Eric’s Visible
Puzzle Box was developed over a period of three years. The original prototype was a cube*.
Made from sturdy pieces of cherry and bloodwood, this box is not fragile or
delicate. Each move of the sliding panels ends with a satisfying click at the end of the
move. This box is well made according to fine woodworking standards.
Eric produced these nine Visible Puzzle Boxes for his entry in the 2002
International Puzzle Party Puzzle Design Contest. It’s called the Visible Box because
the mechanism is on the outside. All the moving pieces are visible.
This box is a tricky puzzle to solve even though it has only 6 moves. Eric
designed this puzzle to be incongruous with certain assumptions most puzzle box solvers
make unconsciously. 
There are two basic solution strategies the puzzler can take
when trying to solve this puzzle. Using a systematic approach it will take a long time to
open this box. If a more chaotic strategy is used you may have the box open in less time.
To see this box opened, click here - then
use your browser’s ”Back” button to return to this page.
This puzzle box is signed and numbered and comes with a Certificate of
Authenticity and a glossy color solution brochure.
This box will most likely be Eric’s last box for some time. He graduated High
School in 2002 and will be attending a university far from his home (Cal-tech) for the
next 4 years. But there is a chance that he may produce more of his puzzle box designs
during the summers.
The current batch is made of primavera on the outside, with a walnut inside, and
either bloodwood or purpleheart for the borders. Eric ran out of time in the summer of
2002 and was not able to complete this in-process batch of Visible Boxes before he had to
leave for school. He was going to complete them over the holiday 2002 break but was not
able to do so. Then he was going to complete them over the summmer of 2003. He was not
able to do so.
Finally now, in Ocrober 2003 11 boxes are finally here.
