Codex Silenda: The Book of Puzzles is a book with a series of puzzles that must be completed to move to the next section. This article will go into detail about what Codex Silenda is, its history, people’s personal experiences with the book of puzzles, and how to get one.
What is Codex Silenda?
Codex Silenda is a puzzle book designed and created by Brady Whitney. It is made out of multiple types of wood, shaped by laser, and assembled into different types of puzzles. Codex Silenda consists of five puzzle pages, each of which must be solved before proceeding to the next.
Every page has a story to tell, which will only be revealed at the back of each page if you manage to solve the puzzle. As an introduction, the Codex Silenda tells the story of an apprentice who came across a similar puzzle in Da Vinci’s workshop, where Da Vinci has set the codex as a trap for spy apprentices that try to steal his work. However, as the demand for this amazing puzzle book has grown, Whitney has produced several more versions of the book, including Egyptian, Mayan, Necronomicon, and Norse version, which still share the same puzzles but have their own unique designs and stories to follow.
Here is an overview of the five unusual puzzle pages from Codex Silenda:
Page 1: Mechanical Iris
The first page of the book is called the mechanical iris, which is where you find yourself in a trap. On this page, you must activate the right combination of locks in order to open the mechanical iris that will allow you to unlock the next page.
Page 2: Rotating Maze
The second page is called the rotating maze. On this page, you must solve a maze, which is covered by a cylinder wood block. The cover makes the maze more difficult to navigate and solve. Once you manage to complete the maze, the book will allow you to unlock the next page.
Page 3: Geneva Gears
The third page is called Geneva Gears. The name and concept of this page are based on the Geneva drive mechanism. On this page, you must position all of the gears in their appropriate places to be able to unlock the next page.
Page 4: Paradox Sliders
The fourth page is called the Paradox Sliders. This page requires fourteen sliders to be positioned appropriately across the page in order to unhook the locks and bolts and access the next and final page.
Page 5: Cryptex Lock
The fifth page, known as the Cryptex Lock, introduces the final puzzle; this is the apprentice’s final challenge in the story in order for him to escape the trap. To be able to solve the final puzzle on this page, you must first understand the rune codes written on this page.
History of Codex Silenda
The Codex Silenda was a thesis project of Brady Whitney at Iowa State University in 2016. After the success of his project, Whitney shared the photos of the Codex Silenda online, where it went viral in one day. Since then, many people inquired about the availability of Codex Silenda on the market.
In August 2016, two months after codex silenda went viral online, a kickstarter campaign was launched by Whitney and his team. His goal was to raise $30,000 USD but in just three days, the campaign raised $100,000 USD and grew up to more than $200,000 USD in just one week. After several years, the demand for the Codex Silenda in the market continuously increases until it reaches the point where the Codex Silenda production couldn’t cover the demand anymore. Because of this, Whitney decided to launch another kickstarter campaign in March 2020 called Codex Silenda Remastered. This has successfully raised more than $700,000 USD, and become fully funded in just 15 hours. The goal is to hire additional employees to increase the production of Codex Silenda, and to obtain new facilities with better equipment to speed up the manufacturing capacity. More themes and puzzle innovations were also introduced in Codex Silenda Remastered, making it more interesting and challenging for the users.
Today, Whitney and his team continue manufacturing Codex Silenda and are considering inventing another version.
The Codex Silenda Experience
As the availability of Codex Silenda in the market grows, many people have taken up the challenge and shared their personal experiences and reviews. Unexpectedly, Codex Silenda was even featured in an American action crime drama.
During the Codex Silenda kickstart campaign in 2020, American actor Neil Patrick Harris posted a quick review video. He also promotes the campaign’s objective of producing more Codex Silenda for people to enjoy.
Chris Ramsay, a Canadian magician, and YouTuber shared his firsthand experience with Codex Silenda through a walkthrough video in 2020, which he finds really challenging and rated as a level 10 difficulty puzzle.
The uniqueness of Codex Silenda comes with how surprisingly it is built. For those who are curious, here is a quick video shared by Arcane Concept Inc. in 2017 that shows how this fantastic book of puzzles is made.
The NCIS: New Orleans episode “Treasure Hunt” features the Codex Silenda. In the episode, the NCIS team seeks to investigate the mysterious murder case of a naval captain on a treasure hunt. While trying to solve the case, the team comes across the Codex Silenda, which they have to solve as part of their investigation.
How To Play Codex Silenda
Purchasing Ready to Play Codex Silenda
If you love puzzles, a twisting story, and are up for a mind-bending challenge, this puzzle book might be perfect for you. The Codex Silenda is already distributed and available on different market platforms online. Here are several online stores where you can order your own Codex Silenda:
- The Arcane Shop: Codex Silenda official store
- Gifts Shopping online store
- Ali Express online store
- Puzzle Master Inc. online store
- Suyanllo online store
Purchasing DIY Codex SilendaAlthough the book of puzzles seems to be really complex to build, the Codex Silenda, in collaboration with SCS Direct made a Codex Silenda DIY edition which is available on Amazon. This will give you an extra challenge by assembling before solving your own Codex Silenda.
Source: Amazon/SCS Direct
The Codex Silenda is indeed a brilliant invention that has thankfully been made available in the market for the entertainment of puzzle enthusiasts. Do you think you’re ready for this kind of challenge? The only way to find out is to try.
Codex Silenda pages 1-5 image source: Kick Starter