March 2022 Update Preview

After months of design, prototyping, and several delays, we have finalized our first coin release puzzle, "Pennytentiary." To solve this sequential discovery puzzle, you must release the penny trapped inside.

Pennytentiary's complexity and depth rival that of our trickiest puzzle boxes. The solution is very challenging, with multiple "aha" moments to be found. Success relies upon the discovery and use of various tools to execute more than dozen confounding moves. No force, tapping, banging, or dexterity is required. Pennytentiary ships in an unsolved configuration.

Thanks to Five Sinatras for an excellent blog post on Pennytentiary!

Frederic Boucher designs some of the most unique puzzles around. His work often surprises and confounds even the most experienced solver. Anti-Gravity Box+ is no exception. This brilliant packing puzzle stands alone in both concept and creativity.

We long-delayed production of AGB+ due to the complexity of prototyping and manufacture. The construction of this seemingly straightforward puzzle was, in fact, quite difficult, requiring many days of prototyping and calibration.

The goal of AGB+ is to pack six bars into the box using only the two cutouts in the front and side of the box. However, there are rules: the box must be kept on a flat surface while solving. You may not move a piece with anything other than another piece. The pieces are complex, containing embedded magnets in various locations, polarities, and strengths. We include two sets of pieces, the first with two solutions and the second (marked with an inlaid circle) featuring a unique solution.

No force, tapping, banging, or dexterity is required. The box features a removable acrylic top to allow trial and error and facilitate quick reset between attempts.

Both FiveSinatras and JL Puzzles have previously reviewed this puzzle.

This is a split release, with approximately 60 copies being released this month, with the remainder to follow in April.

William Ja has knocked the ball out of the park with his first design. The cheekily named "Triorchidism" was inspired by our earlier "Box with Two Balls." William expanded the idea by increasing the playing area to a 3x3 space and adding the third sphere to create a more complex and difficult challenge.

The goal of Triorchidism is to remove all three marbles from the box. Confounding this is four wood pieces trapped inside. Moving the pieces and marbles creates an ever-changing hybrid interlocking maze which you must navigate by viewing through the transparent top and bottom. Requiring 32 moves to solve fully, many of them tricky and unintuitive, Ja has drastically upped the ante. This puzzle is a ton of fun to solve and offers great replayability.

Triorchidism ships in an unsolved configuration. 97 copies were made, each signed and dated. 54 Copies in Bubinga & Walnut, 43 copies in Black Palm & Sycamore.

"Paradox Box" seems easy at first. Movement here, movement there. What you need to do is immediately apparent, but seems unachievable. Discovering this box's secrets requires the solver to think creatively and defeat a seemingly impossible paradox.

We previously produced Paradox Box in 2019. For this release it has been slightly redesigned to a larger format. The mechanism and solution remain identical to the previous edition.

Here is an excellent blog review of Paradox Box by "PuzzlePusher".

Following up from the initial release in February, this is the final set of this batch of Paradox Box. Paradox Box is shipped in an unsolved configuration.

Binary Key II is Pit Khiam Goh's two-dimensional interpretation of Bill Cutler's excellent "Binary Burr." The goal is to remove the bottom key from the frame by manipulating the internally sliding pieces. The solution requires 85 moves and is non-trivial.

Pit Khiam's description: "Binary Key II is a redesign of my Key Puzzle. The original puzzle was minimalist by design, but I felt some pieces could be changed to make them slide better. The key piece is now made shorter, and the number of rings has been increased to 5 instead of 4. The number of rings can be increased indefinitely due to the relation between the number of rings n and the number of moves Tn to solve the puzzle."

This is our first release of both Binary Key II and Tern Key since 2013. For this release we have modified the design with slightly thinner extruded acrylic middle and top layers for better operation. We also added a thin spacer layer to ensure smooth internal movement, and replaced the metal key pins with acrylic for more reliable press fitting and retention.

Precision cut from solid acrylic and painstakingly hand-assembled, Binary Key II has a nice weight and feel. It will not be confused with cheaper mass-produced take apart puzzles! Construction uses contrasting press-fit dowel pins to align the internals.

Here is an excellent blog review of Binary Key II. Another review of both Binary Key II and Tern Key may be found here.

Pair this with Tern Key for an ideal sample of grey-code style puzzles in your collection!

Tern Key is Pit Khiam's sequel to his earlier Binary Key II design. The goal is to remove the sliding key from the frame by manipulating the internal pieces. Complexity is significantly increased by expanding Binary Key's locking mechanism into a trinary design. This yields a hefty 134 move solution with four locks to defeat in sequence.

This is our first release of both Binary Key II and Tern Key since 2013. For this release we have modified the design with slightly thinner extruded acrylic middle and top layers for better operation. We also added a thin spacer layer to ensure smooth internal movement, and replaced the metal key pins with acrylic for more reliable press fitting and retention.

Precision cut from solid acrylic and painstakingly hand-assembled, Tern Key has a nice weight and feel. It will not be confused with cheaper mass-produced take apart puzzles! Construction uses contrasting press-fit dowel pins to align the internals.

Here is an excellent blog review of Tern Key. Another review of both Binary Key II and Tern Key may be found here.

Pair this with Binary Key II for an ideal sample of grey-code style puzzles in your collection!

Benno de Grote's "Glass Puzzle Box" is a unique concept crafted from laser-cut acrylic. It holds no secrets, the full functionality being plainly visible. Despite this, Glass Box is a tough challenge, with a layered, complex solving experience and much to discover.

