4 August 2014 Sue Young

Voyage to Terra Australis double sided packing puzzle

Edward Hordern IPP34 Puzzle Exchange – London, England. August 2014. 222 made.
Presented by Brian Young.  Made by Mr Puzzle Australia. Designed by Junichi Yananose.
Original Price: AU$27.50

The puzzle uses the 12 different pentominoe pieces, printed on both sides with the outline of the Australian coastline. The object is to arrange the pieces in the frame so that the coastline is complete.

The pieces fit flat in the frame with no spare space similar to the ‘unsolved’ map you are given except that the solved coastline is a continuous line of the actual Australian continent. Pieces are printed on both sides so beware you may need to turn some over to find the correct solution.

There are 2339 different ways to pack these 12 pentominoe pieces into the 6 x 10 unit rectangular frame. And that number does not include the permutations of flipping pieces – something you do need to do with this puzzle! However, due to the way the pieces have been engraved on both sides the puzzle now has a unique solution for the correct assembly, and also a unique solution for the incorrect way it is presented for sale.

After you’ve spent some hours playing with this puzzle a common statement might be “I wish I could find just one way of getting the 12 pieces back in the frame even if the coastline is still not right!”

We’ve designed many themed puzzles for IPP before but not often Australiana. So we were pleased when the chance to design a real Aussie theme that still tied in with ‘Mother England’ presented itself. Can you help Matthew Flinders fix his map of the Australian Coastline on his voyage to Terra Australis? The story goes that Matthew Flinders and his crew had a few extra tots of rum as they were sailing past Bundaberg; in fact they must have used up the whole quota for the trip because they were way off course. They thought they had found the great inland sea but it was really Uluru sticking up out of the desert! You need to help them redraw the map of the Coastline so it joins up correctly and they can get on their way back to England to report to King George III before IPP is over.

Size: 155mm x 113mm x 8mm The puzzle is laser cut from hoop pine plywood and lacquered.

Tags Junichi Yananose