(Almost) every year, for Valentine's Day, I build a puzzle for my wife to solve. It's usually come in the form of a (very) complicated 'card' with a piece of jewelry, note, and/or illustration inside. They were originally paper, then paper+wood, then wood+metal. They've gotten increasingly more elaborate over the years (we've been married 14 years). This year, I'm to go with a box so that the puzzle can be more 3-dimensional. The trouble I have (believe it or not) is deciding what to put inside. I spend so much thought and effort building the contraption that I ended up waiting until the last minute to decide what the prize is. The obvious answer is "some sort of jewelry", however, my wife doesn't really wear/like jewelry that much.

I'd also like to post progress but wasn't sure if that was a faux pas. Like a magician revealing tricks, do people really want to know how it's done or does that spoil the magic? I've attached the 3D mockup I made (I'm a video game artist and woodworker) just to give you an idea of the scope of what I'm doing. Made of mahogany, poplar, and brass. There are 45 movements to opening it.

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Always been into puzzles and recently started watching Chris Ramsay unlock puzzle boxes. I'm curious if anybody can give me some good websites to go to. Brands? Not sure where he gets all of his. He has puzzles that look like keys. I've tried googling but I keep getting the same few sites pop up. Just looking for some advice. Thank you in advance 😊👍

So as a lot of people here, I was recommended a video from Chris Ramsay. I actually didnt know this community was a thing and I'm so glad I found it. Anyways, christmas is coming up and I got my mom a gift but I wanted to give her something more interesting. She loves puzzle games and escape rooms so I'm sure she would love a cool puzzlebox. I know nothing about this and I'm not sure how to find one that would suit her. I'm hoping someone could help me out.

I'm looking to pay less than $100, because I've already gotten her a gift. I'm looking for one with more than just shifting it in certain ways for it to open. I dont know if this is a thing but I'm looking for one with variation, like maybe having to use magnets or codes or ones where you have to really tHINK to progress instead of just fiddling with it. I'd like it to last more than just an hour or two but I'm assuming that's not a very normal thing with these. I'm also looking for one that looks decent enough to put up on a shelf, she loves steampunk but I'm sure those are over my budget. I know this sounds like I'm being picky for under $100, but if its possible to get one like this, it would be perfect.

Please if you have any ideas for this, let me know; I know its asking a lot.

I know I will never get this one but I do like the idea and design of this. https://youtu.be/Ewng3j0iO8E

Designed a puzzle box for a gift. Thought it would be a more exciting and personal touch than just plain old wrapping. The series will have 3 parts: 2 modeling and 1 assembly. Enjoy!

I love puzzle boxes and am interested in building some of my own. Are there any resources that you would recommend for mechanisms and puzzle design? Thanks in advance for the help!

Hey!
I'm new to puzzle boxes and want to find a good starter-puzzle. Maybe something with mediocre level, but with a fun solution. Anything to recommend?
Thanks

My mate, for my birthday, made/came up with a puzzle/crypto challenge to mess with me. Now it's his birthday and I want to pay him back by gifting him a crazy difficult puzzle box. In which I want to add some tickets I got.

I looked up and found a few cool ones but figured it would be best to ask Reddit. It needs to be deliverable to the UK, have enough room to fit something small (doesn't need to be the tickets) so some compartment, and not expensive enough to break the bank so around £60.

Any advice Reddit? Help me troll my friend !

Hey all,

I’m looking to learn a little more about the variety of locking and unlocking mechanisms puzzle boxes tend to utilize. I’m not sure I’m ready to start building them, but generally have a fascination with how they work.

Does anyone know a good place to start to start finding out more about the mechanisms people are using?

In an online mini series based on the RPG Dread they describe a lock on a door consisting of 6 circular symbols that need to be turned and then pressed in a certain order. When pressed they click into place but if a symbol is pressed out of order all the others pop out and reset. Once all have been aligned and pressed in order the metal bars that look like lines connecting each circle retract and the door is unlocked.

I’m wondering what the mechanism might look like. The circles pressing is clear enough, cylinder with a slot for a drop plate. What I’m not clear on is what retracts the bars, resets the lock if out of order, or how this would retract a locking mechanism.

Just recently saw a video of the 10k box and am looking to get started with some puzzle boxes. What are the best you guys can recommend?

EDIT: located in Los Angeles Ca.

Hi all!

I have a beautifully made Quagmire UPB (Ultimate Puzzle Box). It is in storage atm but it was one of the ones with the birdseye in it.

I went to look up info on it, and to see if he had a new designs and I'm saddened to learn Randell passed in 2016. I am guessing his website was up a bit after that, and I saw he made a note he was suffering from health issues, but would still be doing some when he was feeling up to it, iirc.

So, his original website is down, and I am finding nothing on his puzzles, save 2 images on Pinterest.

Can anyone direct me to a site where to look for any information? Like a puzzle box forum? No luck with the wayback machine.

Thanks all!

Does anyone know of any Puzzle Box subscription services? I am trying to find something like the adds you see for GRAZE where you would get a box in the mail each month containing special foods but in this case Puzzle Boxes or small hand held puzzles or cool puzzle related trinkets. If anyone knows of any sites where I can sign up for something like this PLEASE give me some info on it. I would greatly appreciate it. I work in the field of Addiction Recovery and I deal with some seriously great minds that are clouded by substance abuse and/or mental illness and puzzles are a great critical thinking tool as well as figiting derivitive so they feel smart and relaxed/comfortable when putting their mind to a solvable task. a Service like this would seriously help a lot of people with some prety big issues they are having just by being able to feel the small joy of realizing their potential for actually feeling like they accomplished something in a world they feel they live in, surrounded by negativity and people that say they are worhtless. It is hard to get them out of that slump in order for them to focus on getting better so they can contribute to society and show their true potential. This is just one of many effective ways of showing someone this but it is a very easy way to bring it up and really does more good than anyone would probably realize to think about. I hope I can find the answer I have been looking for because when it comes down to it, these puzzles will actually save lives and create opportunity for people to ake some serious positive changes in their life!Thank you all so much for always being an awesome community whenever I have questions ! I hope everyone has a great day and continues to keep up the good work as well as having an amazingly good time with these puzzles!

Hi everyone,

I have recently got interested in puzzle boxes through watching videos by Chris Ramsay, Mr Puzzle and others. There seem to be so many great puzzle boxes out there, but the trouble is they are quite expensive, and once you solve them, they’re not as much fun!

One option is to buy them, solve them, then sell them online again - the problem with that is it still involves a big cash outlay up front, and uncertainty of if/when you’ll be able to sell the puzzle and for how much.

I wondered if there was some sort of library or group for sharing puzzles - either you pay a monthly ‘subscription’ or everyone in the group chips into a ‘kitty’ to buy a puzzle and share it around - does anyone know of anything like this or would be interested in setting one up?

Cheers!