. I think a lot of my attraction to mechanical puzzles is the mechanics of them, and I wanted to build something where the interesting mechanics of the puzzle doubled as a reward to the solver as they progress.

Ultimately, over the course of designing several puzzles, I've learned to be patient and remain confident that I'll find my way over the challenges and come up with something neat. There are always loads of demoralizing stumbling blocks along the way, but I treat each one as it's own puzzle and remain confident that there's a solution out there - I just need to find it - and I usually do!

Fleur-de-keys is a large puzzle, but the first prototype was gargantuan. I wasn't happy with the size because it was hard to handle and solve (not to mention produce). So even though I had the full puzzle designed, I made another pass to shrink it down as much as I could, starting with the central mechanics and working outward. Every tweak I made affected every other component because there is so much that is interdependent, so this turned out to basically be a full redesign and a much bigger endeavor than I had anticipated. So while the Fleur-de-keys is still larger than Box of the Celts, I feel like it is appropriately-sized for the amount of puzzling packed in there.”

The puzzle name evolved as well over time. “I had been referring to it as "bloom" or "bloom box" for a very long time, but I was never really happy with that name or any of the other half a dozen names I had come up with.” There is actually a Bloom Box already, from Rocky Chiaro, that is nothing at all like this puzzle! “I introduced the "fleur de lis" theme somewhere along the line in the design process. The name came to me one morning in the shower, and the second I thought of it, I knew I had the name for my puzzle.” Matt teased the puzzle’s initials (FDK) prior to launch, which led to many amusing name guesses from impatient fans. Some of his favorites were: “F***in' Diabolical Kitchen, Find Dave's Knackwurst, Ferrets Doing Kungfu, Freaking Don't Know, FinDersKeepers, Floating Disco Kit, Foot Doctor's Keepsake, Frood's Daemonic Kazoo, Fake Dressed Koala”. He even made a mockup for a “Fuzzie Drink Koozie”!

“Fleur-de-keys was designed entirely using OpenSCAD. It's almost entirely 3d printed with ~120 parts including 30+ embedded magnets and other hardware. The total print time for Fleur-de-keys is probably not far off from the print time Box of the Celts on my old printer...but my new printer is an order of magnitude faster than the old one. I can't even imagine printing Fleur-de-keys on my old printer! I learned a lot during the production of Box of the Celts. I learned not to rely on friction-fit mechanisms because 3d printer tolerances vary enough print to print that it's very tough to tune puzzles properly over a large production run. Instead, I opted for using magnets for that sort of thing (so many magnets!) I also learned that I hate gluing, so there is very little that requires gluing for Fleur-de-keys and all of the magnets are embedded mid-print (though that has become its own pain point!)

I'm most proud of the innovative mechanisms that I haven't seen anywhere before in mechanical puzzling, including a few that I think will be a jaw dropping experience for a solver to encounter for the first time. I'm also quite proud of the aesthetics of the puzzle and the way the puzzle evolves as you solve it, telling a subtle story along the way.”

Fleur-de-Keys is very difficult! The frustration level for most of the challenges is higher than most puzzles I choose to attempt, but as a huge fan of BOTC and Matt in general, I was willing to submit myself to the trials. The many phases and unique challenges are nonetheless compelling, because they never fail to surprise you in unexpected ways and with fascinating novel mechanics. This puzzle does things you won’t have seen before, which is always a thrill. I was often frustrated, and gave up on almost every challenge. Yet I kept coming back to it over time, and willingly accepted hints when I needed motivation to keep going. It’s definitely worth the journey, as conquering each step is a victory in itself. It also turns out that the finale was perhaps my favorite part. Of course I am left now with the most massive pile of pieces that I fear will never go back together again!

“Fleur-de-keys is the spiritual successor to Box of the Celts. They are each a tribute to my love of mechanical puzzles, blending together many different styles and genres of puzzling into one experience with a mix of "new twists on classic mechanisms" and plenty of "never before seen" mechanisms. My motivation was again to build a "difficult but fair" puzzle aimed at challenging even the more experienced puzzlers and upping the ante on complexity with a lengthy journey of interesting and puzzling steps. As with Box of the Celts, a lot of my motivation came from the desire of building a puzzle I would want for my own personal collection to share with my puzzling friends (the more masochistic of my puzzling friends, perhaps).

As with Box of the Celts, I just couldn't stop myself and kept adding to Fleur-de-keys. I will be truly impressed if anyone manages to solve it in one sitting. I think it is likely more than double the amount of puzzling of Box of the Celts and way more mechanically complex with roughly 120 parts that go into making it. I'm so excited to finally be getting these out in the world after so long in development, and I'm eager to hear how everyone likes it!”

rum runner cocktail — Rum Runner by John Elber

The Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans is famous for the novelty of how the entire bar actually rotates, like a carousel. Which seems like a fun idea, until maybe you’ve had a few drinks. The bar is also famous as the birthplace of the New Orleans classic Vieux Carre cocktail, and for another signature drink, the Fleur de Lis. Carousel’s version features gin, St. Germain, lime, and cucumber, all topped with ginger ale. It’s delicious, and would be an excellent drink to pair with this puzzle.

However I took a bit of phonetic liberty with the toast to the Fleur-de-Keys puzzle, because the name kept turning into the Florida Keys in my mind! Of course the most well known cocktail associated with the Florida Keys is the Rum Runner, a tropical delight full of rum and sweet fruit juices. It was reportedly the brainchild of “Tiki John” Elber, manager of the Tiki Bar at Holiday Isle in the Keys, who came up with the idea in the early seventies as a way to offload excess bar stock. The name was a nod to the real rum runners of the 1920s, who illegally transported booze from the Caribbean via the waters off the Keys during Prohibition. The drink is a signature experience when visiting the southernmost islands of Florida, and you’ll find a different variation at every bar. Cheers!

Fleur-de-Keys puzzle and Rum Runner cocktail — flower power

Rum Runner adapted from John Elber c. 1970

1 oz white rum

1 oz dark rum

1 oz pineapple

1 oz lime

1 oz banana liqueur

¾ oz blackberry liqueur

½ oz grenadine

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into an ice filled glass. Tropical garnish.

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