Answers From The Void – Sixmetry

There is something appealing about a packing puzzle with identical pieces.  I think it has to do with the initial assessment done by the subconscious mind where it realizes that it has less shapes to deal with and throws a couple of dopamine chits your way.  And yes, fewer shapes does equate to less complexity, which in many cases results in easier.

Sixmetry is a 3D packing puzzle designed by David Goodman and made by Vinco.  It was used by Patrick Major at the 41st International Puzzle Party as his exchange puzzle.  The puzzle consists of 6 identical wood pieces that need to be packed in a 4x4x4 wooden box.  Each piece consists of a 2x2x1 board attached to a 2x3x1 board.   The pieces consisting of 10 voxels each only use 60 voxels of the 64 voxel box leaving 4 of them unoccupied.

Even without the clue in the name, I would have guessed that the solution would be a symmetric shape.  In fact with 4 empty voxels in a 4x4x4 box, I assumed we had a Slothouber–Graatsma situation brewing here.  Don’t google that if you want to avoid spoilers.

There are a lot of puzzles that fall into this category.  A lot.  So many!  And after so many, when you are presented with one of these, you basically know where the empty voxels are located, which simplifies determining the solution.  And this allowed me to solve Sixmetry in about 5 minutes.  I’m sure it would have taken a lot longer if I hadn’t know the positions of the empty voxels.

And extra points for Vinco for providing the non-solution packing configuration on the instruction sheet.

A Set of Blocks For Adults – Houston, We Have a Puzzle

When I was younger, every kid had to have a set of blocks.  My set was made from 2x4 lumber and my younger brother’s set was smaller and made with smoothly finished hardwood.  Together, these sets were used to make many amazing 2D and 3D structures.  And at the end of the day, they needed to be packed back into a box and stored under the bed.  So even at a tender age, I was being trained to pack blocks into boxes.

Houston, We Have a Puzzle was designed by Oleg Smolyakov and used by Daniel Bain as his exchange puzzle at last year’s International Puzzle Party (IPP).  The puzzle was manufactured by Vinco and consists of 7 rectangular parallelepipeds that need to be packed in a wooden box.  Of immediate note, the box is unrestricted so every configuration would also be a solution.  However, after spending a couple of minutes attempting to figure out how to pack the pieces within the box, you’re quickly left with the feeling that there is a single configuration.

Each of the 7 pieces are a different size and made from a different type of hardwood.  When you spill them out of the box from their non-solution packing configuration, it doesn’t really look that difficult.  And in fact, it’s not really that difficult.  You just need to think about it.  Of course if you are like me, you’ll dicker around with it for a while before resorting to that dreaded thought process.

When you stop to really examine it closely, there is a logical progression.  And the progression is what you would naturally gravitate towards.  Each piece can be added one by one with confidence that it is in the correct position.

The puzzle comes with an instruction sheet with the solution on the inside.  Not that anyone would ever look at a solution sheet.  Extra points for providing the non-solution packing configuration on the back of the sheet.  Although pieces can slide around in this position, they won’t spill out of the box when in the packaging.

Houston, We Have a Puzzle is currently available on Vinco's website.