PCBs

This winter I began developing a new specialized PCB (“printed circuit board”) that greatly improves reliability and shortens build time. What this means is that it no longer takes me several days to create a new box, so those of you who were hoping to get one soon might actually be able to!

The latest revision of the Reverse Geocache PCB

The new PCB has enabled me to build a number of samples. Large, small, ornate or restrained, they are all fun to build, and each has its own unique charm. Check out these samples:

The "Painted Indian"

The "Elegant Black"

A second-generation "Elephant"

The handmade "Engagement Ring"

MAKE Magazine article

In March I was contracted by MAKE to write a feature-length article on the Reverse Geocache™. It was a surprising pleasure to write down my experiences with puzzle boxes and to recreate amazing tale of the very first one (which still isn’t open, by the way…) Look for the article to appear in print in the Fall (October 26^th) issue! Here’s one of the photos I took. That’s my nephew Nate solving a mini-quest using one of the “Elegant Black” boxes.

My nephew on a mini-quest

Travel Advisory

During Spring Break I took one of my “Engagement Ring” boxes to New York to show at the Arduino developers’ conference. On the trip I learned what (and what not) to do with a box at airport security. With the box stashed in my carry-on luggage, I jammed up the Portland (ME) security line for about five minutes and was subjected to some rather serious grilling. Once things quieted down, the security chief confided sternly that I was lucky my box was empty. Had any “mass” been detected alongside all those wires and electronic components, he warned, it would have “shut the place down”!

Trouble at the Airport

Lessons learned:

1. It’s probably not a good idea to send your friends on a quest that requires air travel. Don’t put them into the position of having to bring a suspicious box they can’t open onto an airplane.
2. If you do travel by air with a puzzle box, leave it unlocked in your checked luggage and remove the batteries. (This seems to work for me.)
3. (From the security chief) If you have to carry one through security, first remove any contents and the batteries, place it open on the conveyor belt, and alert the security officials beforehand.

Puzzle Box Movie?

While in New York I had a telephone meeting with a couple of guys who work at a Hollywood production company. They are actively developing a studio pitch for an adventure film based on a mysterious puzzle box that appears in the lead character’s mail. Wouldn’t it be fun if such a movie gets made?!

Mini-quests are fun

Towards the end of March I gave a short talk about my boxes to a crowd at SXSW (South by Southwest) and afterwards sent members of the audience on little mini-adventures to nearby bars and restaurants. One of the great (and frankly surprising) things I’ve learned is that while the first box was designed for a long, romantic adventure, it also works great for tiny ‘treks’ to nearby destinations with modest “treasures”. A short quest to a bookstore or restaurant is easy to put together and great fun for all ages.

Interview with geocaching.com

In April a video crew from Groundspeak (geocaching.com) flew down to Austin to interview Richard Garriott and me. A new website they’re building in honor of the 10^th anniversary of the first geocache (5/3/00) will include about 20 short videos detailing great geocaching stories, of which mine is apparently one! (Garriott is most famous for having paid $25 million to ride the Space Shuttle in 2008, and while aloft hid a geocache on the Space Station.)

After we wrapped up our interview I surprised the crew with a fully armed puzzle box filled with candies and a gift certificate to a Mexican restaurant. They had a blast using the box’s guidance system to lead them to the restaurant, and of course, being plenty hungry after their lenghty search, were pleasantly surprised to discover its contents. If you want to see the route they took to get there, here’s the Google map generated by the box. Eventually, I hope to make it possible to publish any adventure this way.

Eric and Reid's Dinner Journey

The first commission

The last bit of news is that in May I mailed the very first commercial puzzle box to Seattle, fulfilling a commission from Jeremy Irish, the president of Groundspeak. I was actually a little sad to see it go. It was one of my pretty “Engagement Ring” model boxes, designed to comfortably hold a small payload in a felt-lined interior.

Commissioning a box

As I mentioned, I have started building commissioned boxes. If you would like one, I will build you either an “Engagement Ring” model for USD $699, or the “Painted Indian” model for USD $549 plus actual shipping. The “ring” boxes are handmade by my talented artist friend Andy Myers (see his website). The “Painted Indians” are funky modified World Market boxes.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• A handmade Reverse Geocache (requires 2 AA alkaline batteries)
• A one-year warranty
• (Free) Windows configuration software to program new destinations, greetings, number of attempts, and sensitivity radius.

