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I recently came across this disentanglement puzzle and after spending weeks trying to understand and solve this seemingly simple puzzle, I am completely stumped.

I do not know what the end goal of this puzzle is (I am assuming that we have to free the rope with the bead and loop on each end from the wooden blocks). However, after looking at the Eureka Puzzle, I am not sure if it is possible to free the rope while it has the beads and the loops attached to its ends.

Am I understanding the goal of this puzzle correctly?

If yes, then how are we supposed to solve it?

For the sake of clarity, the loops can pass through the slits in the wooden blocks while the beads cannot. Also, each loop is wide enough for a single wooden block to pass through it.

I have added a sketch of the puzzle to make it easier to follow the rope.

P.S. Does anyone know what this puzzle is called? I couldn't find any documentation for this puzzle on the internet.

Image 1

Image 2

Sketch

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  • $\begingroup$ And obviously, the square blocs are not flat enough to go thru the slit of the other bloc. $\endgroup$
    – Florian F
    Commented Oct 2, 2022 at 13:38
  • $\begingroup$ Yes. The wooden blocks are too big to pass through each other's slits. $\endgroup$
    – Occasio
    Commented Oct 2, 2022 at 13:42

1 Answer 1

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I believe this puzzle is impossible to take apart.

Take away the rings, replace them by simple knots, remove the rope connecting the blocs, and you get something that looks like another much simpler puzzle that I have assembled and tried but is still not solvable.

Simplified version of the puzzle with rings instead of wooden blocks

(See my answer in A donut, a piece of string and a pair of spectacles)

This puzzle has the added possibility to pass one metal loop through the other. But it is still unsolvable. If you play with it it becomes quickly obvious. In some sense it behaves like borromean rings, you can free the rope from one loop but not both.

So I confirm as you suspect that it is impossible to separate the blocs from the rope.

I suspect there is a part missing from the puzzle, possibly a ring that goes around the rope at the top.

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  • $\begingroup$ I also initially surmised that there has to be something missing from the puzzle. Thank you for your insight! $\endgroup$
    – Occasio
    Commented Oct 2, 2022 at 14:15
  • $\begingroup$ +1 for freehand puzzle-prototyping $\endgroup$
    – Sneftel
    Commented Oct 2, 2022 at 15:14

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