Three Piece What ‘sit

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series IPP 31

At IPP 31 in Berlin George Bell exchanged his Three Piece What ‘sit made by Bernhard Schweitzer in the New Pelikan workshop. The goal, and the only hints you get are to “Assemble the 3 pieces to an allside symmetrical 3D shape”

The Three Piece Whatsit Pieces

The Three Piece Whatsit Pieces

This great looking puzzle is made from Maple and Robina and measures 2.75″ x 2.75″ x 2.75″. The three pieces are a good size in your hands and give little away about how they should be combined. Playing around you’ll quickly find several ways that two of the pieces can be joined, which leave no room for the third to fall into place.

I probably spent around 10 minutes before I found the correct orientation of the first two pieces to allow the third to drop into place correctly, leaving a very pleasing solution shape. Taking it apart and photographing it for the review, it then took me around another 10 minutes to get it back to its solved state again. Since then I’ve taken it apart and put it back together again several more times, and I can solve it fairly reliably now. I’m sure if I left the pieces separate for a while then came back to it, it would take a little time before I could solve it again, so the level of difficulty is reasonable on this one.

Interestingly, at the at same time as George designed this puzzle, Don Charnley also designed the same puzzle, and named it Donz Q’b. The interesting thing is that the puzzles pieces are mirror images of each other. So you may find this puzzle referred to by either name, but in the end it’s the same puzzle.

Solution shape of the What 'sit

Solution shape of the What 'sit

I’ve deliberately, not included the picture of the solved shape as part of the gallery since that’s part of the challenge, but since it’s readily available in a number of places on the web, if you want to see it, click on the image above to see the full shape. Overall, a fun puzzle, and highly recommended if you can get a copy.

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2 thoughts on “Three Piece What ‘sit

  1. George Bell

    Great job, Neil! Have you ever played around with Coffin’s “Three Piece Block”? This is the puzzle that inspired my design, it was originally presented with the same nebulous goal, although it is hard enough even when you know what you are aiming for.

    I believe Don Charnley invented the mirror image puzzle around 2000, along with many other “Quarter Cube designs”. Sadly, I believe he has passed away since then, so I never met him.

    Reply
    1. thejuggler Post author

      Hi George, I have a copy of Coffin’s “Three Piece Block” sitting on my desk that I 3D printed at shapeways. It’s on my list to make in wood at some point, but I’ve just not had time to make one yet.

      Reply

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