The box is solved by maneuvering a stainless ball through the maze. This is, however, no ordinary maze: at each corner, the path is blocked by interlocking sliders. To progress, you must solve the slider puzzles at various choke points. Requiring over 120 moves to fully solve, Glass Box automatically resets itself once opened.

We have made two versions for this release. One is entirely transparent, allowing a full view of the box's contents. The other conceals the box's interior using mirrored acrylic, reflecting the maze back to the solver for a slight increase in difficulty.

Glass Box took a lot of effort to make. Each puzzle uses 38 precision-cut acrylic pieces, dense with holes and notches, creating a very time-consuming cut process. Once cut, the pieces are de-masked by hand before being painstakingly assembled and tested. The final product measures 3.5" x 5.35" x 8".

Houdini's Torture Cell is Brian Young's award-winning Sequential Discovery take-apart design. The puzzle's theme celebrates Harry Houdini's first public performance of The Torture Cell at the Circus Busch in Berlin on 12th September 1912. The original wooden version of Houdini's Torture Cell was made for the 2011 International Puzzle Party, held in Berlin. That wooden version has been sold out for many years and thus become quite collectible, usually only available at specialist auctions for quite high prices. This version is an accurate factory-produced copy of that same puzzle.

The object is to release the steel ball from the cell. Accomplishing this goal requires the discovery and use of tools. While not overly complicated, the solution is very clever and fun. No force, tapping, or banging is needed.

Brian has supervised the manufacture from standard brass and acrylic stock. This puzzle is not intended to be a high-end limited-availability puzzle. There may be machining marks in the brass, and occasionally there might be a small hairline crack in the acrylic. Each puzzle has been inspected and is guaranteed to function well. The focus of this puzzle is more on the puzzling aspect rather than a finely crafted expensive puzzle. Enjoy the 'Ah Ha' moment!

Houdini's Torture Cell is shipped unsolved, with a photographic solution enclosed.

This puzzle is well complimented by the Brass Cannon puzzle.

"Brass Cannon" is a long-time favorite of both veteran and new collectors. The goal of this Sequential Discovery puzzle is to remove the cannonball. Solving the puzzle requires the discovery and use of tools. While not overly complex, the solution is clever and entertaining.

Based on a wooden version called Cannon and Ball puzzle made from wood circa 1881-1884 that was published in Hoffmann's Puzzles Old and New by Professor Hoffman in 1893. This puzzle has the exact mechanism as the Bits & Pieces reproduction done in the 1990s.

Previously sold versions made by Enigma were more cheaply made. Due to the design's popularity, Mr. Puzzle in Australia decided to commission this version. The cannon's muzzle is made from solid turned brass rather than plated cast zinc alloy. The red cannon base is made from a cast alloy metal. When incorrectly assembled, elements of the solution can be given away. Mr. Puzzle opened each copy to ensure the puzzling feature was set correctly.

Brass Cannon is shipped unsolved, with a photographic solution enclosed.

This puzzle is well complimented by Brian Young's Houdini's Torture Cell.

iDventure ClueBoxes are challenging interactive puzzle boxes. Each box is locked by sequential mechanisms, which must be solved in a particular order. Solutions require logical thought rather than random tricks, and each box is jam-packed with different ideas.

Davy Jones' Locker is the medium difficulty puzzle of the ClueBox lineup. It consists of 72 individual parts precisely cut from high-quality birch wood and sealed with an oil finish. Playtime is estimated at 60-90 minutes. Once the box is solved, the internal space measures 0.4" x 1.8" x 2.4".

Davy Jones' Locker is shipped unsolved, with an informative insert that provides a URL for hints should you need them.

This puzzle is one of three iDventure ClueBoxes we carry. You may also be interested in Captain Nemos Nautilus and Schrodinger's Cat. We offer a bundle discount for the purchase of all three; enter the following code during checkout to apply to your order: Cluebox Bundle

iDventure ClueBoxes are challenging interactive puzzle boxes. Each box is locked by sequential mechanisms, which must be solved in a particular order. Solutions require logical thought rather than random tricks, and each box is jam-packed with different ideas.

Schrodinger's Cat is the introductory Cluebox and is a great way to dip into the concept. It consists of 52 individual parts precisely cut from high-quality birch wood and sealed with an oil finish. Playtime is estimated at 45-60 minutes. Once the box is solved, the internal space measures 3.5" x 2" x 0.78".

Schrodinger's Cat is shipped unsolved, with an informative insert that provides a URL for hints should you need them.

This puzzle is one of three iDventure ClueBoxes we carry. You may also be interested in Captain Nemos Nautilus and Davy Jones' Locker. We offer a bundle discount for the purchase of all three; enter the following code during checkout to apply to your order: Cluebox Bundle

iDventure ClueBoxes are challenging interactive puzzle boxes. Each box is locked by sequential mechanisms, which must be solved in a particular order. Solutions require logical thought rather than random tricks, and each box is jam-packed with different ideas.

Captain Nemo's Nautilus is the most recent and complex Cluebox. It consists of 52 individual parts precisely cut from high-quality birch wood and sealed with an oil finish. Playtime is estimated at 60-90 minutes. Once the box is solved, the internal space measures 1.6" x 0.8" x 0.8".

Captain Nemos Nautilus is shipped unsolved, with an informative insert that provides a URL for hints should you need them.

This puzzle is one of three iDventure ClueBoxes we carry. You may also be interested in Davy Jones' Locker and Schrodinger's Cat. We offer a bundle discount for the purchase of all three; enter the following code during checkout to apply to your order: Cluebox Bundle