A puzzle box full of secrets is more than enough. But add well hidden elements that reveal themselves through exploration, little tools that are discovered and must be used in unexpected ways to proceed and open the box, and a puzzle box becomes an adventure.
German Jesuit Renaissance scholar and polymath Athanasius Kircher was a prolific academic thought leader of his era, like Leonardo DaVinci. He was known as the “Master of a Hundred Arts”, and his personal wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) became what is thought to be the first museum in history.
Marc Duran, a French business consultant and IT specialist with an interest in “history, architecture, cryptology, brain teasers and puzzles”, decided to embark on a new passion project a few years ago: creating his own perfect puzzle boxes that embody all of his interest.
In the spirit of transparency, this offering is really just an excuse to tell a few stories about one of the original members of the mechanical puzzle community, a mentor and friend to so many.
Book themed puzzle boxes are always intriguing to me. I suppose they embody the ultimate symbolism of how a good puzzle box tells a story, of adventure, secrets and reward. It’s a pleasure to get lost in a good book, and a book puzzle box offers that sentiment as a tangible experience.
Seafaring puzzle adventurers who were equally thrilled, befuddled and impressed by a tiny metal puzzle box that made its way across the world a few years ago have been patiently waiting for their next great “white whale” to surface.
Tortoise is another beautifully crafted and charming production from Juno, the master of pleasing SD puzzles in wood.
Popular in the late nineteenth century, the “high wheel” bicycle is now better known as the Penny Farthing, a colloquial name derived from its one large and one small wheel, like the large British penny and small farthing coins of the time.
I’m not sure what the Peugot brothers would think about the “Pepper Mill” from Mark van Elteren, an invention of an entirely different sort.
Greatest hits albums are like a mark of true success for a band, having produced enough chart toppers to justify such a compilation in the first place, then taking a victory lap by rereleasing those same songs on one amazing album.
Johanne Sebastian Bach was one of the most prolific composers of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, during a period of musical evolution known as the Baroque.
Mercury was the messenger between the gods and humans, the cleverest of them all, who ruled over commerce, wealth, fertility, good fortune and trickery. What excellent inspiration for a grand and puzzling adventure!
I don’t know why it has taken so long for someone in the Karakuri Creation Group to make a robot, because it seems like a fantastic idea for a puzzle box simply waiting to happen.
Benno Baatsen, who began designing puzzle boxes when he was around ten years old, has kept his dreams, and his limitless ideas, alive.
Dee Dixon continues to challenge us with novel ideas in his puzzle boxes and adventures.
Doog Menzies is at it again. Or it may be more appropriate in this case to say he is at it again again. Like the best puzzle designers, his mind sees things the rest of us may not.
Luke Waier, a mechanical engineer from Houston, Texas, is the master storyteller behind the sensational new creation Fafnir’s Fortress.
Austrian puzzle maker Stephan Baumegger is having a blast. His complex interlocking puzzle designs are celebrated by enthusiasts the world over.
The story unfolds by a cozy fireplace and hearth, complete with a little chimney. The fireplace is empty, as is the mantle. Some preparations are clearly in order to set the scene properly and welcome the Christmas Spirit!
According to legend, a vast treasure in gold lies waiting to be discovered, hidden somewhere in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona.
Bram’s Stoker’s classic horror story about the undead ghoul with a serious blood lust, published in 1897, was inspired by a history of Wallachia, a region in what is now modern day Transylvania, and one of its most famous rulers, Vlad the Impaler - better known as Dracula.
I’m sharing a wonderful gift with everyone this week, on the heels of the American holiday grounded on giving and gratefulness. The gift is the story of another wonderful puzzle box created by one of the world’s true masters of the art, Perry McDaniel.
Close friends of Doog Menzies, a ship builder, engineer and craftsman, among other things, know Double Trouble is the name of one of his best puzzle boxes.
Dee Dixon did the puzzle world a favor when he decided to dedicate himself fully to designing and crafting his beautiful, delightful puzzles.
The Pioneer spirit is alive and well in the debut puzzle from Dylan Christopher, a mechanical engineer with a flair for ingenious design.
Matt Williams, a die cast machinist in England with a brilliant knack for creating outstanding mechanical puzzles, loves pinball, and has produced a remarkably puzzling object in Pinball Wizard.
There’s always something abuzz at an International Puzzle Party (IPP), which often has to do with, no surprise, an interesting puzzle, perhaps spied passing hands here and there, and utterly unfamiliar.
Who Dares Wins is a British television show named after the SAS (Special Air Squadron) motto. It is also now a collaborative puzzle lock box from a bunch of brilliant Dare Devils....
I recently received a mysterious package. The return label identified the sender as “The Source”. I suspect it may have come from the CIA, as the address listed Arlington, Virginia. It was also not addressed to me, but rather one “WSW” ...
I recently found myself in possession of an incongruous mixture of rare colorful wood, reminiscent of a tiny, beautiful Rubik’s like object, fashioned together into a motley cube.