The only downside to finding a really good book to read is that it will be over before you want it to be. But that won’t be the case with puzzle designer Brady Whitney’s Codex Silenda. Even though the wooden book only has five pages, you’ll need to solve a complex mechanical puzzle on each one before you can turn to the next.
Made entirely of laser-cut wood, the Codex Silenda is half book and half mind-boggling challenge. Within its pages is a short story about an apprentice in Leonardo Da Vinci’s workshop who stumbles across a similar tome, except the version they find is actually a trap created by the artist that you’ll need to help them solve in order to escape. But don’t worry, the only thing truly at risk is your own sanity as you work through the Codex’s five unique puzzles.
The Codex Silenda isn’t just some custom creation for you to drool over, however. Whitney plans to actually mass-produce the book — in a limited run — using a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that’s already raised nearly four times its original $US30,000 ($39,329) funding goal.
All the pre-orders have already been spoken for, both the disassembled $US125 ($164) version and the $US150 ($197) pre-assembled version. Which means if you’re interested in it, you’ll have to satisfy yourself with buying an individual page or $US55 ($65), or the laser files for $US80 ($104). If you’re buying it for the challenge of solving its puzzles, you might want to ask someone to put it together for you so that their secrets aren’t revealed.
[Brady Whitney via Dornob]