From the creators of puzzles such as Puzzle Pod Cryptex (previously reviewed) and Vino Vault, comes a new puzzle for all gift lovers out there. Puzzle Pod Junior offers a fun and interesting way of getting your loved ones a thoughtful gift with an adventure attached to it.

For someone who's not very creative when it comes to gifts, the Puzzle Pod Junior is the perfect way to overcome that. Offering money or a gift card is a nice way of giving the other person an option to get what they wanted without running the risk of disappoint them. What better way to do that than enclosing the money or a gift card with the Puzzle Pod Junior?

The puzzle is pretty small compared to the original. It measures about 10.5 x 9.5 cm (4.13" x 3.74"). While the original was used for small objects, this one is specifically used for money or gift cards: basically, anything that fits inside the small compartment (8.3 x 10.2 x 0.2 cm or 3.27" x 4.02" x 0.08"). The puzzle unlocks by rotating the three discs so that the three key letters are aligned with the arrow at the top of the puzzle. When that happens the back of the puzzle slides off as a drawer, showcasing its contents to the deserving enigma solver.

The idea of this puzzle is similar to the original Puzzle Pod, in that you set a keyword that unlocks the puzzle and its contents for the person you're giving the gift. The key is any three-letter word you can think of, but it's not limited to three letter words. You can use three words and set the key to the first letter of each word, or the first three letters of a bigger word, or assign letters to numbers from an equation. You see, there's a myriad of options, only limited by your creativity.

When you have your keyword ready you can then set the provided stickers accordingly to the puzzle and lock it. All you need now is to give some clues to the recipient of the gift and see them struggle to solve the cryptic puzzle.

The only drawback from this puzzle is that, unlike its predecessor, there's no easy way to reset it. It can only be used once, since the stickers are very hard to pull off once they're on the puzzle. While it's true that the puzzle only serves one purpose for the person who's giving the gift, it could be recycled, as the gift recipient could've use it again to offer something to another person. One could use the same clues or new ones for the same keyword, though.

Closing Comments:

While in practice it can only be used once, the Puzzle Pod Junior is perfect for offering money or a gift card, instead of just being another dull or a banal present. The puzzle provides the gift giver and recipient a way of engaging in a creative and fun adventure of puzzle deciphering, which would be something difficult to accomplish otherwise.

Availability: You can find the Puzzle Pod Junior in the following links:

Within the US

International (eBay)

Links:

Video Demonstration - Courtesy of puzzle-pod.com