Take Apart Boxes
Frank Chambers
The Oriental Toothpick Safe
Puzzle Design Competition 2001
IPP 21 Exchange / Tokyo
Corian Slider Box
Stephen Chin
NEWTON'S EGG
IPP 30 Exchange / Osaka + Hakone
Woo Tuck Shuet!
IPP 28 Exchange / Prague
designed by Chinnomotto
made by Stephen Chin
The Drunken Dancing Fraulein
Puzzle Design Competition 2011
IPP 31 Exchange / Berlin
Jean Claude Constantin
Jean Claude's trick boxes are ideally for beginners, as they are not that difficult to solve.
But the quality of the puzzle boxes is not very high, as they are produced for the mass market.
kiste mini
Celtic Knot Box
quality: poor
designed by Jean Claude Constantin
made by BITS & PIECES
Beziehungskiste
Opening Mechanism: Magnet
very simple to open
Maple Chest
Oval Trick Box
designed by Jean Claude Constantin
made by BITS & PIECES
designed by Jean Claude Constantin
Bee Box
designed by Jean Claude Constantin
Matthew Dawson
Ambidextrous Hexduos
Puzzle Design Competition 2010
IPP 30 Exchange / Osaka + Hakone
designed by Matthew Dawson
made by Robert Yarger
Improved Pagoda Puzzle Box
needs 16 moves to open the box
Limited Edition of 40
designed by Matthew Dawson & Yasutoshi Makishi
made by Yasutoshi Makishi
Pagoda #3
designed by Matthew Dawson
made by Yasutoshi Makishi
Douglas A. Engel
JUGGLER JOKER PUZZLE
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
Very simple to open. Only to realize how the box can be opened.
designed by Douglas A. Engel
made by Douglas A. Engel
Secrets Of The Heart
very simple to solve
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
designed by Douglas A. Engel
made by BITS & PIECES
Mini Secret Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
designed by Douglas A. Engel
made by BITS & PIECES
Claus Fohlmeister
Claus Fohlmeister is a puzzle designer from Hamburg/Germany
who designed several puzzles in the 1980s.
His most famous puzzle is safe, a trick box.
Tresor
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Pin
Tresor
Opening Mechanism: Pin
a copied version of the original design
Eric Fuller
Triple Locked Box
Beaulid Box
Irmo Puzzle Box
Puzzle Design Competition 2008 (First Prize)
51 Pound Box
Portable Pen Box
Tier Box
Shut Case Secret Box / Cam Box
made by BITS & PIECES
Havana's Box #1
designed by Eric Fuller
made by Eric Fuller
Havana's Box #2
designed by Eric Fuller
made by Eric Fuller
Randall Gatewood
Box of ZN
Limited Edition of 50
Puzzle Design Competition 2005
Keepers Key Safe Deluxe
Limited Edition of 35
Rik Van Grol
Bin Laden
binary puzzle
IPP 26 Exchange / Boston
The Diabolical Psycho Coin Box
designed by Rik Van Grol
made by Rik Van Grol
Kyoko Hoshino
Wrapping Box
DANGO (Japanese Cake)
BB
designed by Kyoko Hoshino
made by Kyoko Hoshino
Sewing Box
Hiroshi Iwahara
Iwahara is one of the most important and known contemporary artists for trick boxes from Japan.
His works include take a part boxes, sequential movement boxes and how to puzzle boxes,
with the majority of his boxes being take a part boxes.
It is striking that most of his trick boxes have depictions of food.
Especially cakes and sweets are often used as motives.
But he produces also very quite simple boxes.
Thus, many of his boxes have a cuboid or a cubic shape like the traditional japanese boxes.
Contrary to other puzzle boxes you cannot deduct from the outer shape on the opening mechanism.
But on some boxes is a little ornament which gives a hint for opening.
His boxes have two or more compartments on the inside.
His Inkan/Hanko stamp is also always inside the box and is not visible from outside.
His most famous boxes are the Super-Cubi Puzzle, the Secret Base and the Byway Secret Series.
