1 August 2020 Sue Young

10 of Diamonds award winning puzzle

Made for the Edward Hordern IPP40 Puzzle Exchange which finally took place in August 2023 in Jerusalem, Israel. Originally scheduled for August 2020 but delayed due to Covid.
Designed by Laszlo Molnar. Made by Mr Puzzle. Exchanged by Gergő Prémecz.

This puzzle is now SOLD OUT. 356 made. Original Price AU$30.00

This information forms part of our IPP Archives.

 

5 pieces, each made from two joined diamond shapes. Two challenges. Two very difficult puzzles in one.  
The 10 of Diamonds card was chosen for the puzzle because the pieces have in total 10 diamond shapes. The front of the 10 of Diamonds card has a rectangular space that you must fit all 5 pieces into. The back of the 10 of Diamonds card has a hexagonal space that the same 5 pieces can also fit into.

The pieces are double-sided so you can turn them over while trying to solve giving you more options.

Another interesting challenge before you start solving is to challenge yourself or your friends to choose which side will be harder to solve.

The square tray has a single solution (other than the opposite symmetrical arrangement) and the hexagonal tray has 2 possible solutions.
The tolerances on the solution are quite fine and some near-miss solutions are possible.  Acrylic can flex but it is definitely not the intention that you should use brute force and push a piece into a space to solve this puzzle. There is plenty of room for the correct solution without friction.

When we made this puzzle we went to a lot of effort to make the puzzle tray look like a real 10 of Diamonds playing card. The puzzle is laser cut from acrylic and we’ve laminated red and white back to back to create a playing card tray for the puzzle. On the white side, the 10 and the small diamond has been inlaid with red acrylic to give a nice playing card effect. The red side has been engraved with a pattern to look like the back of a playing card. 

Outer frame size: 140mm x 95mm x 10mm
A printed solution is included inside clear shrink wrap packaging.  The difficulty rating of 9/10 is based on the puzzler doing both puzzles without looking at the solution.

A special wooden version was made for the 2020 IPP Design Competition which went ahead later in 2020. The 10 of Diamonds was in the top-10 in voting for the Puzzlers’ Award. Congratulations Laszlo!

Some *fun* playing card idioms you could use to describe this puzzle… card playing has a language all its own!

When the chips are down, turn the puzzle over and try to solve the other side.
Play your cards right and you’ll solve it no problem!
Stop and think about where the pieces should go rather than overplaying your hand.
Laszlo might have stacked the deck with this one. Can you discover the secret to arranging the pieces?
Just because you can solve one side doesn’t mean the other side will necessarily follow suit?
If your strong suit is 2D put together puzzles then this one is for you!

Tags lazslo, IPP40