William Brandes Stoddard
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Citadel LARP Design: Puzzle Box
🕑 Added 2025-05-14 04:09:07 +0000 UTCSo I’m a huge fan of games like The Room and Boxes, and I really wanted to bring some of that experience to Citadel LARP. Let’s set aside for a second the fact that the boxes in those games aren’t constrained by the cruel realities of Euclidean space the way my work must be. It doesn’t help that I don’t know a damn thing about woodworking, but I decided not to let that stop me from pouring in the effort. I was going to build a puzzle box. This is the story of that project, which went in front of players this past weekend.
The Start
I had a box with a bunch of internal compartments that were just the right size for the tiny wooden boxes you can get from craft stores. My thought was that I’d use three-digit combination locks for those, and hide clues to the combinations on the inside of the box, and on a display stand that I’d build to go with it.
For the stand, the thought of a lantern hanging from a chain came to me. I don’t know why, but there it was. I had been agonizing over the concept for a few weeks and unable to make a useful decision (this is my least favorite part of my creative process, let me tell you) when it finally clicked that I needed upright posts with a chain between them. I found some light chain in my basement and used some spare lumber from my dad’s basement. I gave the 4x4s a coat of polyurethane; I’m not really sure that was necessary, but whatever, it’s done now.
I used three shims under one of the posts to create a hard-to-notice space that concealed a slip of paper, and strung the lantern between the two rear posts. The lantern was purchased from Cost Plus World Market. I used a twist-tie to hide a key in the upper part of the lantern, and under the lantern’s candle I hid a small lens.
Interior
That pretty much took care of the outside of the box, but that was the easy part. The inside of the box needed to be as interesting as I could make it. So I decided to light the whole thing, which took me most of an evening unsuccessfully using bookbinding tape, followed by a much more successful use of hot glue. Did I mention that I am Not Crafty? I’m not crafty.
I also painted all of my small wooden boxes different colors, so that I could refer to them in clues distinctively. One box was locked (well, in-game locked; the lock was held to the box with a rubber band) with a Master Lock that took a key, while the other six boxes used three-digit combination locks.
Clues
The slip of paper under that one post had the answer to two of the boxes; one answer easy to see, the other written small enough that the lens was, at worst, a good clue to look for small things. The slip was actually the torn-off corner of a wizard spell formula, and the rest of the formula was tucked inside the large box (as a clue to look for the missing piece).
I also wrote several clues on paper and glued the paper to the inside of the box-lid. These clues were not easy; I was counting on the total absence of time pressure and the collective computing power of 54 PCs to solve them.
Grieve The Thief is an anagram for three five eight. I wrote a t in the first and last spaces of the 14 __ that were very faint and only noticeable with the lens. The PCs struggled mightily with this one.
The goal here is to count the letters in Attention, Unlock, and Range, or in Awareness, Timing, and Range (so that you come up with 965 either way). They did actually get this one!
I got part of what I hoped for. A group of four or so PCs put in the majority of the work (that I saw—I don’t know what I didn’t see), with several other people taking interest but not really getting involved. They solved all seven small boxes, though at least one of them they solved only through checking every number. I missed some of the solutions on the last few boxes. Each of the seven boxes had some nice but not extravagant treasure inside, and the box also had a letter to a PC (I really hope some PC makes sure she receives it, as she wasn’t able to make it to this event).
Still, I think they had a great time, and this project was enormously fun for me. I learned new things, made myself try new things, and had fun anticipating the players’ enjoyment. I’m looking forward to making more weird puzzle boxes in the future. My next idea is one I am even more unsuited to implementing, but as long as I don’t burn down my house or cut off anything really important, it’s a good time.