Byway Secret 1
Byway Secret 2
2 compartments
Confetto Box
two compartments
Puzzle Design Competition 2009 (Honorable Mention)
similar puzzles: Half-finished box
Acorn Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
In my eyes this is not a puzzle box,
but it also took me several minutes to solve
Ichigo Shortcake
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 20 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Inner Maze
similar puzzles: My BUTTER
Pencil Stand
Box with a tree
Puzzle Design Competition 2006 (Honorable Mention)
4 Direction Drawer
Puzzle Design Competition 2010 (First Prize)
Secret Base
2 compartments
Puzzle Design Competition 2008 (First Prize)
Byway Secret 4
2 compartments
IPP 30 Exchange / Osaka + Hakone
House with trees
Puzzle Design Competition 2011
Firewood
designed by Hiroshi Iwahara
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
Secret Base 2
designed by Hiroshi Iwahara
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
Wave Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
In my eyes this is not a puzzle box
designed by Hiroshi Iwahara
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
Sliding 3 Drawer Chest
designed by Hiroshi Iwahara
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
Half-finished box
two compartments
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 60 minutes
similar puzzles: Confetto Box
Yoko Kakuda
Kakuda's boxes resemble movable sculptures, whereby an animal is depicted in most cases.
Her boxes are not especially difficult to solve.
Rice Bird
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
It is not really a puzzle box
Adhesive Tape
Goodnight
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
It is not really a puzzle box
My BUTTER
Difficulty: easy - medium
Playing Time: < 30 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Inner Maze
similar puzzles: Ichigo Shortcake
Secret Stripes
Anteater
Puzzle Design Competition 2010
KIBOKO
KOUME
designed by Yoko Kakuda
made by Yoko Kakuda
Baby Penguin
Akio Kamei
Akio Kamei is a japanese Trick Box, Trick Furniture und Trick Door designer,
and is one of the most important artists in the Take a Part area.
His many box designs (more than 100)
influenced enourmously the Take a part designs of others.
His designs are characterized through a huge variety.
He uses unusual mechanisms in some of his boxes.
For example his Pneumatic Box is opened through air suction.
In other boxes he mimics the typical movements which occur when an object is handled.
Famous mimic examples are the Egg and Coffee Cup puzzle.
His most famous boxes are Dice, Cassiopeia, Coffee Cup and Egg.
Top Box 4
Whiskey Bottle
Egg
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 30 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Magnet
similar puzzles: Schloss, Alcatraz, Boulon
Outlet
PARABOX
Money Bank
Stapler
Cube Box II
Dice
Sakura Mochi
Irregular twin box
New Secret Box I
Small CUBI
binary puzzle
New Secret Box II-2
Puzzle Design Competition 2010 (Jury Grand Prize)
needs 30 moves to open the box
Treasure Chest
made by BITS & PIECES
Top Box 3
made by BITS & PIECES
Gift Box / Letter Box D
2 compartments
Opening the two compartments is quite easy.
Closing the compartments is quite more difficult.
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 30 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Inner Maze
made by BITS & PIECES
PARCEL BOX
Octagon Box
made by BITS & PIECES
Ribbon Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
made by BITS & PIECES
Cube & Octagon box
APPLE 2
Rotary Box
designed by Akio Kamei
made by Akio Kamei
Coffee Cup
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
designed by Akio Kamei
made by Akio Kamei
Love Box
designed by Akio Kamei
made by Akio Kamei
Cassiopeia
Puzzle Design Competition 2001 (Grand Prize)
designed by Akio Kamei
made by Akio Kamei
Expansion IV
Expansion V (Binary 35)
binary puzzle
designed by Akio Kamei
made by Akio Kamei
Atsushi Katagiri
Coin Box 2010
IPP 30 Exchange / Osaka + Hakone
designed by Atsushi Katagiri
made by Hideto Satou
Cube 2013
IPP 33 Exchange / Narita, Japan
designed by designed by Atsushi Katagiri
made by Hideto Satou
Hideaki Kawashima
Regular octahedron secret box
Rose
Snake Cube
Puzzle Design Competition 2011
M-Box
designed by Hideaki Kawashima
made by Hideaki Kawashima
Twin
designed by Hideaki Kawashima
made by Hideaki Kawashima
TWIN 2
two drawers
6 moves to open both drawers
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 10 minutes
Kohno Ichiro
Missyobako
Puzzle Design Competition 2008
designed by Kohno Ichiro
made by Kohno Ichiro
Ninja's Tool Box
Puzzle Design Competition 2010
designed by Kohno Ichiro
made by Kohno Ichiro
Ron Locke
Excalibar
needs 9 moves to open the box
quality: poor
Knight's Tomb
needs 16 moves to open the box
Ark of the Covenant
needs 25 moves to open the box
Limited Edition of 40
quality: poor
Ron's puzzle comes with lots of perks,
But I don't know yet how it works.
I am sure I'll understand,
When I hold it in my hand.
I carved the angels for his box,
They move around as it unlocks.
