Triangle Vinco

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Vinco (Václav Obšivač) is a puzzle craftsman from the Czech Republic. His creations are some of finest work you can find in the wooden puzzle business and the Triangle Vinco is one of such examples.

This Assembly puzzle is deceptively hard at 9/10 in the PuzzleMaster's scale. There's only six pieces laid in a wooden base and when finished they form a right triangular prism. At first sight, they all appear very similar, but the truth is that each and every single piece is unique, because of their orientation.

Essentially, each piece is a combination of two types of triangular prisms glued together in one of many possible ways. Their different orientations is what turns an otherwise simple concept into a serious challenge, as packing the pieces after removing them from the base, will prove to be quite a torturing task.

The first thing you have to think about before you start, is selecting two pieces to place at both ends of the base. If you try any possible combination of two, they appear to all fit accordingly to the base geometry... And they do! So at first, there's really no other way than for you to try some trial and error. If you do have the wrong set of initial pieces, you'll know it before you're left with the last one. From there on, everything will fall into place much easier, but not after many frustrating moments, when you just wished to throw the pieces out the window...

For someone that's not very used to this type of puzzles, it can get a bit repetitive though. There's a high level of experimentation and trial and error with the pieces' orientation, having no way of knowing if you're doing it right.

If you still think that's easy enough, there's other versions of the same design available at PuzzleMaster, here and here, but with larger sizes and consequently, with more pieces. That's the ultimate challenge indeed...

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Closing Comments:

As a mechanical puzzle collector and having more Assembly puzzles than any other type, the Triangle Vinco was an obvious choice. On top of that, being designed and crafted by Vinco himself, you can expect a high-quality item using different types of wood, always with great attention to detail.