Featured Puzzle: Fold-a-Box #1
When I was a kid, origami was a hobby I delved into with a passion. All these years later, and I just discovered that November 11th is World Origami Day! But, just taking the word of some website about it wasn’t enough for me, so I did a little digging.
In Japan, the Nippon Origami Association designated November 11th as World Origami Day, starting in 1980 – but why? It started with the date itself – 11/11. Per their website, the four 1s represent the four sides of a square, which is the most common shape to begin traditional origami folds. As a happy coincidence, this also falls on Rememberence Day, when World War I ended. And the paper crane is a common Japanese symbol of peace, as well as the most well-known origami fold.
Today’s puzzle, originally named Yokibunkastu (“container dividing”), is themed around folding, so I thought it would be appropriate for the occasion. Draw walls to form pentomino (5-cell) regions around the paper cranes.
- Each pentomino must be able to fold into an open-top box.
- In this imaginary box, the crane must be on the bottom surface, facing up.
- Each box contains one and only one crane.
- Some cells will not be part of any box – they will be walled off as single cells.
Be on the lookout for a future Solving Guide.
Want to try it online? Click here!
Beautiful! Now celebrate World Origami Day by grabbing some paper and trying to learn an interesting fold!
