A Puzzling Journey - Part V

Part V - So, there I was...

Originally part of the mid-March 2025 edition of the Mercurius Newsletter.

… diving into designing my first Sequential Discovery puzzle. It was thrilling. I hadn’t felt this excited about a project in a long time (the last being the ‘making’ of our kids…). My mind would race at night, every idea demanding attention. I started keeping a notebook on my nightstand, scribbling down messy sketches before sleep so I wouldn’t forget by morning. The next evening, after a long day at the office, I’d be back in the shop testing a new concept, sometimes before I had even finished the last prototype.

 

Sketch 001 Prototype 1
Prototype 2

Early sketches and prototypes of The Mercurius Temple.

Would I recommend this approach? Probably not.

My first iteration was just about getting the overall shape, dimensions, and aesthetics right; no internal mechanics, just a concept. The second version had a few moving parts, but I never fully assembled or glued it up. Eventually, I built a working prototype, only to find that the main locking mechanism was completely inadequate. That sent me back to the drawing board for an entirely new internal design.

I won’t go into the specifics (as to avoid any spoilers!), but my intent here is to convey just how much joy I found in every step of the process. At that stage, I still had no idea if anyone would even want this creation, let alone whether I could make a living designing and crafting puzzles. Truth be told, that’s still to be seen!

Just as I was deep in prototyping, xTool put their older D1 laser engraver on clearance. I managed to snag a complete package for a fraction of the original price; rotary tool, cover, air assist pump, honeycomb mat, the works.

At only 10W, it’s not the most powerful machine, and the work surface is relatively small for mass production, but adding a laser cutter to my toolkit changed everything. It unlocked an entire spectrum of possibilities. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to create the intricate engravings or mechanical gears which eventually became crucial parts of The Mercurius Temple.

That laser marked a turning point. It allowed me to push beyond a simple ‘clever puzzle box’ and into the world of proper Sequential Discovery mechanics. I imagine a 3D printer or CNC will be the next major leaps forward, when the time comes.

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  • A Puzzling Journey - Part V

    Designing my first Sequential Discovery puzzle was an exciting creative leap. Every prototype brought new lessons, and a simple diode laser helped turn ideas into something real.

    A Puzzling Journey - Part V

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