This was always an interesting puzzle box to have because it just never quite sat right with me. It’s a typical wooden puzzle box, though mass produced. It has a neat handle at the top with a few rods sticking out. It actually comes in three variations of Easy, Medium and Hard. I’ll be honest they were all pretty easy. Real bottom of the barrel stuff.

What was fun about these is that for the longest time I could only find them in one place; The Ontario science centre. Unfortunately the place has closed down since then, but I hope to see it back one day. It’s important for kids to have places to engage in learning. But back to the puzzle.

The puzzle itself is just a bunch of interlocking pieces, like a burr puzzle but quite a bit lamer, finding the correct rotations/extrusions of each knob help you solve the puzzle, allowing you to remove every piece. Once every piece is taken out, the lid just comes right off. It’s a good puzzle for kids, but I wouldn’t really say it brings much joy these days, it’s too finicky for me to truly love it.

As a fun story relating to this one, it was one of the first puzzle boxes I owned. The locking mechanisms failed almost instantly, and the box was locked for over 10 years. I tried many ways to re-open it, trying to pull it, pry it with a knife, using a lockpicking kit, I even considered grabbing a sledgehammer. Thankfully, I didn’t appeal to my inner demons, and reopened it successfully. That was one of the biggest feelings of relief I’ve ever experienced.

Every one I’ve got of these has seemingly wound up as a bit of a disaster. I still think its a cornerstone of every puzzle box collection, but do be careful of who you buy from. I know these are mass produced but I would expect that the locking mechanisms wouldn’t break so soon.

As for the positives… What I do like about this puzzle box is the amount of compartments they have, it always feels like a constant progression to make it from chamber to chamber. It reminds me of the Gretchen Puzzle Box with its series of progression. I have always admired that it does look like a set of books. Definitely feels the most like a decoration.

After I purchased this puzzle, I really knew I had found something special. Starting around this time I would be bringing them to school. They became a really fun party trick. That’s something mentally I’ve kept with me throughout the years, that they can always get a second life as a fun trick.

The puzzle itself is quite simple. It’s just a maze you orient your marble through, after that there’s a small switch you use with the ball to open the . I do appreciate the clear version over most others because I would sometimes try to solve it backwards. When I didn’t have that many puzzles, I had to make my own challenges for it.

I’d still recommend this puzzle for how cheap it is. You can typically find one for about 10 or so dollars.

After the initial hype of my first puzzle box ever, I knew I had to get more. Back when I browsed puzzleboxworld for puzzles, I stumbled across this one. It seemed perfect! An upgrade! And best of all, it was much cheaper than the others!

Similar to the previous one, it also has a Yosegi pattern. I’ve always particularly liked these. Did you know that you can also buy bookmarks, chopsticks, and regular boxes with such a pattern? Seriously underrated for all those maximalist nerds out there.

I won’t lie, when I first got this, I was pretty disappointed by its size. But what they did with that tiny size was quite interesting. It had a repeating spiral pattern around the box, slowly letting one piece move that moved another. I did come to enjoy it, it was something I brought overseas with me because it was small and entertaining enough.

Overall, despite its shortcomings, it still proves to be an incredibly fun toy to fiddle with.

Fun fact, Mame means “Bean” in japanese.

Hello, this marks the very first post of my blog! Welcome to the puzzle fox blog where I will go over puzzles that I’ve purchased, owned, or experienced.

The Japanese Yosegi box is the first puzzle I ever got to experience for myself. This specific one has been with me since I was ten, so I have a lot of admiration and respect for it lasting this long.

The outside of the box is decorated in the traditional Yosegi pattern. If you’ve never heard of that before- you’re missing out. Essentially its a series of different tree types laid into a mosaic, that are then pressed together and shaved to create unique and creative patterns. It’s a long and intensive process, but it makes every box incredibly entertaining to look at. The craftsmanship is always so admirable.

As for the mechanism itself, this is the fun part. On one of the sides you will find a panel that is loose, afterwards it functions almost like an invisible maze, sliding the panel to the left and down in order to navigate the invisible pathway. Once you have moved both sides, the lid will slide right off.

After over ten years, the inner compartment still smells like cedar. I never put anything inside, so that's always been my reward for opening it.