Matchstick Puzzle 1

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Move three matches to new positions in the diagram so that there are five squares instead of three.

Double click a matchstick to rotate it through 90o

This type of puzzle has been around for many years. There were particularly popular around one hundred years ago when matches were widely available as many people smoked.

"The definitive modern match was born in mid-19th century by Swedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch. His ‘safety match’ design moved the phosphorus away from the match itself and onto safe striking surface, enabling creation of much safer, easier to use, and cheaper matches. His invention was greatly popularized by Swedish industrialist and inventor John Edvard Lundström who started first mass production of this type of matches." (Source: historyofmatches.com)

Today matches are not such common items but the puzzles remain. You can work on them using lolly sticks, toothpicks, headless matchsticks (available from craft shops), pencils, crayons, cotton buds and on a computer as you are doing now.

Solution

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Still looking for a challenge? Try one of these activities:

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The short web address is:

Transum.org/go/?to=suko

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The short web address is:

Transum.org/go/?to=satisfaction

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Find all of the possible ways of making the magic total from the numbers in this four by four magic square.

The short web address is:

Transum.org/go/?to=magicsquarepuzzle

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Comments

Mohammad, Puzzle 1

Saturday, December 27, 2014

"Move three matches to new positions in the diagram so that there are five squares instead of three."

Ter, USA

Friday, March 17, 2023

"In fairness the instructions should reveal that a matchstick does not have to be a part of a square but can extend as long as it isn't moved."

Apple

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