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Jean Claude Constantin has a tradition of naming his puzzles with German words, and the 'Beziehungskiste' puzzle is no different. If my German doesn't fool me, 'Beziehungskiste' means 'relationship crate' and, judging by the presentation, it can be used as a perfect gift for your better half. Even better, you can hide a nicer surprise inside and ask that special someone to try and open it.
Note: I've come to the understanding that there's a second meaning to the word Beziehungskiste, which is when a couple is hitting a rough patch, or a tricky moment, in their relationship - Thanks Goetz, for the help!
Note: I've come to the understanding that there's a second meaning to the word Beziehungskiste, which is when a couple is hitting a rough patch, or a tricky moment, in their relationship - Thanks Goetz, for the help!
The puzzle is a simple Trick Box, which basically means there's usually one or two not-so-straightforward moves necessary to open it. In this case, you'll only need one move to unlock the box, but the mechanism is a bit tricky to figure out at first. The design is stunning and uses two wooden colors for an enhanced effect. There's an engraved floral pattern that makes it look like a jewelry box and in the center, an aluminum plate with the name of the puzzle. The box measures 11cm x 8.5cm x 4.4cm (4.3" x 3.3" x 1.8"), so there's enough room to put some jewelry or other similar small things inside.
The mechanism, unfortunately for me, is not new. One of the Trick Boxes in my collection, albeit with a different design, uses the same exact trick to lock the box. Because I already know how some Trick Boxes are opened, I tend to try those tricks first, and got lucky with the first couple of moves.
The mechanism itself can be very tricky if you don't already have some experience with this type of puzzles. The way to open it is very specific and you need to use both hands, so don't think it's a walk in the park. The puzzle is rated as a level 3/5, but in puzzles like these, I think the difficulty level is very relative. It depends very much on your cunning, your ingenuity, and stuff like that. Some people might be able to open it within a couple of minutes of studying it, others might take hours. Once unlocked, the replay value is basically zero, because you will always remember how it's opened, but you can always trick others into try it for themselves, as seeing them struggle with it can be quite fun as well...
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Closing Comments:
In the end, whether you spend minutes or hours with this box, your a-ha moment will always be guaranteed. It's a great feeling when you finally discover how the mechanism works and using it as a gift box for something special can be even more satisfying. Highly recommended for curious minds.
Availability: You can get your Beziehungskiste box at Brilliant Puzzles for $28.95 USD. Also, you can check out other interesting puzzles by Constantin.
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