Each box has its own serial number and password, which you need in order to reprogram it. There is already a backlog, so please be patient. I’ll mostly fill requests in the order received, although I know some of you are hoping for boxes for particular events. When you send your request, please send the date you need it (if any) and I’ll try to work that into the schedule.

I appreciate any feedback you may have. Thanks for being part of this fascinating community; I’ve received such interesting emails and letters. I particularly look forward to collecting more great stories of your own quests.

Alas, it wasn’t the famous box that opened – that one is still sitting sadly on a Parisian bookshelf, waiting patiently for its newlywed owners to transport it to their romantic island. No, the box that was solved is the black floral-patterned one from a brand new collection of prototypes I’ve recently constructed. These new models have features that improve on the original without damaging its charm or mystique.

The "Black Floral" prototype box

The new designs sport a discreet USB connector that provides the emergency “back door” access – for those that know the secret password. As the owner, you can open and close the box to your heart’s content and program your own destinations. When your recipient finishes his/her puzzle box adventure, you lock up a new “treasure” and begin another!

I was privileged to be in attendance at the big event, and when that little internal motor whirred to announce the opening, the car erupted with cheers. The experience taught me something interesting. I learned that besides hobbyists, geocachers, romantics, puzzle collectors, and artsy geeks, another population thinks puzzle boxing is pretty fun – kids!

The claimants to the title are in fact children — our two and one of their school friends. Here’s what happened.

I sealed a $20 bill in the “Black Floral” and programmed it to open at P. Terry’s, a slightly chic burger joint not too far from our house – 1.71 miles, in fact, according to the blue display. I modified the greeting to read “Your/dinner/is in/the box!” – customizing messages is another thing the owner can do – and handed it without a word of explanation to my 11-year-old son.

P. Terry's

Well, my kids know what to do with a puzzle box, and soon a van full of youngsters was motoring about town hunting for their supper, yours truly acting as silent chauffeur. As we drove, I discovered that young folks take a vastly different approach to solving this kind of puzzle. Most of my adult readers like drawing circles on maps and performing calculations vaguely suggestive of what we call trilateration, but kids seem to have little patience for pencils and compasses. They prefer to just drive, drive, drive – repeatedly pressing the button and changing course when the distances start increasing. This semi-random-walk technique can quickly get you stuck on a dead-end street in the “wrong” part of town, but I have to say it’s no less exciting than the scientific approach.

After a few faulty turns and considerable head scratching, they finally found their dinner. At one point in the adventure we actually stopped at a light immediately opposite P. Terry’s. I thought the gig was surely up, but even though the display read “Distance 163 feet” – just barely outside the 150 foot radius I had set – the kids still managed to fritter away 20 more hungry minutes navigating a parking lot half a mile further down William Cannon Drive.

Now that I’ve experienced the dual joys of building and delivering Reverse Geocache Puzzles, it’s very nice to actually get to play with them. Today my little nephew Nate was looking a bit forlorn, so I put a tiny toy in one of the small maple boxes and sent him on his own private mission. To boost his spirits I personalized his name into the greeting – “Hi Nate!/ Can you/open the/box..?”. He’s not yet eight, so I just sent him to a neighbor’s house about 600 feet away. When after a few minutes he came trotting back, Piglet style, “his” box open and treasure in hand, the smile on his face belied his happiness.

The Reverse Geocache continues to prove an interesting little puzzle with broad appeal. Whether it’s a romantic engagement-ring trek to the summit of the Matterhorn or a little kid’s 20-minute “adventure” down the street, solving one is a rich and joyful experience.

The puzzle box continues to generate lots of interest.  This week I encountered it in two different geocaching podcasts, a Serbian blog, and Daniel Soltis’ talk at Playful ‘09 in London.  I’ve fielded calls from network TV channels, film producers, engineers, and machine shops all over the country.  Everyone seems to want to bottle up the magic that swirls around this strange little box.

