“During
the 1999 National Puzzler's League convention, I was trying some octiamond game ideas with
Adrienne Siskind, and she offhandedly suggested the set of rules below. This simple game
was a hit! Ever since, I've wanted to produce an affordable set of octiamonds. Now,
I have.
I’m doing it as six framed levels, plus two blanks above and below to form a
box, held together with washers, nuts, and machine screws. Each
layer is cut from a different color of transparent acrylic, 1/8 inch thick. With
eight layers, the whole assembly is one inch thick. All quite beautiful.
The pieces will be shipped with the protective paper still on the pieces. You'll
need to peel it off yourself.”
From a mathematical point of view, Border Patrol is a complete set of
66 octiamonids.
Besides
playing the game Border Patrol, There are trillions of puzzles that can be made with these
pieces. For example, draw 8 pieces at random, and make the figure with the fewest
sides.
Here's another -- using the tetradiamonds, make a hexagon with sides (8 6 8 8 6 8).
Ed Pegg, Jr. has Border patrol available at his web site:
“A mechanical puzzle is a self-contained object, composed
of one or more parts, which involves a problem for one person to solve by manipulation
using logic, reasoning, insight, luck, and/or dexterity.” - Jerry Slocum
“During
the 1999 National Puzzler's League convention, I was trying some octiamond game ideas with
Adrienne Siskind, and she offhandedly suggested the set of rules below. This simple game
was a hit! Ever since, I've wanted to produce an affordable set of octiamonds. Now,
I have. 
Each
layer is cut from a different color of transparent acrylic, 1/8 inch thick. With
eight layers, the whole assembly is one inch thick. All quite beautiful. 
Besides
playing the game Border Patrol, There are trillions of puzzles that can be made with these
pieces. For example, draw 8 pieces at random, and make the figure with the fewest
sides. 
Ed Pegg, Jr. has Border patrol available at his web site:
