Paradigm Puzzles - Sequencer
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The Sequencer is the fourth puzzle I'm reviewing from the Paradigm Puzzles collection by Family Games America. This series of six Packing Puzzles are all designed by William Waite, and feature some of the most mesmerizing patterns you'll ever see in mechanical puzzles.
Like all the puzzles in the series, the Sequencer is laser-cut, made from plywood, so all pieces can fit perfectly in the frame. Not the best of qualities for a puzzle, but the result is still nice and makes it very affordable. The size is about the same as the others, with a diameter of 10cm (3.9").
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While not as visually elegant as the previous three (Celtic Knot, Interlace Square and Interlace Diamond), the striking symmetry of the overall pattern in the Sequencer is still quite impressive. When solved, the twelve dissimilar pieces will form a pattern showing thirteen holes, so keep in mind the area will not be completely occupied. Also noticeable is that four of the thirteen holes located in the center are slightly bigger than the rest. The pieces, unlike the previous puzzles in the Paradigm series, are double-sided, so you can place them on which side you think it's best.
As far as difficulty goes, this one's the easiest from all six. And judging by the rated difficulties of the others (I still have two left to try), it should be a walk in the park to solve with a level 4/10 (6/10 by PuzzleMaster's rating system, which only goes from 5 to 10). After solving it within 5 minutes, I have to agree with this level. Although at first sight the puzzle appears to be a little complex, the main reason why it's easy to solve is because of its multiple solutions.
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| (Click to Enlarge) - One of the Multiple Solutions |
Closing Comments:
With so many different arrangements, and with double-sided pieces, there's not really much to keep you challenged for long. Still, the Sequencer is quite enjoyable to solve and you can always try other solutions for a different experience every time. I recommend this one for beginners or if you're looking to complete the series of six.
Availability: You can purchase the Sequencer at PuzzleMaster, as well as the other five in the Paradigm Puzzles Series.
3 comments:
With nearly 2.5 million solutions, the puzzle has the possibility of making many different patterns with the holes. The more difficult challenge is to find symmetrical patterns--of which there are thousands. But be careful--not every pattern you can think of is possible!
Thank you for the additional information, Will ;-)
That's actually brilliant. I was aware of multiple solutions, but not different patterns.
I have this puzzle and i read where you write there are several solutions to this puzzle. I am not sure if i have a cheep one but i find that so far i see only one solution. As the pieces do not fit together in other ways i have tried. Meaning that a piece can not fit into the space, it does fit there but i can not get it to go in. One area of the wooden puzzle piece may be to tight, it is the correct shape but it is just to tight.
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