A puzzle box is a box that can only be opened through non-obvious means. Some puzzle boxes may require only a simple move while others have the solver progressing through a series of sequential discoveries.
Modern puzzle boxes developed from furniture and jewelry boxes with secret compartments and hidden openings, known since renaissance time. Puzzle boxes produced for entertainment first appeared in Victorian England in the 19th Century, and as tourist souvenirs in Switzerland and in Japan at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century. Boxes with secret openings appeared as souvenirs at other tourist destinations during early 20th Century, though these were mostly 'one-trick' traditions.
The boxes which require a sequence of moves can be very challenging, but essentially it is about finding the piece that moves, generally this is easier said than done. Some boxes only require one or two moves, others are slightly more complicated, in the region of 10 moves, like this container, but there are even more complex ones out there which can go upwards of 40 moves to open.
These types of boxes are commonly well known as Japanese puzzle boxes, but are they actually popular in Japan, or just a tourist trap?
This forms part of the Puzzle Containers Series, the others can be found here:
Puzzle Containers 1 - Bottlelock = GC67T4P
Puzzle Containers 2 - The Ultimate Renaissance Man = GC67WVH
Puzzle Containers 3 - Spin the Box = GC67KXR
Puzzle Containers 4 - Electricity Rebooted = GC6A98V
Puzzle Containers 5 - String Theory = GC69D1W
Puzzle Containers 6 - Nursrey Rhymes = GC69XG7
Puzzle Containers 8 - Balancing Act = GC6E22F
Puzzle Containers 9 - Deep Breath = GC6FR68
Puzzle Containers 10 - The Key is the Key = GC6JNEZ
Puzzle Containers 11 - Music Boxes = GC6MK81
Puzzle Containers 12 - Pipe = GC6W4C5
Puzzle Containers 13 - Dexterity = GC70N4E
Puzzle Containers 14 - Choo Choo = GC74NGV