The Special Box 503 is part of a series of lidded wooden boxes that Václav Obšivač, the Czech craftsman behind Vinco, numbered from 501 to 514. Each box holds a packing puzzle; the 503 contains the eight-piece Three Wedges. Its faces are decorated with marquetry of four triangles and a square, which is what the “4TR+1SQ” in the name refers to.

• BrandVinco
• DesignerVáclav Obšivač
• TypePacking puzzle in a lidded box
• Pieces8 (Three Wedges puzzle)
• Size62 mm
• DifficultyLevel 5 (Vinco scale)

Design

The box is a wooden cube with edges in one tone and faces in another, where the contrast between woods traces the geometric pattern. The combination changes from one batch to the next: Vinco has made versions in cherry, maple and ash, or in walnut, plum and ash, among others, so each one may differ.

Inside is the Three Wedges, a half-cube puzzle that Vinco presented at the puzzle exchange of the International Puzzle Party in Boston in 2006.

How it works

In a packing puzzle the aim is to fit all the pieces into the available space. Here the eight pieces must go back inside the box so that the lid closes. Vinco places it at level 5 on its scale, one of the highest.