Eric Fuller was a master craftsman beloved for his meticulously curated, well made mechanical puzzles and puzzle boxes.

Eric Fuller’s lasting legacy is well encapsulated in many ways within his final box, the last puzzle he personally had a hand in both designing and crafting.

The unexpected death of Eric Fuller, the larger than life tour de force behind the puzzle crafting brand Cubic Dissection, has left the many friends and fans who knew him in a state of shock and bewilderment.

When Eric Fuller decided to team up with Frederic Boucher and modify one of his devilishly fun designs, he knew he could create something even more outrageous, complex, challenging, unusual and fun.

There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity. - Douglas MacArthur

The vortex theory [of the atom] is only a dream. Itself unproven, it can prove nothing, and any speculations founded upon it are mere dreams about dreams. - Lord Kelvin

What a meal we’ve had! I hope you’ve saved room for dessert because it’s definitely worth the calories.

As if having a unique and beautiful burr set made by Eric Fuller were not enough, the box that contains the set is also rather special.

Third times a charm may or may not apply to this set of puzzle boxes, the HexTrios by Eric Fuller and Matt Dawson. That depends on whether you find devilishly puzzling mechanisms to be charming or not.

Next on the menu is a little light fare to lift your spirits and set the mood. It’s one of my favorite Fuller boxes because it’s just so darned clever and incredibly well executed.

Welcome to the epicurean experience of the season, a limited interlude featuring a truly passionate champion of the art form. I’m going to be serving a five course meal that will leave you a little Fuller each week.

Do you like a box that locks?

Do you like a lock like box?

Yes, I like a box that locks

Yes, I like a lock like box

Yes, I like a lock like box that looks like lock of box that locks

In light of the escalating global pandemic I instead strongly advise everyone to stay home with this apropos puzzle box from the doctor of devious designs, the original Raleigh renegade, Eric Fuller.

"Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Beaulid Box was one of Fuller’s few box collaborations, a category which includes the Stickman No. 4 Clutch Tile Box with Robert Yarger, the Portable Pen Box with John Devost, the B-Box / Reactor with Goh Pit Khiam, and the Penultimate Burr Box Set with Ken Irvine.

It’s time to praise the mohawked master of mischief, that devious delighter of mis-direction. Eric Fuller, whose Cubic Dissection wooden puzzle company is booming, can probably teach a masterclass in running a successful small business.

Eric Fuller has got some balls. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a new puzzle box design from the curator of finely crafted puzzles and master of mischief.

I’ve been meaning to write about this box for quite a while but haven’t gotten around to it until now, it seems. I don’t know why I have been resisting it … it’s not as though I have been idle, or sluggish. Whatever the reason, something has now forced me to share it with you.

Getting down to puzzling business is hard work, at times – North Carolina puzzlesmith Eric Fuller might even suggest you take your shirt off. At least, his Topless Box would suggest it.

The Small Button Box is a truly amazing little marvel. It’s difficult to fathom the level of precise complexity that is packed inside this tiny puzzle.

Once opened, as a wonderful reward there is another entirely independent puzzle box, perfectly nestled inside the internal compartment of B-Box. Tip this out and you are holding the “Reactor Box”, a tiny puzzle box which packs a huge headache designed and created by Eric Fuller

Eric Fuller is not Japanese, so these rules don’t apply to him – he prefers to make the exception the rule. Which is to say, he delights in making his puzzle boxes extremely difficult to open. And of course, we puzzle box partisans rejoice.

In Oklahoma, a humble wizard works his magic to produce highly acclaimed works of art in the form of complex mechanical wooden puzzle boxes.   Most of Robert Yarger’s creations for his “Stickman Puzzlebox Company” are entirely of his own design and creation.

There are probably a finite number of possible ways to open a wooden box, but designers delight in exploring the options to see what’s possible. Part of the challenge in creating a new design is also in making the novelty invisible, so the box doesn’t necessarily look any different.

We are going back to Cuba again here on B+B.  In July, 2015, the United States and Cuba resumed diplomatic relations after over 50 years of silence.  Perhaps this year we will see the long standing embargoes lifted.  Time will tell, as they say, but rather than wait, let’s get puzzling.

One of the most ambitious collaborative puzzle box projects in recent times was The Apothecary Box, a puzzle chest created by Robert Yarger (aka “Stickman”) which itself holds 12 individual puzzle boxes created by prominent designers from around the world.

We need to spend a little time discussing the daiquiri. I'm sure everyone realizes that today, July 19, is National Daiquiri Day. You've had it marked on your calendar for months.

Sometimes the box begets the cocktail, and sometimes it’s the other way around. The Old Cuban Cocktail is a modern classic, and is also one of my wife’s all-time favorite drinks.