Where can I find polyomino, polyhex, polyiamond and other polyform puzzles (arranging a fixed set of shapes...

references/polyforms New

New entry, edited from material collected for the archive and not yet in a released version.

Problem

Where can I find polyomino, polyhex, polyiamond and other polyform
puzzles (arranging a fixed set of shapes to match a given pattern)?
[ Editor: problem statement reconstructed from the postings. ]

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[ Editor: addresses and prices are as posted in 1994. ]

In article <CqH4qp.FIw@usna.navy.mil>, mdm@usna.navy.mil (Mark
Meyerson) writes:
>More recently there's: "Polyominoes, a guide to puzzles and problems in
>tiling" by George E. Martin, published by the Mathematical Association
>of America, 1991, ISBN 0-88385-501-1, paperback, $15.

An excellent overview of polyforms in general is provided in World Game
Review, issue #9.  It contains articles on polyominoes, polycubes,
polyhexes, polyiamonds, and other marvelous geometric sets, such as:

    polytans (basic unit is isosceles right triangle; also called
        polyaboloes),
    polyarcs (combinations of squares and quarter-circles), and
    Birds and Bees (regular triangles, hexagons and squares in subsets
        of a particular tiling pattern).

All for only $4 ($6 for overseas airmail) from:

    Michael Keller
    World Game Review
    1747 Little Creek Drive
    Baltimore, MD   21207-5230

For hexomino fans, get issue #6 too.  It has a special supplement which
contains over 100 hexomino problems.

-- Robin King <rhk8563@acf4.nyu.edu>

Kadon Enterprises sells a dazzling variety of this type of
combinatorial puzzle.  You can get polyominoes (up to order-8), polyhexes
(the Hex Nut set has orders 1-5), and polyiamonds (based on equilateral
triangles; the Iamond Ring includes orders 1-7).  There is also a
Multimatch series, in which edges of like color are to be matched.  Some
puzzles are based on Penrose tilings.  The products are not cheap, but
they are of very high quality.  You can get a catalog for a mere dollar
from:

    Kadon Enterprises, Inc.
    1227 Lorene Drive
    Suite 16
    Pasadena, MD  21122

Many issues of the magazine World Game Review contain polyform puzzles.
Of particular note is issue #9, an issue totally devoted to polyforms,
for just $4.  For more info on World Game Review, send e-mail to
Wgreview@aol.com.

For those who have been waiting, Golomb's book, Polyominoes, has just
been re-printed.  Check out the truncated square made of enneominoes.
(These are the 1285 order-9 polyominoes.)  Very impressive!

Multimatch, Hex Nut, and Iamond Ring are trademarks of Kadon
Enterprises.

-- Robin King <rhk@panix.com>