The Three Connection Big Triple is an assembly puzzle in the Kong Ming Lock series from QiYi, the Chinese brand best known for its speedcubes. Several pieces cross in the centre and, once assembled, look like a single block. The challenge is to take it apart and then restore it to its original shape unaided.

• BrandQiYi
• SeriesKong Ming Lock
• TypeBurr puzzle (Luban lock)
• MaterialPlastic

What is a Luban lock?

Luban locks, also known as Kong Ming locks, are the Chinese version of burr puzzles: puzzles made of notched pieces that hold one another together without glue or screws. Tradition links them with the carpenter Lu Ban and with the strategist Zhuge Liang, known as Kongming, although there is no evidence that either of them invented them. Unlike a Rubik’s cube, nothing turns here: the pieces slide and come apart.

How it works

The pieces have no magnets, axles or springs: the whole thing holds together purely through the shape of its joints and only opens by following a specific order. Designs with pieces crossing in three directions are the most basic form of this family, so it is a good starting point for understanding how the notches rest against one another. Even so, taking it apart is usually quicker than putting it back together, because when closing it you have to remember the position and orientation of each piece.