Spirit Box

DEDWoodCrafts master of mystery Dee Dixon recently announced a new puzzle box called the Spirit Box and I happened to find myself remembering that important fact just after the appointed release time on the appropriate date – so I was forced to purchase a copy. 

Actually, I should probably admit that it was a bit more premeditated than that given I rather like some of Dee’s other recent puzzle boxes – either way, there are still copies available on Dee’s website and in his Etsy shop  if you’re interested.

Spirit box is a smallish box with handsomely shouldered Beech sides and Granadillo top and bottom. Dee challenges you to unlock the ghosts inside – and they certainly are a rowdy bunch! Give the box a gentle shake and it sounds like there’s all sorts going in inside there. While the bottom is pretty solidly held in place, the top is kind of loose and sometimes even a bit springy… which is odd.

I’m not too proud to tell you that I spent a while exploring exactly the wrong things – keen not to be taken for a sucker… only to be taken…

I also spent a while trying to understand the sounds emanating from inside and trying to make some sort of sense of that springiness…

In the end I managed to work out the key to this elegant little mechanism – one I’d seen before, adding a little to the embarrassment of not trying out the right approach a lot earlier! Opening the box gives you a great view of the innards (very neatly made, as we’ve come to expect from Dee!) and you can safely confirm your understanding of the entire mechanism, and of course releasing the DEDWood-branded ghost inside…

It’s a cute box – certainly not too tricky as the modest price point for a beautifully-made puzzle box might suggest… it’ll make a great box to tempt newbies with and I rather like the humour in there – it’s almost as though there’s a little pun in there as well… well I think there is and I like it even more for that!