Robert Yarger
The Ark of the Covenant holds many secrets, 24 in all,
solving this puzzle you will have a ball.
2394, a clue to opening up the door,
move wisely and you need move no more.
When you solve the mystery of the 10,
You will be rewarded from a spirit within.
Ron Locke
Tatiana & Vladimir Matveev
Vicious Circle
IPP 22 Exchange / Antwerp
designed by Tatiana & Vladimir Matveev
made by Tatiana & Vladimir Matveev
Tamara
IPP 28 Exchange / Prague
designed by Tatiana & Vladimir Matveev
made by Tatiana & Vladimir Matveev
Reach Open Space
IPP 31 Exchange / Berlin
Perry McDaniel
Hawaiian High Jinks Cake
Strawberry Very Short Cake
Black Forest Lemon Cake
Marbled Walnut Sheet Cake
IPP 26 Exchange / Boston
Pineapple Down Side Over Cake
From
Hobbit Cake
Limited Edition of 200
Difficulty: simple
Playing Time: 5 minutes
similar puzzles: traditional japanese puzzle boxes,
new secret boxes
designed by Perry Mc Daniel
made by Perry Mc Daniel
Tatuo Miyamoto
His most famous boxes are A Chance Meeting and Walk of Ladybug.
A Chance Meeting
Puzzle Design Competition 2006 (Second Prize)
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 10 minutes
Very simpe to solve, but the idea is great
Latch
Difficulty: easy - medium
Playing Time: < 1 hour
Japanese Toolbox
Odawara Lantern
Kuru Kuru Heart
Playing Time: < 1 minute
Clamp
Romantic Cake
Hinge
Tipsy
Pump
designed by Tatuo Miyamoto
made by Tatuo Miyamoto
Family
3 brothers
Puzzle Design Competition 2002
Sunflower
Yoshiyuki Ninomiya
Packing Box (mini) III
Covered Type Secret Box
Packing Box (mini) II
Hakone mountain palanquin burr
Irregular type 5 move Secret Box
Irregular open 4 times secret box
Hiroyuki Oka
Love Arrow
Hexagon
Memo Pad
A Slight Drawer
Honeybee
Maze5+2steps Japanese puzzle box
Double Puzzle Box
Japanese Puzzle Box Maze7steps
designed by Hiroyuki Oka
made by Hiroyuki Oka
Kanae Saito
Mouse Kingdom
designed by Kanae Saito
made by Kanae Saito
Sheep?
designed by Kanae Saito
made by Kanae Saito
(Norman and Robert) Sandfield's
SANDFIELD'S Locked Drawer Puzzle
IPP 30 Exchange / Osaka + Hakone
designed by Robert Sandfield and Kathleen Malcolmson
made by Kathleen Malcolmson
Norman Sandfield's Salt Shaker
Puzzle Design Competition 2003
IPP 22 Exchange / Antwerp
designed by Norman Sandfield, Robert Sandfield
and Perry McDaniel
made by Perry McDaniel
Robert Sandfield's Pepper Shaker
Puzzle Design Competition 2003
IPP 22 Exchange / Antwerp
designed by Norman Sandfield, Robert Sandfield
and Perry McDaniel
made by Perry McDaniel
Fat & Thin
Triple Dovetail Puzzle
IPP 18 Exchange / Tokyo
Sandfield's Unlocked Drawer
IPP 27 Exchange / Australia
Hideto Satou
His most famous puzzle is Openable Box, a howto puzzle box.
Kananbare (Japanese Doll)
Pencil
Moneybox(swing type)
Hit Box
Difficulty: easy
From
From
Openable Box
Puzzle Design Competition 2001
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Two steps of drawers
Shiro Tajima
His most famous boxes are the Hermit Crab Box, the W-Z and the W-O.
