Mechanical Puzzles

Last modified May 21st, 2026
In general, documents are listed by date with oldest last.
My etsy shop: PolyPuzzles
Contact email address: gibell-at-comcast-dot_net

Mechanical Puzzle Pages

• List of my IPP exchange puzzles
• Orchid Pennyhedron blog post (IPP exchange puzzle, 2014)
• Lomino Cube 4 and blog post (IPP exchange puzzle, 2012)
• Exploding Ball Puzzle in action (UTube video, 2012)
• Screwy Octahedron aka Screwy Octahedron1 (IPP exchange puzzle, 2010)
• Interlocking 20-Ball Tetrahedron aka Interlocking 20-Ball Tetrahedron1 (2009)
• Nine Bed Nightmare aka Nine Bed Nightmare (2009)

Gathering For Gardner (G4G) related documents

• Designing the Trapdoor Octahedron Puzzle (15th Gathering for Gardner, 2024)
• Designing a Flippe Top (14th Gathering for Gardner, 2021)
• The Dynamics of Spinning Polyominoes (13th Gathering for Gardner, 2018)
• A 12-Loop 4 G4G12 (12th Gathering for Gardner, 2016)
• Lominoes for G4GX (10th Gathering for Gardner, 2012)
• Lominoes for G4G9 (9th Gathering for Gardner, 2010)
• The mathematics of Septoku (2008) (a Sudoku variant invented by Bruce Oberg)
• G4G8 Chess Conundrum (8th Gathering for Gardner, 2008)
• Diagonal Peg Solitaire (7th Gathering for Gardner, 2006)

Bridges conference proceedings papers

• Cube Compond Puzzles (Eindhoven, Netherlands, 2025)
• A Mathematical Treatment of Translational Coordinate-Motion Puzzles (Richmond, USA, 2024)

  My articles in Cubism For Fun (CFF)

  Most recent first ...

  Issue	Year	Title	Pages	Comments
  130	2026	Sequential Star and Sequential Cube Puzzles	5
  129		Geapple	4	stl files
  128	2025	Nova Plexus and Tetra Cage Puzzles	6
  125	2024	Alphabet Stew	6 (4-9)	with Stewart Coffin and Dave Rossetti Supplemental material
  124		Tetrahedron and Octahedron Puzzles	5 (20-24)	Supplemental material
  123		Screwy Burrs	6 (c, 16-21)
  121	2023	Experiments in Puzzle Destruction	3 (8-10)
  		Designing Chocolate Pack	6 (18-23)	Supplemental material
  120		Coordinate Motion Puzzles, Part 3	6 (10-15)
  119	2022	Coordinate Motion Puzzles, Part 2	6 (10-15)
  118		Coordinate Motion Puzzles, Part 1	6 (16-21)	Supplemental material
  116	2021	The Ball Burr	6 (6-11)
  115		Soma Gravity Puzzles	2 (26-27)
  114		Fun with Tops, Part 2	6 (14-19)
  113	2020	Fun with Tops, Part 1	5 (26-30)	Design document
  111		The Progressive Pyramid Puzzle	6 (22-27)	STL files
  110	2019	Rhombic Polyhedra Puzzles, Part 2	5 (15-19)	With Stephen Chin Supplemental material
  109		Rhombic Polyhedra Puzzles, Part 1	6 (16-21)
  108		More Balls in a Box	6 (20-25)
  106	2018	Hexagonal Ball Pyramid Puzzles	6 (24-29)	Supplemental material
  101	2016	Clock Solitaire	6 (4-9)	Challenge booklet, one page
  98	2015	Pentomino Case Puzzles	5 (c, 14-17)	Solution notes
  95	2014	Making your own Ball Puzzles	4 (30-33)
  94		Pyradox: A Pyramid Packing Paradox	4 (10-13)
  93		The Pennyhedron Revisited	8 (c ,4-10)	Supplemental material
  90	2013	Solving Jerry Gordon's Giant Pyramid	5 (6-10)	Updated 2019
  87	2012	More Icosahedron Puzzles	7 (c, 10-15)
  85	2011	Five Intersecting Tetrahedra	3 (20-22)
  84		Sphere Octahedron Puzzles	5 (28-32)
  81	2010	Classification of Polyspheres	7 (c, 18-23)	Supplemental material
  77	2008	Solving Puzzles using Maps	5 (27-31)	Updated 2014
  Total: 29 articles (2008-2025)

  Check out George Sicherman's Contents for CFF 111 onward
  

  Miscellaneous Documents

  • Some Notes on Ball-Pyramid and Related Puzzles, Leonard Gordon (1986), 18 pages
    [I scanned in this obscure document, adding a few comments in red.
    Last modified: June 2014])
  • A Compendium of Polysphere Puzzles by Bernhard Wiezorke, August 1996, 64 pages.
  • Ball Puzzle Maker Links

  Mechanical Puzzle Solutions

  Spoiler alert!! Do not open solution links unless you want to see the solution!
  • Trapdoor Octahedron puzzle solution and YouTube video (2023)
  • Frankenstar puzzle solution (2022)
  • Housing Crunch Hint and Housing Crunch Solution and blog post (2015)
  • Tricky Dick Solution (2013)
  • Exploding Ball Puzzle, how to assemble (UTube video, 2012)
  • Three Piece Whatsit Solution, aka Tilted Cube aka Donz Q'b (IPP exchange puzzle, 2011)
  • Christmas Ornament Solutions aka Interlocking 10-Ball Tetrahedron and
    Three Piece Octahedron (2010)
  • Teaser Balls Solution (2008)
  
  

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