I particularly enjoyed reading Soltis’ presentation, which focused on “the delight of physical objects connected to games.”  Tangible things like the puzzle box, he writes, provide “specificity, tactile pleasure, and possibilities for kinds of game play that multi-purpose platforms like phones and computers can’t.”  How true.  People love the connection to the physical, especially if there is a touch of mystery to it.  Would you even be reading this if I had just written some old GPS iPhone app?

From Nick Marsh's Notes for Playful '09

“Yes, yes, but have they managed to open the box yet?!”

As a matter of fact, I have recently been in very close email contact with Chris – that’s the newly-married friend who has unknowingly been at the center of this hullaballoo.  He writes to say that he has been busy putting finishing touches on his beautiful new film The Luminiferous Aether, preparing it for submission to festivals in the coming year.  I hope you get to see it someday– it’s a remarkable work, especially for a first effort.  This is the movie, incidentally, that led to romance with his leading lady those many months ago on the French island.  I was treated to a sneak preview shortly after I got back from their wedding, but I’m afraid the detailed appraisal I promised in return is dreadfully late.  There’s a whiff of irony here.  While Chris waits patiently for the thoughtful and sober review his film deserves, I’ve been too busy returning calls and composing articles about his puzzle box to write it.  He has no idea how much he himself, in some warped sense, is to blame for my slow response.

So to answer the question, no, I’m afraid I don’t have a single tidbit of new puzzle box gossip to share.  I haven’t heard a thing.  But isn’t it fun being part of the watching crowd?  I love it.  This surprising little adventure seems to be entering a third phase: first there was the creation and the presentation, then the unexpected storm of publicity; now we’re to the point where thousands of people – perhaps tens of thousands – are watching to see how it all plays out.  If you are reading this, you are now part of the story.  We are all initiates into what I am calling the “voyeuristic world”, reminiscent of the film The Truman Show, in which a young man inadvertently discovers that his daily life is being watched by millions on TV. The difference is that this reality show is real!

The Couple at the Wedding Dinner (Kelly Neal)

I had a nice conversation this week with photographer Kelly Neal, who graciously gave me free rein to use pictures like the above to illustrate my articles.  If the puzzle box story is moving too slowly to satisfy your voyeuristic needs, perhaps you’d enjoy strolling through his official wedding site, imagining what it must have been like to have attended that little French village wedding.  You are, after all, a part of the story!  If you like the pictures, please give Kelly a call.

And now some answers:

“Why don’t you just ask about the box?”

Well, because I’m enjoying the adventure too much.  I fear that asking my friends for an update will ultimately help hasten the story’s denouement.  I intend to ride it as far as it will go.

“Why do you think they haven’t said anything?

I think they’ve probably figured out where to go by now.  But it is 400 kilometers away, and they are busy people.  A trip like that would require at least a long, unencumbered weekend.  I imagine they are just waiting for a convenient time.

“What if the couple finds this web page…? Won’t that spoil it?

I think that’s part of the fascination.  Will they get to the island first… or find the web article?  I don’t know.  But even if they do discover the publicity, I’m not sure that will entirely spoil it.  They still need to get the box open, and there are still one or two things my article doesn’t reveal… the contents of the “overly sentimental card” for example.  I think there’s still plenty of mystery and suspense to go round.

“What happens if they don’t figure it out in 50 tries?”

Ah!  It displays a painful little message indicating that the box is sealed forever, then suggests returning it to the manufacturer for help.

“How can I get one?”

The puzzle box is not just a thing, it’s an experience.  It’s personal.  It’s mysterious.  It’s an adventure.  I don’t want to see glossy plastic versions mass produced all over the world, because such things would only dimly reflect the magic of the box I built for my friends and subtract from its unique beauty.  The original was lovingly constructed by a human being and embodies the special relationship between three people.  I don’t think such a personal thing should be turned into a commodity. 

That said, I have a team of people considering how we might build a small number for special, personal occasions.  Many people have had the idea, for example, of using a ring box to propose marriage.  Bravo!  Or how about this?  A proud father gives a box to a beloved daughter leaving home for college.  The box eventually leads her to a car dealership, revealing a set of keys.  The possibilities for a rich experience seem boundless.  I hope eventually to help people realize experiences like these.  Just don’t expect to see them anytime soon.  Or on the shelves at Target.

“Can I commission one?”

I am making a very small number of hand-built boxes, either replicas of the original elephant box or custom designs.  If you are serious, please contact me at mikal (at) arduiniana.org.

Where can I see The Luminiferous Aether?

Stay tuned.  It’s not available yet.

How do you pronounce your name?

The same way ordinary Michaels do.  Mine is simply a creative spelling of the common name.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

If you want to keep following this story, subscribe to the RSS feed (above). I’m also trying out twitter @mikalhart. Leave a note anytime.

[Next read the most recent chapter in the puzzle box story.]

The Puzzle Box story has a delightful second act.

It’s Saturday night, five weeks to the day since the wedding, and despite the recent firestorm of publicity, I still haven’t heard whether my friends have managed to open the Reverse Geocache Puzzle Box.  It’s certainly possible they are playing it cool, waiting for just the right moment to share the story of their adventure, but I think it’s more likely the box is still intact.  If so, each passing day increases the likelihood that they will stumble first onto one of the dozens of articles that popped up on the web this week.

On Monday, Hack-a-Day and MAKE Magazine independently posted generous write ups on their blogs.  Then around noon Engadget, Slashgear, and Gizmodo also picked up the story of the mysterious box that can only be opened in one place on earth.  This seemed to trigger a flurry of tweets, links, and mentions on Facebook, various geocaching and wedding forums, blogs, and podcasts everywhere.  Sites as remote as China started running variants of the story – I recognized it only by the links and photos – and by Monday night my website had seen three times as much traffic in a single day than it had the entire year!

But a bigger push was still to come.  Late Wednesday I got a call to do a telephone interview with Los Angeles Times tech reporter David Colker, who weaved together a charming article comparing the box saga to “Mission Impossible” or James Bond.  David said that everyone in his office “just loved” it, both the tech-y folks and the not-so.  But that’s the appeal of this little project, isn’t it?  It works hard to balance the geeky with the intensely personal.  Or as my favorite tweeter wrote, “it’s the perfect combination of mystery, software, romance, and mechatronics.”  Ha!  I love that!  Yes friends, after centuries of seeking the ideal balance between those four great pillars of art, only now has perfection finally been achieved!

Thursday morning the Times ran the article, which was subsequently lifted by the Seattle Times, the Orlando Sentinel, the New York Post, and a number of West-coast blogs. Traffic on arduiniana.org surged even higher.  And despite all, we still don’t know whether the couple have opened the box.  It’s like the world has been partitioned.  Those who have seen the amazing coverage stand on the one side, eagerly waiting to see when and how those on the other side – my friend and his small circle – will stumble across the secret.  Personally, I hope that he opens the box before discovering all the press.

And so we keep waiting.

Meanwhile, I have enjoyed reading all the supportive comments.  It’s humbling to see adjectives like “dazzling”, “delightful”, and “amazing” bandied about in reference to one’s work.  People seemed especially to like the story of the man who called me a BASTARD! and my friend exhorting everyone “Don’t push the button!”  Digging through the photos posted on the wedding photographer’s website, I was delighted to see that he captured the very instant that my friend first uttered that phrase, “Ne poussez pas le bouton!”  The anxious speaker, unfortunately, is off camera right in this photo, but you can see my cousin Scott (right) and myself (standing) about to burst with laughter.

Hey, dont push that button!

And here, for your edification, is the BASTARD guy himself, facing the camera:

The guy who called me a BASTARD!

And still we wait.

Be assured that as soon as I hear how this story ends, I will let you all know.  One reader suggested that the couple should put the box up for sale on EBay.  Lots of people want copies of the Reverse Geocache Puzzle box, but owning the famous original – now that should be worth something!

Heady days.

Mikal

[Next read chapter 3 in the puzzle box story.]

The Puzzle Box

There is a cool new addition to the website today — a project I call the Reverse Geocache Puzzle (tm).  It’s a box that won’t open until its owner figures out where on earth to move it.  I built it for a friend who got married in France last month.  The software for this project incorporates all five of the major libraries on Arduiniana.  Let me know what you think.

Mikal