The Mecanigma

A steampunk-themed and roughly cubic puzzle box, designed by Christophe Laronde [aka NeoKid] of NKD Puzzle. Here's NKD's listing of this puzzle.

And here is a review from Boxes and Booze.

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A complex-looking, intricate journey.

15 moves to open, 10 of which are sequential and 5 of which are using 5 dials to set a 5-part combination, which must be devised/intuited by the solver.

NKD rates the difficulty as 3/5, and I more or less agree. Although, as the assembler, I had intimate knowledge of the mechanisms, so I never truly had the chance to solve it myself.

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The Mecanigma is made out of 541 pieces. This is made up of approximately 350 wooden parts, 100 3D printed plastic parts, and 90 metal parts.

The wood is hand-stained poplar plywood. It is all manually assembled, using glue and some screws. The wooden surfaces were finished with 3 coats of glossy polyurethane varnish, prior to final wood assembly, and before adding the plastic and metal.

Additionally, I have painted very minor elements (certain sanded edges of wooden pieces) of the box in a brown that accentuates the NKD-provided stain. The paint was also varnished.

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Dimensions: 6.5in tall x 7in wide x 7in deep / 16.5cm tall x 17.8cm wide x 17.8in deep

(Given the irregular shape of the item, exact dimensions vary, measurements were taken using the widest protruding elements)

Internal space: 3.5in tall x 3.5in wide x 3.5in deep / 8.9cm tall x 8.9cm wide x 8.9cm deep

(Full internal space can be used without worry of inhibiting puzzle function!)

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Payment via Paypal.

I will ship anywhere in the world.

Do not pay until shipping has been agreed upon and added to final invoice!

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I assembled this puzzle box kit in January of 2021. It took around a month of work (perhaps 100 hours). I believe that the time spent and the effort expended during the assembly is worth what I'm asking, which also allows you to enjoy the puzzle element. Assembling it causes the assembler to learn the puzzle portion of the item.

The movements are satisfying, with nice snappy 'clicks' as part of many of the moving elements. Much of my work was ensuring the utmost smoothness of operation.

I could not help but to 'solve' - or rather, open - my own work somewhere between 10 - 20 times. Still functions flawlessly.

I have included a securely packed 'prize item' as a thank you to my hypothetical buyer, as well as NKD's 'puzzle business card' (Can you figure out how to assemble the card into a little machine? Or will you need the instructions on their site?)

Original assembly instruction booklet available, if you want it.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to message me here on CDM, or on the Mechanical Puzzles Discord, where I am known as PuzzleParks.

[This is my first time selling here on CDM, so if there's something obvious I've forgotten to mention, please ask.]