Boxes and Booze 9/24/16 Boxes and Booze 9/24/16

ReBanded Dovetail

The Sandfield’s ReBanded Dovetail was their IPP 32 exchange puzzle in 2012. Designed by Robert and Kathleen and crafted by Kathleen from light baltic birch plywood, walnut and lacewood, these little boxes feature a double dovetail on the ends and are wrapped tightly with double bands of shimmering lacewood.

Boxes and Booze 9/17/16 Boxes and Booze 9/17/16

Pirate’s Wallet (Stickman No 27)

What perfect puzzle awaits our picaroon pirates today? Why, it's the aptly named “Pirate’s Wallet”, created by none other than that Admiral of the Black, Robert Yaaaaarrrger.

Boxes and Booze 9/10/16 Boxes and Booze 9/10/16

Double Crossed Box

Leaving Oklahoma and the Stickman Cross Box, we make our way down to Texas (don’t mess with us) where we find another master of wooden puzzle madness named Randal Gatewood. He ups the ante with not one but two crosses, in his “Double Crossed” Puzzle Box.

Boxes and Booze 9/3/16 Boxes and Booze 9/3/16

Cross Box (Stickman No 12)

The Southern Cross (the constellation “Crux”) has been used to navigate the seas in the southern hemisphere for centuries, much like its friend the “North Star” in the other half of the world.

Boxes and Booze 8/27/16 Boxes and Booze 8/27/16

Tinker Box

The Tinker Box is a gorgeous piece of woodwork which requires 49 steps to reveal all three secret compartments. The main structure is made from beautiful leopardwood and gives the box a striking patterned appearance.

Boxes and Booze 8/20/16 Boxes and Booze 8/20/16

Snail Box (Creative Secret 1)

Sloeing things down a bit on the puzzling side as well, I present the “Snail” box, a collaborative effort from the Karakuri Creation Group.

Boxes and Booze 8/12/16 Boxes and Booze 8/12/16

Victorian Book

Appearing as though it were plucked from the shelf of an old library hidden away inside the musty mansion of some secret society, the “Victorian Book” puzzle box, by Jesse Born from New York State, exudes an instant air of mystery.

Boxes and Booze 8/6/16 Boxes and Booze 8/6/16

SMS Telephone Box

Brian is at it again with the “SMS Telephone” puzzle. I thought I would feature it this week in honor of that gathering I mentioned. You know, those “interesting, polite pals” of mine. It seems like as good a time as any to mention it, since it’s an “impossible, painful piece”.

Boxes and Booze 7/30/16 Boxes and Booze 7/30/16

Pachinko Box

Like pinball, with many tiny metal balls cascading their way down the playing field, pachinko is part arcade game, part casino game, and wildly popular in Japan.

Boxes and Booze 7/23/16 Boxes and Booze 7/23/16

Dragon Wing

Shiro Tajima, a former member of the Karakuri Creation Group, has created a series of Asian zodiac themed puzzle boxes over the years.

Boxes and Booze 7/16/16 Boxes and Booze 7/16/16

First Box

At last we get to the first. The First Box, by Dutch puzzle designer William Strijbos, that is. Wil’s Streetwise puzzle company produces beautiful anodized aluminum mechanical puzzles. He travels the world looking for design ideas and inspiration.

Boxes and Booze 7/9/16 Boxes and Booze 7/9/16

Clutch Tile (Stickman No 4)

In Oklahoma, a humble wizard works his magic to produce highly acclaimed works of art in the form of complex mechanical wooden puzzle boxes. Most of Robert Yarger’s creations for his “Stickman Puzzlebox Company” are entirely of his own design and creation.

Boxes and Booze 7/2/16 Boxes and Booze 7/2/16

Ouch!

The design and concept of this puzzle, according to Kamei, originates with a common, frustrating occurrence in Japanese homes. Because shoes are not worn inside, it is apparently a shared cultural experience to stub ones little toe on the corners of furniture or low shelving.

Boxes and Booze 6/25/16 Boxes and Booze 6/25/16

Planet with a Ring

It’s time to do a little summer stargazing now. Launching off from last week’s post where we boarded Kasho’s rocket ship and blasted into space with the X-15 “rocktail”, we now find ourselves floating amidst the stars and planets of the cosmos.

Boxes and Booze 6/18/16 Boxes and Booze 6/18/16

Rocket

It’s summertime. The days are getting longer and the nights are full of dreams. There’s something magical about looking up at the stars on a warm evening that stirs the imagination. Let’s take a trip into outer space together.

Boxes and Booze 6/11/16 Boxes and Booze 6/11/16

Three Cornered Deadlock

I like continuing themes, so it’s fitting that this year I have another perfectly balanced, “three-part” puzzle box to pair with the Negroni, and it’s also by Hideaki Kawashima again. Kawashima makes intricately designed puzzles which often have components that interplay with one another, so that one section becomes blocked while the other is opened.

Boxes and Booze 6/4/16 Boxes and Booze 6/4/16

Open Side Bank

If you make a deposit in this bank vault, don’t plan on making a withdrawal any time soon. Its creator has installed a maximum security system. Tom Lensch is a retired civil engineer who worked for the Dayton Power and Light Company for much of his life. He is also a talented wood worker, puzzle crafter and puzzle designer.

Boxes and Booze 5/28/16 Boxes and Booze 5/28/16

Worm Wood

Absinthe, that mysterious emerald elixir which calls to mind visions of bohemia complete with Parisian cafes, famous artists and enchanted evenings. I knew that eventually I would want to write about it, and Thomas Cummings has given me the chance.

Boxes and Booze 5/21/16 Boxes and Booze 5/21/16

Two-Tricks

Opinions vary, but one commonly held belief around these parts is that the puzzle boxes appear to have multiplied. I really couldn't say about the validity of that supposition, but if such a thing were even remotely accurate, I would have to blame, of course, the rabbits.

Boxes and Booze 5/14/16 Boxes and Booze 5/14/16

Cam Box

There are probably a finite number of possible ways to open a wooden box, but designers delight in exploring the options to see what’s possible. Part of the challenge in creating a new design is also in making the novelty invisible, so the box doesn’t necessarily look any different.

A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles