Detailed view of: Quintapaths

The 20 sticks shown above are all different, and they are all the possible ways of attaching 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 black squares on top of the white strips. The booklet included with Quintapaths shows solutions for several unusual patterns, not all of which have the sticks all horizontal or all vertical. Create your own combinations, islands, loops, and paths.

The set especially lends itself to beautiful yin-yang effects with a bas-relief look, where the raised black areas mirror the white. Place Quintapaths on its easel and get a great image even from across the room. Here are examples (view from a distance)

Here is the most symmetrical design we've found to date, and the sticks go both ways. You can view it along both the horizontal and vertical axis. Along the vertical axis (below left) you get perfect mirror symmetry of each color. Turn the pattern 90 degrees, and the black maps onto the white areas it mirrors. In fact, you can fold the pattern along either center line and fit the raised sections into the lower white areas. We searched for such a solution at the request of puzzle collector and designer Martin Watson, who asked whether a "sandwich" arrangement was possible. Enjoy!

Back to Quintapaths