There’s a chill in the air and the dark creeps in a little sooner, a little longer, stretching the shadows and turning all things spooky.

The story begins in 1975, when the Japanese amusement ride company TOGO released Mogura Taij (Mole Buster), a franticly fun mole smashing game invented by Kazuo Yamada.

The Golem is a pervasive mythical guardian which appears time and again in various fantasy lore, originating with Jewish myth and mysticism.

It’s that time of year again, when we all get to reminisce about a year gone by, and contemplate what’s next on the horizon, if we are lucky and fortunate to still be here.

I’d like to take a moment to say thanks, and share something special with everyone. This time of year is always a good reminder to step back and appreciate the things we have in our lives that are most important.

The Norman invasion of England brought with it an architectural fortification system known as motte-and-bailey, which was fairly simple to construct even for unskilled laborers, while at the same time being militarily effective.

An index case, also referred to as “patient zero”, is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study.

Jesse Born and Robert Yarger, two of the world’s best puzzle box artists, have created a modern masterpiece of mechanical secrets.

From the Latin dominus, “master of the house”, we have the English word for an ancient game of tiles that was invented in China sometime in the twelfth century.

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can not be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. The second law relates to entropy, stating that any system will move toward a state of disorder. These two laws should suggest that the mythical “perpetual motion machine”, a device that works via its own contained mechanics, forever, is an impossibility.

Those who follow the works of Robert Yarger, the brilliant puzzle maker behind the Stickman Puzzle Box Company, know that he likes to create new puzzles and explore different genres. He rarely revisits an idea, and when he applies his focus to a new project it becomes extraordinary.

“There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet”

Last week I reached a milestone on the blog, five years of weekly boxes and booze pairings. It seemed like a good place to pause for a bit, maybe take a break and turn attentions elsewhere. So of course here I am, rolling right along anyway.

To celebrate the occasion I’d like to present a rather auspicious creation from someone whose work I have featured here more than any other, my friend Robert Yarger.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. – Galileo Galilei

The first Stickman box, the Oak Wood Slide Box, was not truly “No. 1” in the series until there was a second, naturally. I wrote about that one, another favorite, a few years ago as a nice year end tribute, so let’s focus on No. 2 now, a box that launched an empire.

Fancy going on an African safari, anyone? The allure of the classic game hunt is the stuff of novels by the likes of Isak Dinesen in my book, and the only shooting I’d be interested in is with my camera.

This is a tale of a puzzle box, however, one that references an ancient lost race of craftspeople who built the most incredible and complex objects.

This is no ordinary chess themed box. The Stickman No. 14 Puzzle Box, aka the Checkmate Box, represents the evolutionary development of a modern day renaissance artist in his chosen medium.

When it comes to traditional puzzle boxes, the history books direct us to the Hakone mountain region south of Tokyo in Japan. The thousand year old wood marquetry technique known as yosegi-zaiku is the region’s greatest claim to fame.

The West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec, Maine served as the real world inspiration for the Stickman No. 20 Puzzlebox, a detailed reproduction rendered in purpleheart, maple, walnut and padauk woods and imbued with Robert Yarger’s own flair and imagination.

The Yin Yang Master Puzzlebox by Randal Gatewood completes a cycle of its own, and represents a celebration of a life and a tribute for a death.

The original run of “Oak Wood Slide” boxes (what would become The Stickman No. 1 Puzzle Box) were fashioned from scrap wood Robert had about his shop and as such were rustic in appearance and varied in shape and size.

The Snowflake Box (Stickman No. 9) was designed with the idea of making a puzzle box tree ornament. It’s a lovely little box attached to a loop and would look nice on anyone’s tree.

I lived in New York at one point in my life. Everyone had a triple lock on their apartment. There was the regular lock, for the key, but inside there was also the deadbolt, and the chain. Some people had even more elaborate affairs.

Robert Yarger is a modern day puzzle box apothecary, producing the equivalent of such enrichment in wood.

The internal mechanism is a brilliantly executed marvel to behold, but the action all plays out on the top of the box, enacted by the main characters, the Knight and the Dragon.

I’ve got myself all tied up this week. I’ll try knot to make things worse as I untangle the situation, but you’ve been forewarned. The Try-Knot Box (Puzzlebox No. 17) from Robert Yarger is another wonderful creation by the mechanical maestro.

The legend of the Gordian Knot dates back to ancient Macedonia, when a prophecy telling of a man driving an oxcart into the capital city of Phrygia came true and Gordia became king.

Things are really heating up at Boxes and Booze headquarters. The kindling is ready, the wood and whiskey set out. Yes, it’s getting warmer here in Houston, but the rain has been putting a damper on that. Looks like we’ll need something to help get it all started … does anyone have a match?