What better way to commemorate an IPP (International Puzzle Party) than a puzzle dedicated to the city that hosted the event? Vladimir Krasnoukhov did exactly that with his unique design called Ottawa Puzzle for the IPP 35, held in Ottawa, Canada, in 2015.

This is a great puzzle for those that really like packing puzzles. It's a simple design made with only five pieces, three of them identical. The goal of the puzzle is to make the shape of the maple leaf, as seen in Canada's flag, by rearranging the pieces inside the frame.

The presentation of the puzzle is flawless. Made from acrylic, in red and white, it measures 12.9cm x 7.4cm (5.1" x 2.9"). The acrylic gives the puzzle this clean and gorgeous look, much like glass, but easier to build puzzles.

The frame is odd-shaped, which at first makes it difficult to visualize how the pieces might fit inside, but soon you'll adjust to it. The shape of the pieces don't help much either, as the goal is to make an overall symmetrical shape. This will certainly put your visualization and spacial skills to the test. There's a few other challenges as well, besides creating the maple leaf. I always love when puzzles give you more than one challenge to solve. These will help you to see how the pieces interact with each other to create other designs.

The solution itself is not that difficult. The challenging part is to arrange the two big pieces in the tray in order to fit the other three small ones. Rated as a level 7/10, I believe this is the correct classification. It's a bit challenging, but an experienced puzzler should solve this in less than 5 minutes. Not much playtime for a puzzle, but as mentioned, you can make other designs with the pieces. It might be even possible to create other shapes besides the ones already shown.

Closing Comments:

The Ottawa Puzzle is a nice little puzzle for most puzzlers. It's not crazy difficult, which would frustrate beginners, but still fun to solve for anyone who likes packing puzzles. This would be a great gift for a Canadian friend or relative.

Availability: The Ottawa Puzzle is available at PuzzleMaster for $24.99 CAD. If you like, you can check out other interesting puzzles from Vladimir Krasnoukhov.