A mere eight tiles with unique geometric relationships lend themselves to assembly into endless fanciful shapes. You might see a small resemblance to the classic tangrams, to the ancient Archimedes' Square, to our Chasing Squares, the venerable Grand Tans, to our Twenty-Tans, and the whole Tan Tricks family. Isosceles right triangles are the building blocks, and they combine into strangely compatible pieces to form amazing silhouettes. The few samples below give a hint of their versatility and how they stimulate your imagination. Its 24-page booklet introduces hundreds of clever ideas and activities for 1 and 2 players, ages 8 to adult. Lasercut black acrylic stores in velvety pouch. $39

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The underlying grid for this puzzle is one of the 17 known classical symmetry groups of mosaic tilings:  hexagons completely surrounded by triangles. The beautiful Lucite pieces of StarHex-I are all the different ways of joining 0 to 6 triangles to the edges of a hexagon. They are color-coded by the number of triangles attached; 0 and 6 share one color, and 1 and 5 share one color. Color mix may vary. The 6" round tray is the most compact symmetrical shape all 14 pieces can pack into with a stellated border. The many symmetrical figures and themes are surprisingly difficult and very satisfying when found. The set is also compatible and interactive with the StarHex-II set described below. Booklet includes activities for 1 and 2 players, ages 8 to adult. $35

The underlying grid for this puzzle is one of the 17 known classical symmetry groups of mosaic tilings:  hexagons completely surrounded by triangles. The beautiful Lucite pieces of StarHex-II are all the different ways of joining not more than four parts:  one, two or three hexagons with one, two or three triangles attached. They are color-coded by type. Color mix may vary. The oval 6x7½" tray is the most compact symmetrical shape all 17 pieces can pack into with inverted borders. The many symmetrical figures and themes are surprisingly difficult and very satisfying when found. Booklet includes activities for 1 and 2 players, ages 10 to adult. $39

This acrylic set, inspired by Alan Schoen's Rombix, has just four shapes, each in four colors: a single rhomb, a square, a chevron (pair of rhombs), and a "boot" (paired rhomb and square). These four pieces also form a small octagon in a mathematically interesting way. The variety of pretty patterns they can make is astonishing—they are a natural for creating kaleidoscopic symmetries. Color mix may vary. Rombix Jr. is packaged in a 5½" tray, with an illustrated booklet that contains many activities suitable for 1 and 2 players, ages 5 to adult. $32

The 16 unique Cubits tiles form over 100 cube-like patterns, from simple to expert. The tiles are one, two and three rhombuses in size, with 3 colors that define the visual effect of cubes. Your challenge is to solve our large collection of cube-like figures and to create your own designs and optical illusion patterns. The original version, in die-cut cardboard, was produced for a short time by Binary Arts. Kadon brought back this wonderful puzzle in a more permanent and beautiful acrylic format, in its own 8½x8½" tray, and added an original game. Color combinations may vary. Cubits is for 1 or 2 players, ages 8 to adult. $65

The Quintapaths set consists of 20 acrylic sticks, shaped like a 1x5 rectangle (5 squares stuck together in a strip). Each stick is different from all the rest by the number and positions of black squares hand-inlaid on top of it, from 0 through 5. The most regular figures the whole set can fit into are the classic 10x10 square (shown in its 10" red-framed tray) and 5x20 and 4x25 rectangles. The fun comes from creating designs with the black areas by joining the sticks in different ways. You can plot the sticks vertically or horizontally, or mix the two directions! Some original game rules are included. Supplied with easel for display as playable art. Oh, by the way — Scott invented Quintapaths when he was only 14. Recommended for ages 10 to adult.$95

Diamond Star had its world premiere at the prestigious International Puzzle Party in August 2007 in Australia. Polydiamonds in sizes 1, 2 and 3 nestle into a hexagonal array that displays an amazing cluster of two-color stars and solid-color hexagon rings. They overlap, and when you find and focus on one, the others vanish. This optical illusion that plays with your eyes and mind is achieved with 23 tiles in 5 shapes that represent all the possible color adjacencies within the pattern. Looked at another way, can you spot all 31 overlapping cube-like hexagons? All-acrylic construction, hand-inlaid tiles in black, gray, white, in bright red framed 11" tray, display stand included. Nine wood pawns each in 3 colors serve for the strategy game Rhombomania, for 1 to 3 players, ages 10 to adult.$95

Intarsia had its world premiere at the prestigious International Puzzle Party in August 2008 in Prague, the Czech Republic. With just two types of tiles, the number of combinations of the tiles in their hexagonal tray reaches a mind-boggling 10²⁴. The reversible trapezoidal tiles carry either a white or a black diamond, paired with a black or white triangle respectively (shown at right). Yet with all those possibilities, forming them into three-fold symmetries is elusively difficult. The reason: while their total area is equivalent to 96 unit triangles, the 32 tiles themselves don't divide into three equal parts. They merely contribute regions of color the puzzler must coax into symmetry designs that are an ever-new source of visual joy. All-acrylic construction, hand-inlaid tiles, in bright red framed 11" tray, with display stand. Rules for five highly original strategy games included. On Games 100 list for 2009. For 1 or 2 players, ages 10 to adult.$95

Chosen for the Games 100 list — one of the best games of 2001. This elegant concept was created in 1959 by an architect, Bill Briggs. We've expanded the original tile patterns from four to the full eight. Every combination of 1, 2, 3 and 4 paths exiting from a square, with enough multiples in a strategic mix, allows the creation of the most intricate designs. Just match the paths. A strange fact — the number of separate groups will always equal the number of closed loops formed. Up to 19 are possible! See also the embedded pentominoes. The laser-cut, hand-inlaid acrylic tiles are framed so the 14" set can be displayed on its easel as an ever-changing work of art. We offer it in four color combinations. Rules for several games are included. For 1 to 4 players, ages 10 to adult. $195