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Kyoto Cubing is a puzzle by Vladimir Krasnoukhov which was presented at the IPP-36 Puzzle Exchange Party. This is a mixture of 2D and 3D puzzles with just 6 polyominoes (3 pentaminoes and 3 tetraminoes). This is harder than it looks, especially the 3D shapes.

The puzzles comes in a 7x7 tray with all six acrylic pieces and a sheet with many challenges. There are two main goals. The first is to use the pieces as a packing puzzle and make 2D and 3D shapes. The 3D shapes proved to be quite challenging for the first time with the puzzle. You can see the images for the first three 2D shapes. Any more would spoil the solutions for others, but you'll get an idea of what it can be done using just these pieces.

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I like packing puzzles, especially 2D, that come on a tray. However, when you need to build shapes without a tray it gets really challenging, since you don't have borders to guide you and limit your movements. Also, it's much more difficult visualizing the final shape, although you can see the contours in the provided sheet with the challenges.

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If 2D puzzles are already difficult without a tray, 3D shapes are even harder, especially because the pieces are really tiny and clear, which makes it difficult to see what you're doing from various angles. The 3x3 cube is the main shape you can make, but others are also possible.

The second goal, one which involves more creative thinking, is to make a symmetrical shape inside the tray with only one empty space. I haven't managed to solve this one yet, but will keep trying, since you can use the tray as a helping tool.

Kyoto Cubing is a very nice puzzle with many challenges into one. Considering the $20 price tag, it's really good bang for your buck. The first challenges are easy, but the difficulty curve really spikes for the 3D shapes. A great puzzle for everyone.

Availability: The Kyoto Cubing puzzle is available at PuzzleMaster for $19.99 CAD. Check out other puzzles by Vladimir Krasnoukhov.