Goblet secret
the Hermit Crab Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
Dona Dona
The tiger of carboholic
Flemin'
Puzzle Design Competition 2011
designed by Shiro Tajima
made by Shiro Tajima
The magic hat
Dragon wing
designed by Shiro Tajima
made by Shiro Tajima
Uroboros
Humio Tsuburai
Pen Stand
Karakuri Omikuji
Pollinosis
String Box
String box PartII
From
String Box 2010
String Box 2011
designed by Humio Tsuburai
made by Humio Tsuburai
String (Treasure) Box
String Box 2012
Trevor Wood
The Dollar Box
Brian Young
Telephone Box
Puzzle Design Competition 2007
Gold Coast Parking Meter
Puzzle Design Competition 2008
IPP 27 Exchange / Australia
Karakuri Creation Group
a.) Karakuri Small Boxes
Karakuri Small Box #1
Karakuri Small Box #2
Karakuri Small Box #3
Karakuri Small Box #4
Karakuri Small Box #5
Karakuri Small Box #6
Karakuri Small Box #7
Karakuri Small Box #8
b.) Karakuri Cube Boxes
Karakuri Cube Box 1
Karakuri Cube Box 2
Karakuri Cube Box 3
Karakuri Cube Box 4
c.) Karakuri Cake
Karakuri Cake 1 / Cheese Cake
Karakuri Cake 2 / Fruit Cake
Karakuri Cake 3 / Chocolate Cake
Karakuri Cake 4 / Marble Cake
d.) New Secret Box
New Secret Box I
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
similar puzzles: traditional japanese puzzle boxes,
Hobbit Cake
needs 6 moves to open the box
New Secret Box II
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 7 minutes
similar puzzles: traditional japanese puzzle boxes,
Hobbit Cake
needs 12 moves to open the box
e.) others
Fake Box
Difficulty: easy
Star Night
Little Tree
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
Very simple to open.
Mother Tree
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
Very simple to open.
Candy
f.) Karakuri Puzzle Idea Contest 1 (2009)
After the rain
designed by Ayako Kunishima
made by Akio Kamei
Tako-Yaki
designed by Katsuhiko Handa
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
g.) Karakuri Puzzle Idea Contest 2 (2010)
Birdhouse
designed by Gou Kasai
made by Tatsuo Miyamoto
Vaulting Horse
designed by Yuki Nishida
made by Hideaki Kawashima
New Year
designed by Yoko Miyamoto
made by Tatsuo Miyamoto
h.) Karakuri Puzzle Idea Contest 3 (2011)
Flashlight
designed by Shokan Handa
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
i.) Karakuri Puzzle Idea Contest 4 (2012)
Miniature bulb
designed by Kouetsu Handa
made by Hiroshi Iwahara
j.) Karakuri Puzzle Idea Contest 5 (2013)
Crane box
designed by Kyoko Sueda
made by Akio Kamei
Disguise Boxes
The aim of disguised boxes is not to unlock a box by clever manipulation, but to find the opening mechanism.
The opening mechanism is not obvious, it has to be recognized as such.
Many puzzle boxes from the Victorian time period are based on the following principle.
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
a typical trickbox from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Box
IPP 33 Exchange / Narita, Japan
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Disguise
Other Designers
designed by Roland Koch
made by Roland Koch
made by BITS & PIECES
Flower Box
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Magnet
designed by Allan Boardman
made by BITS & PIECES
sesame
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 5 minutes
Only the centrifugal force is required.
similar puzzle: Großmaul
made by TROIKA
made by BITS & PIECES
Watermill
Hidden Wealth
IPP 20 Exchange / Los Angeles
designed by Adolf Ledesma
A-MAZING DRAWER
IPP 22 Exchange / Antwerp
designed by Simon Nightingale
made by Simon Nightingale
The AMAZING CHEWDINI
made by ThinkFun (BINARY ARTS)
22 Step Box
Coin Box from India
Difficulty: easy
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
Opening Mechanism: Screw
Magic Box from Japan
Treasure Box
designed by Rocky Chiaro
made by BITS & PIECES
Mongolian Puzzle Box DRAGON
Boxed In
Limited Edition of 8
quality: poor
designed by Random Netzley
made by Random Netzley
SchatzTruhe
Theo's Trickbox
IPP 22 Exchange / Antwerp
designed by Theo Geerinck
made by Theo Geerinck
From Budapest
HOUSE - SAFE
Sorrento box Isola Bella
Difficulty: easy - medium
Playing Time: < 1 hour
Playing Time: < 15 minutes
no copyrights
The Always Empty Box
Limited Edition of 30
designed by Phil Tomlinson
made by WolfAngel Studios
Tea Box Puzzle
quality: poor
designed by Kelly Snache & Robert Yarger
made by Kelly Snache & Robert Yarger
First Box
designed by W.G.H. Strijbos
made by STREETWISE
Opening Mechanism
Many easy take a part boxes can be classified according to their opening mechanism.
Literature
Karakuri Creation Group KARAKURI - World of Karakuri Box that evolves
Karakuri Creation Group We are the Karakuri Creation Group!
Karakuri Creation Group Karakuri Catalog
David M. Freedman Box-Making Basics