Hey Twisty Puzzlers,

I'd like to present my newest puzzle:

Fractured Madness

Video!
Auction (Ended)


Fractured Madness is a face-turning pentagonal dipyramid (FTPD). The cuts are rather deep, so big blocks of pieces move all at once. I designed the base shape such that the angle between adjacent faces on the same pyramid is equal to the angle between adjacent faces on opposite pyramids. Because of this, the puzzle can really jumble. (It still would have been able to jumble somewhat if I hadn't made the angles equal, but only between faces on the same pyramid, and not between two faces on different pyramids.)

For the first two or three weeks of having this puzzle, I was convinced that it was impossible to scramble. It gets so blocked and bandaged, that after only a few turns, it's very difficult to know how to turn next. But after Thanksgiving dinner, I was lounging around in a turkey coma, talking with my family, not really paying attention to what I was doing to the puzzle, and when I looked down, it was back in the original shape, but some pieces were on different faces.

I couldn't believe it! I had scrambled it!

Fun fact: Because I had no idea how I managed to scramble it, I filmed the second half of the video first, so that I could then take it apart and put it back together solved for filming the first half.

This puzzle was sold on eBay for $235.83 on December 10, 2011. Congrats to the winner!

EDIT: Changed the name to "Fractured Madness" to indicate the connection to David Pitcher's Fracture-10 (same shape) and Oskar's More Madness (same maze-like scrambling style). Thanks for the name suggestion, David!

More pictures:


-Eitan

Nice puzzle!!!

very cool. I like the turning style it has.

Wow! I tried designing a shallow face turning hexagonal dipyramid and decided that it could not scramble much at all (if at all). I am really glad to see something like this finally be made.

Great job.

"memento style"

Your strange jumbling problem reminded me of Krystian's Twist by OSKAR. Perhaps that can give some insight.

You know what~Sometimes I'm using this method to solve a new puzzle in which I can't solve it. Yeah. Sometimes I leave a puzzle, & suddenly something inspire me. When I solve the puzzle again, it's done~

Oh forgot to say: Great Work!

Great Puzzle!!!

Thanks everyone!

Will (will_57) made a comment on the youtube video:

That is a great description of scrambling this puzzle. It really is like a maze. I just wish there were a trick like "just put your hand on the left wall, and follow it wherever it goes." But I guess that would just equate to brute-forcing the solution, which is never a good idea on a twisty puzzle.

A few more fun facts:
--- This puzzle has no pairs of physically opposite faces, which is quite unusual in a puzzle. This is why the color pattern is strange (red and orange next to each other, blue and green). However, I must say that this is my favorite color pattern i've ever done.
--- There is some minor overhang bandaging, as you can see in the picture below. But since the puzzle has some give, you can actually carefully slide past it. So it's not that big a deal.


-Eitan

Such a cool puzzle! Also, I thought memento was a great movie!

Fantastic puzzle! Will you be making it available on Shapeways? I'm also very curious to see more of the mechanism if you don't mind sharing.

This dipyramid is of exactly the same proportions as I used for Fracture-10. In fact, this is one of many slice patterns I explored before I decided to actually try the slice pattern that became Fracture-10. Back then I thought a puzzle made with this slice pattern wouldn't be able to make more than two or three moves before becoming completely blocked. Clearly, you've proven me wrong, while also demonstrating the value of actually building a puzzle even if you aren't certain it will work. That is a great leap of faith, and it certainly paid off!

We'll see how the auction goes. People asked about Shapeways for the MegaTwist, and only 1 person has bought one so far. If there's a big outcry, I might change my mind.


It's just a typical 2-layer shell mech. Nothing special about it. I'll upload a couple of pics next time I take it apart.

I have changed the name of the puzzle to "Fractured Madness" to indicate the connection to David Pitcher's Fracture-10 (same shape) and Oskar's More Madness (same maze-like scrambling style). Thanks for the name suggestion, David!

-Eitan

Nice!!! Just watched the video. Is the 5th picture above the shape restored (but scrambled) state you mention in the video?

If so I see the shape may be restored but the placement of the stored cuts is not. I wonder if its possible to get the puzzle back in the same state it is in the solved state but with just a few colors being moved. By that I mean the states would be identical if the stickers were removed. Picture 5 minus the stickers isn't the same state at the solved state minus the stickers.

Carl

Yes.


No idea.... I might try posting in the Solving forum to see if any of you geniuses can give it a go.

-Eitan

Very nice ! Quite similar to the FTHD i was working on ! I really like the jumbling, congratz !

Are the tiny parts and hooks in it the reason you made it so big ? (I had to scale it up too as the parts are eve smaller)

Woah! I was actually planning on doing that one next. I guess I'll try something else.

For Andreas:
Apex to apex: 150mm
Long Edge: 75mm
Short Edge: 58mm

-Eitan

Oh Eitan, I don't plan on making it, it was just a design challenge I set myself a month or two ago. I'd really like to see you make it =)

In that case.... I guess you know what I'll be doing this weekend!

-Eitan

Almost perfect answer.
What is its weight?Somebody who is happy to managed scrambling a puzzle. Never had this before.

As soon as I can find a scale, I'll post it here.

Awesome puzzle Eitan! I'm sure many of us have thought about a Face Turning Pentagonal Dipyramid in the past, but this looks much better than I could have ever imagined!

Now I challenge you to make a deep cut version.

Keep in mind that this puzzle doesn't have opposite face-pairs. How deep is "deep-cut"?

-Eitan

Cut the puzzle down into a sphere. Find the diameter. Place the cuts as deep as the radius. Build back up into pentagonal dipyramid shape.

To be honest, this is why puzzle definitions irritate me sometimes. Technically this puzzle is always deep cut, and it can always go deeper. By deep cut I should have said origin cut.

Just like a pyraminx, right? I just went through an exercise of trying to build a pyraminx in solidworks, and it was surprisingly hard... Think I've got it now though mostly...

I would have said just have all the cut planes cross at the same point. I think that works too.

Carl

The Fractured Madness has been listed in a 7-day eBay auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 823wt_1348

Happy bidding!

-Eitan

Just saw the video. Eitan, I am convinced that you have made one of the hardest twisty puzzles known to mankind.

It sure seems that way!

The auction is now over (sold for $235.83). Congratulations to the winner, and thank you to all the bidders!

-Eitan