BotC by Numbskull Puzzles or Matt M, is diabolical. It's surprisingly straight forwards with first with getting the lid off (somehow), but then every time the solver thinks they've managed to get past the hardest part of the puzzle, more traps and trickery is revealed to be waiting for you! I'd say there are roughly 5 major sections of the puzzle or sub-puzzles solvers need to defeat before they can get to the end to find the prize waiting patiently for them. However, that's not even the end! The reset is it's own challenge since multiple steps are complex enough that it's a struggle to figure out how to go backwards!
Some people may complain about it
being blind, but I don't agree with this at all. There are just aspects
or mechanisms that are not immediately visible, but can be found out
through exploration and gradually exposing their secrets to you. I just
recommend a flashlight to best assist you.
For any bidders who may not know about this, but Matt is coming out with a brand new puzzle which is a sequel to Box of the Celts! Fleur de Keys is a wild new puzzle, far more elaborate print, more parts and complexity than BotC, and much more sections to solve and beat compared to the 5 we have with this puzzle! If BotC won a Jury Honorable Mention at IPP 2021, then I can't imagine how well FdK is going to do at the IPP and this is your chance to grab a copy before trying FdK!
Don't go too crazy bidding on this copy. Despite BotC having been out for 4 years at this point, Matt still produces and sells more copies! So buying this copy only means getting it for a bit under retail (assuming there's only a few bids at most), and not having to wait for your turn to come up on Matt's waiting list of customers.
I've resolved this puzzle before posting it up for an auction because it had been years since I last beat it, and I left out the prize for display when it needed to be put back in its original home. I freely admit that the final section proved to be very problematic and took me 2 days to beat it. It turns out I was unlucky and that a piece had gotten jammed which was completely my fault. My thanks to Matt for helping me out with patient advice and even an offer to have it shipped to him for repair which fortunately wasn't needed in the end! I've sanded down the problem piece slightly so it moves more easily for future solvers. But that means this isn't a "pristine" copy anymore for anyone who cares about that.
Furthermore, this is a very early copy of BotC (not a prototype!). Matt hasn't exactly changed anything about the solve of this puzzle, but looking at more recent copies of BotC, he's made some quality of life printing improvements such as a textured bottom instead of the flat bottom this one has. He also has included three QR codes as hints on the back of the paper instructions, but my copy of the instructions is completely blank when I look there. I used to have a blue rubber band holding the instructions in place, but it's snapped over the years of my ownership, so I've replaced it with 3 rubber-bands. Finally, I've had the white celtic knot snap on me, so Matt was kind enough to send me a new one as replacement. I kept the broken one and glued it back together, but it's just a spare that I'm including because it's nice to toy around with or give to a kid to have fun with. In the last picture, I try showing where the beige glue has discolored where the break was at the bottom, but it's not very clear with the camera.
Here is the webpage on PuzzleMaster for this puzzle:
https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/allpuzzleboxes/puzzleboxes2/18666-box-of-the-celts
I accept and prefer using Zelle as my payment method of choice.I
accept Paypal. I prefer Friends & Family due to the IRS tax rules.
But if you rather pay with Goods & Services, I will accommodate that
preference.I accept Wise for international buyers.
I am willing to consider other desired payment methods.
Shipping is USPS or UPS
Buyer
chooses the shipping service and shipping speed, First Class or
Priority (assuming the package is under the weight limit for First
Class).
Insurance is optional, but buyer has to cover it if it is desired.
I ask the winner to hold off on paying until after I calculate and message final shipping costs to be added to the final bid.
Finally, we're in the crush of the Christmas holiday season
which may mean delays or difficulty delivering packages. So if the
winner of this auction wishes for me to hold off on shipping them out,
let me know and I'd be willing to wait until a better time to ship out.
