ClueBox / Davy Jones' Locker (ML)

This mechanical puzzle box belongs to the ClueBox series, a collection of enigma chests designed as a miniature escape room you solve entirely by hand, with no app and no electronic timer. The story behind this chest goes back to London, 1720: Ian Kensington, captain of the British Engineering Forces, leads the first successful recovery of a shipwreck and mentions, in his report to King George I, a very real artifact: Davy Jones' Locker, which legend links to the sea devil said to trap the wandering souls of drowned sailors inside these chests. Replicas of the chest have reportedly since turned up in shipwrecks around the world, some now resting in private collections or museums, with no one ever having cracked their secret. Laser-cut from 72 pieces of birch wood, this chest takes 60 to 90 minutes to solve, solo or with a friend, before revealing a secret compartment tucked at its core, big enough to slip in a piece of jewelry, a bill, or a gift card, which also makes it an original gift box. Once cracked, the mechanism resets itself using the included instructions, so the puzzle can circulate between friends or family without ever spoiling the surprise; solvers can even add their name to the manufacturer's online Wall of Fame.

The puzzle is designed by iDventure, a German studio specializing in wooden enigma chests inspired by adventure and escape stories, which offers its ClueBox collection across several themes, from the ocean floor to a Victorian detective's office.

Dimensions: approximately 12 x 11 x 11 cm, closed box, about 300 g; secret compartment approximately 1 x 4.5 x 6 cm.