Questions tagged [three-dimensional]
This tag is used for geometric puzzles, if one wants to stress that the setting is not 2-dimensional but 3-dimensional.
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The brain-curdling eldritch horrors and the third dimension
We're in the year 2016 so it's finally time to take puzzles to the 3rd dimension!
So let's see what those beautiful times bring us today:
(click to enlarge)
Everyone of you clever sods could as ...
28
votes
4
answers
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How do I arrange pencils so they all touch each other?
How do you arrange 6 pencils so that each one touches the other five? And what about 7 or 8?
15
votes
4
answers
740
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Color the cubes, then assemble them to form a larger cube
Goal: Paint 27 cubes using three colors (for example, red, yellow, and blue), so that you can form a 3x3x3 cube with all surfaces in red (for example), a 3x3x3 cube all in yellow, and a 3x3x3 cube all ...
14
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answers
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Puzzle about 6 infinite cylinders in space
You have 6 infinitely long cylinders (tubes) with the same radius R. Can you arrange them in space in a way that every cylinder touches the other 5? By touching, I mean have a common point or a line. ...
14
votes
7
answers
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Fair n-sided dice
I have recently bought a fair $10$-sided dice for generating equally distributed random numbers from the range $1,2,\ldots,10$. Let me describe this dice in some more detail. Consider a regular 5-gon $...
11
votes
2
answers
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Chain Puzzle: Tabletop Games #7 - Maze
This is the seventh Chain Puzzle in the Tabletop Games series, in which all puzzles are themed around board games, card games, tile games, and the like. The answer to this puzzle is a thematic word or ...
62
votes
2
answers
7k
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Can you perfectly wrap a cube with this blocky shape?
The following blocky shape:
can be folded onto the surface of a cube in a way that perfectly covers the entire cube with no gaps and no overlaps.
How can it be done?
37
votes
4
answers
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Red Herring Bonkers In The Red Herring Bunkers
Please help me!
Last weekend I hosted a hell of a party at my workplace (I'll invite you next time, promise). Of course, my boss didn't know about it.
The next morning I entered the building and ...
30
votes
2
answers
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A simple alien safe
Oh no!! Abducted by aliens and put into a labyrinth for ability testing - again!
There is (obviously) no deeper meaning behind this all, but can you help me open this safe, as it undoubtedly contains ...
29
votes
1
answer
1k
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Every Fourth Wormhole
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #33: Surface Geometry Mazes
28
votes
1
answer
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How can this fractal shape perfectly cover a certain platonic solid?
The following fractal shape has a surprising property:
This two-dimensional shape can be folded onto the surface of a regular polyhedron (one of the five platonic solids) in a way that perfectly ...
26
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answer
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24
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1
answer
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3D nonogram, beginner's edition
Trying out the concept of 3D nonograms. This one should be pretty simple.
Name the depicted object.
19
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2
answers
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Wooden Snake Puzzle
I have a wooden snake puzzle in my collection that has been unsolved for years. I wondered if any of you might be interested. I have fiddled with it, but think it might need dynamic programming or ...
18
votes
1
answer
568
views
Wrapping a Galaxy Around a Cube
The following galaxy-like shape:
can be folded onto the surface of a cube in a way that perfectly covers the entire cube with no gaps and no overlaps.
How can it be done?
17
votes
2
answers
842
views
3D Masyu - A Die
Fold this net into a cube and solve this 3D Masyu.
The original Masyu rules apply. In addition, question mark '?' should be replaced by either a black or white circle.
Side note: Yeah, it's almost a ...
17
votes
1
answer
2k
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Introducing the 3D Connecting Wall!
This puzzle is part of the Monthly Topic Challenge #11: Now in 3D.
A typical '2D' connecting wall puzzle (as made popular by the BBC quiz show, Only Connect) involves dividing a group of 16 seemingly ...
17
votes
1
answer
477
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Cover a single cube with FIVE identical cube nets
Start with five identical cubes:
Your challenge:
Cut and unwrap all five cubes into five identical cube nets.
