Tuesday 21 June 2011

Exploding Cube


...while running with the donkeys 

 
I’ve been meaning to pick up one of these little guys for a while now. I first saw them in wood in Grand Illusions (where it’s known as Trisected Cube) and I’d seen a metal Bits and Pieces version on the net, but when one of Wil Strijbos’ regular newsletters said he had some for sale I dived in straight away. 

It’s pretty straight-forward as a puzzle – three similar interlocking pieces intertwined to form a cube – but the charm is all in the way that it does that. It’s a simple, pure coordinated motion puzzle – as you unfold the three pieces at the same time, the cube expands to the point where the pieces separate.



Each piece interlocks with the other two in a beautifully complicated way. The edges join up and mate together in interesting patterns that seem to have only one purpose – to entertain. It’s neatly made and looks great.


[The donkey reference? ... we were in Santorini yesterday ... and walked up the steps to Fira ... ]

3 comments:

  1. I think I have the metal version of this puzzle from puzzlemaster.ca, it is called a Curly Cube. It would seem to me hard to mass produce this puzzle in wood. How do you think it was made? Can it be done using simple saw cuts?

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  2. Hi George - yeah, that's the one! The wooden one has each piece made in two halves and joined at at angle across the narrow part - quite neatly - but you'll spot it if you look for it.

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  3. Ah Santorini, lovely island (my little brother got married there a couple of years ago) :-D

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