Square Fit

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Square Fit is one of the most deceptively hard puzzles I know. The design is made so it challenges anyone to try it and yet, only the most persistent ones will be able to solve it. Designed by Bill Cutler, who curiously claims this to be his best puzzle. Feeling confident enough to try it?

ThinkFun's version of Square Fit was made for their a-ha! series, which consists of several challenging puzzles for the more experienced puzzler. The original was made from wood, but following ThinkFun's tradition, you're presented with a beautiful design with bright colors and, like the others, in a small size, which is perfect to take with you on your long travels.

What strikes me as most fascinating in the puzzle is its simplicity and apparent easiness. Comprised of four identical pieces, Square Fit only needs you to place those pieces in the tray. There's a catch, though. Both the pieces and the tray are irregularly shaped, with each piece side having a different sized quadrilateral. Even with only four pieces, there are many wrong arrangements and only one is correct. Finding it won't be a walk in the park.

Solving the puzzle was quite difficult, but still not overly frustrating. I didn't have any particular strategy, so trial and error as I was examining the pieces was my only option. I did notice that as you place each piece in the tray, there's a position in with the piece fits exactly with the contours of the tray. You can take this as a sign that you're in the right path, so you just need to find where each piece belongs. Once you accomplish that you still need to insert all the pieces at the same time in the tray, due to their irregular shapes. When you solve it, you can try to remove just one piece and see it for yourself. It's just not possible. You also need to remove all four of them at the same time.

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Closing Comments:

Bill Cutler's Square Fit is indeed a fantastic puzzle. It has everything an enthusiast appreciates in a puzzle: a great design, deceptively challenging and fun to play with. And perhaps he's right. This might be his best puzzle ever.

Availability: ThinkFun's Square Fit is available at PuzzlesdeIngenio.com for just €6.90.