Nikol-AI Puzzle Box

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Last summer, I had the privilege of creating a puzzle box for Chris Ramsay, the Canadian Magician and Youtube Puzzler (Not the English comedian Chris Ramsey). Like most projects of this nature I failed to take enough photos, I rushed to complete it in a good time and I didn't even write about it here. Thanks to some very keen collectors, I have an opportunity to rebuild the box this summer. This time around I am going to write about it, documenting the design choices and code that goes into such a creation. I've even found time to list it on my puzzle website should anyone be interesting in purchasing their own copy. https://www.donteatpuzzles.com/nikolai



The project was delivered in July 2024 and was filmed almost immediately by Chris and his team. I think it's fair to say that he loved it. Seeing all of my efforts being appreciated in this was is rather magical. I should just take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me in making this, whether it was playtesting or just listening to me crazy ideas along the way.


The project actually started in Jan 2023 when Chris put a call out on Twitter for puzzle designers who were free to work on a commission. Chris had previously tried 'Loki's box of tricks' and not got on with it so I was actually really excited when he gave me another chance to build a box that he would actually enjoy. He sent me a whole bunch of AI generated puzzle box images and this one really stuck with me. I knew I'd be able to make some nixie style displays to mimic the orange lights and some warm white cob leds to make clear perspex glow.




I threw together some very rough sketches, joted a few words down and sent some information off to the team. I made a few simple prototypes of the parts demonstrating the style I was hoping to achieve and I waited to hear back from them about my proposals. Five months later I got an email almost out of the blue saying that they were keen to go ahead. I started building but my progress was rapidly hampered by the fact we moved house and I had to pack and up and move the entire workshop from one place to another. It wasn't until Jan 2024, in my post Christmas lull, that I was fully underway with production. It took a solid four months to finalise everything, test it and get it shipped over to Canada.


Overall I'm pretty pleased with how well it worked out. I think the final design captured the aesthetic nicely. It was interesting to see some TV magic appearing in the video and I'll be reflecting upon that as I talk more about the design in upcoming posts. As mentioned this is just the start of a whole new project, I'll be providing full details about the motors and controllers and discuss all the different aspects from 3d/2d drawing through to coding so if you're interested, now is the time to follow along.





Location: United Kingdom

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