2013 Puzzle Design Competition (Part 6)

This is the final part in my series of posts about the 2013 Puzzle Design Competition. All photos are by Nick Baxter from the 2013 Design Competition website.

T4-II (Tea For Two) - MINE (Mineyuki Uyematsu)

The goal is to put the four pieces into the box. The four pieces are identical, and the box is restricted by holes in the plexiglass.

This is a really cute puzzle, not super difficult but it does have a nice "Ah ha!" moment when you figure out what needs to be done. It was another one of my favorites this year! I was glad to see MINE had some available for sale during the puzzle party. He also has a T4-III, which I also purchased (it is also good!). They will probably be available on MINE's website soon, though it is in Japanese.

TetraCubed - Robert Reid, George Miller, Stan Isaacs

The goal is to fit all eight pieces in the box so that the cubes don't touch, while making a solid figure from the dark pieces. I think this was an exchange puzzle last year.

I found the geometry to be quite confusing, those dark pieces are quite oddly shaped! However, it is a clever dissection. I'm not a big fan of the type of plastic box used, which comes apart in two u-shaped halves. It takes a fair bit of dexterity to hold things in place while you put it all together.

Tetrakis - Yavuz Demirhan

The goal is to assemble the four identical pieces into the cubic frame.

When I found this one, it was already assembled, so I tried taking it apart. It wasn't particularly difficult, requiring about 6 moves to remove the first piece. Putting it together without knowing the solution would be a bit more challenging, which is probably why it was presented as an assembly puzzle!

Tetromino Tablet 18 - MINE (Mineyuki Uyematsu)

The goal is to put the five pieces into the frame. I fiddled with this one for a bit and didn't much care for the mechanic of trying to rotate the pieces around by putting my fingers through the holes, it was a bit cumbersome.

Perhaps there is a clever solution like T4-II, but I couldn't find it! I wish I could have spent a bit more time with this one.

Triangle - Volker Latussek

There are four goals: 1) Make one square using all pieces 2) Make two squares using all pieces 3) Make as many different-sized squares as possible. 4) Make as many different-sized triangles as possible. Triangle is designed by Volker Latussek, designer of Way.

I attempted the first goal for a little while, and didn't end up having much luck. There are a lot of pieces, which makes for a lot of different permutations to deal with. Definitely a good challenge and nicely made, but I didn't have time to complete it.

Tri-Symmetrics - Vladimir Krasnoukhov and Irina Novichkova

In the given position, this object has 120° rotational symmetry. The goal is to make a new, more symmetrical object with 120° rotational, 180° rotational, mirror, and central/point symmetries.

When I got to this one, it was actually in its solved state, which kind of ruins it. Still, I think the "more symmetrical" solution is actually easier to find than the "given position" in the picture! I tried to form the shape in the picture, and it still took me a minute or two even looking at the picture.

Washington Monument - Brian Young

The goal is to open and unlock the puzzle then close and re-lock it. It is possible to open without locking the locking pins in the open position, which means you haven't found the intended solution.

This was Brian Young's exchange puzzle last year, and I purchased it. I didn't find the intended solution when I first opened it, but once I could see inside I was able to figure it out. I would have preferred if you needed to figure it out before it opened at all, but still it has a pretty clever mechanism. It is available for sale on Brian's site here.

ZooLogical Garden #2 - MINE (Mineyuki Uyematsu)

There are two goals: 1) Put four white pieces into the tray and 2) Put any three white pieces and the red piece into the tray.

I didn't actually spend very long on this puzzle, so I can't say much about it. I wasn't able to solve it in the time that I had, but the rotating blue piece seems like an interesting touch!


And that's it! Phew, I hope you enjoyed reading that, since it is a bit of a bear to write! My apologies to any of the designers who may feel like I didn't give their work enough time or consideration, there were a lot of puzzles to go through and only limited time. It was a lot of fun getting to try so many new and fun designs! Next year, I hope the room can stay open past midnight so I can get a few extra hours in!