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Showing posts with label Three Caterpillars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Three Caterpillars. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Three Caterpillars

How many caterpillars does it take to make a butterfly?  No clue!  But apparently, it takes more than 1 to make a symmetric shape.

Three Caterpillars is a 2D symmetry puzzle designed by Alexander Magyarics.  You may never guess that it consists of 3 caterpillars that need to be arranged to make a symmetrical shape.  The type of symmetry is not specified.  And if that is not enough, each pair of pieces can be used to make a symmetric shape as well.  Four challenges for the price of one.

The pieces are 3D printed and the heads are a different color than the rest of the body so you know which way they are looking.  The colors have no relationship with the symmetry constraints unless I completely misjudged it.

The 3 challenges for making a symmetrical shape with 2 pieces are not that difficult and make for nice warm-up to the main challenge.  The 3-piece challenge is a bit more involved than the 2-piece challenges but I didn’t find it as tough as some of Alexander's other symmetry puzzles.

Update: Alexander contacted me and indicated that the solutions do indeed have to take into account the symmetry of the colors.