Show how to re-fold these five cube nets to form the surface of a single larger cube, ...
15
votes
1
answer
670
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3D nonogram – What's in the box?
This is a three-dimensional nonogram. The first six squares depict the layers of a $6\times6\times6$ cube. The final square gives the enumerations for the Z-axis, top to bottom. Some rules:
The grid ...
14
votes
1
answer
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Turn two cubes into one!
Here are two identical cubes:
Your challenge:
Start with two cubes of exactly the same size.
Cut the surface of each of these two cubes along its edges and unfold the surface into a 2D shape. (So ...
13
votes
1
answer
412
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Rhombicosidodecahedron Slitherlink
This is a Slitherlink puzzle, being played on the surface of a 3D object, a Rhombicosidodecahedron. If you are not familiar with Slitherlink puzzles, I don't suggest starting on this one.
Rules in ...
11
votes
1
answer
823
views
Three-dimensional light bulbs
This is a three-dimensional Akari puzzle (also known as Light Up). The six squares represent the layers of a $6\times6\times6$ cube, top to bottom. The objective is to add light bulbs into any number ...
11
votes
4
answers
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Laser Beams in Helsinki Skies
(The first two chapters are just for flavour, you can safely skip to the TL;DR near the end.)
This puzzle in situated Helsinki for a reason: for the city's "200 years as capital" celebration, the ...
11
votes
1
answer
452
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Multidimensional Travel
This is part 11 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
Deаr Puzzling,
This is a three-dimensional crossword. The five squares in the picture represent ...
9
votes
1
answer
607
views
How many cubes are crossed by a diagonal?
A cuboid is composed by $81 \times 125 \times 128 $ cubes. How many cubes are crossed by a (main) diagonal of the cuboid?
(note: I chose the numbers for the sides so that the case of the diagonal ...
8
votes
1
answer
262
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Nono-Cube: Approach at Your Own Risk
Inspired by jafe's 3D nonograms :)
Answer is one word.
This puzzle is a part of Ooohh, it all makes sense now! :D
8
votes
2
answers
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Nono-cube - Ultimate Puzzle Giant
Prologue - Instructions
Shamelessly copied and pasted the following from @jafe's puzzle :P
This is a three-dimensional nonogram. The first square gives the enumerations for the Z-axis, top to ...
8
votes
1
answer
393
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3D Statue Park: Daggers and dashes
This is a three-dimensional Statue Park puzzle.1 The five squares in the below image depict the five levels of a $5\times5\times5$ cube. The goal is to fit inside it the eight pieces shown in the ...
8
votes
2
answers
2k
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What puzzles can I make out of origami?
I recently made and solved a soma cube puzzle out of origami. What other puzzles can I make out of origami?
&...
8
votes
1
answer
445
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3D tetromino placement
The following image depicts a $5\times5\times5$ cube. Insert any number of the pictured 3D-tetromino pieces into the cube to satisfy the conditions listed below. Pieces may be rotated in any direction....
7
votes
2
answers
319
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A pyramid from a square
Given a square piece of paper. Cut it into 4 pieces that could be used to create a right angle pyramid - the 4 pieces are the faces of the pyramid.
6
votes
1
answer
1k
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Points on a cube
Professor Halfbrain has spent his entire weekend by placing colored dots on the surface of a huge wooden cube.
His objective was to find large groups of dots that form the vertices of a regular ...
5
votes
1
answer
929
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Find the object from its shadows
A 3D object is suspended in the air and it casts shadows on each orthogonal plane. The shadows are in the form of a circle, triangle and square, as shown in the diagram below. What is the shape of the ...
3
votes
1
answer
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Seven octahedral nets to cover an octahedron
After solving Cover a single cube with FIVE identical cube nets I had the idea for this puzzle, which may be regarded as a natural generalisation to triangular grids.
Find two different nets, A and B, ...