Juno’s Euroka 10x3

After reading Juno’s year end blog I was surprised to see that ‘Pluredro’ in Esperanto translates to Polyhedron, so this puzzle release is very fitting indeed.  Juno created not only an awesome design but definitely the most beautiful puzzle he has created to date!

Here’s Juno’s description from Pluredro:

“This is one of the most visually pleasing puzzles that we have ever produced. We have produced several non-orthogonal burr puzzles in the past, all of which consist of stick pieces whose intersections are simple squares. Euroka 10x3 is characterized by flat, large-area pieces, the assembled shape of which looks like a shining star. (Euroka is an Aboriginal word for the sun.)

When the puzzle was designed on the computer, Juno was not enthusiastic about producing it, but after building a prototype and holding the real thing in his hands, he changed his mind and decided that it should be made.

The puzzle consists of 30 identical pieces forming 10 intersecting triangles. It's more like a scientific toy or an art work but that does not mean it is easier to put together. The majority of people are not used to this non-orthogonal world, so they are often confounded by uncommonly intersecting pieces. Additionally, this kind of puzzle is often very unstable until all the pieces are fully assembled, making the actual physical work difficult.

Euroka 10x3 is fairly stable once about half the pieces are assembled, but still difficult at the start. Juno himself struggled for nearly an hour to assemble a puzzle prototype without the proper jigs. To solve this issue, we also produced a base that can be used for an assembling jig. With the base, you can assemble the puzzle in less than five minutes if you are familiar with it. There are also shallow concaves on the top of the base to accommodate the pointy apexes of the puzzle.

There is a magnet at the end of the leg of each piece. If you flip the piece over and observe both sides, you will notice a difference in color between the two magnets. One is set with north on top and the other with south on top, making it easy to know which direction to attach the pieces together.

New Guinea Walnut and PNG Rosewood, both have distinctive texture on the surface, are used for the puzzle pieces, and the base is made of Fijian Mahogany. The white small part that has Juno's branding is American Rock Maple.

The puzzle is sold assembled. The solution to this puzzle will be supplied upon request by link to a video.”

Diameter: 240 mm

Number of pieces: 30 + Base

Material: New Guinea Walnut, PNG Rosewood and Fijian Mahogany

I also won the auction for Juno’s ‘Prototype’ copy, here’s his description:

“This auction puzzle has the following differences compared to the product version.

• Zebrano and Koto are used for the puzzle.
• Small magnets are used, and the polarity of those magnets cannot be visually identified, thus assembling the puzzle requires more dexterity.
• Material, fitting, finish, and accuracy are less superior compared to the product version.
• The puzzle has rounded edges and the base has larger concaves on top.
• It comes with three spare parts shown on the image.”