Penta-Bishops Packing Puzzle

Pack all 12 penta-bishops into the Aztec Diamond tray.

Penta-Bishops - what are they?

You may be familiar with pentominoes - these are the 5-square polyominoes that are connected perpendicularly. There are 12 of them. PolyKings are pseudo-polyominoes that can be connected both perpendicularly and diagonally. They have "Kings" in the name because they are connected in the same way a King (or Queen) can move on a chessboard. PentaKings have 5 squares, and there are 94 of them.

In this puzzle we look at all 12 Penta-Bishops (a name I just made up), which are 5 pieces only connected diagonally - like how a Bishop moves. These are a subset of the PentaKings. Your goal is to place them all nicely in the frame. The bridge connection between diagonal squares provides additional constraints leaving only 1 way to do it! (up to rotation and reflection)

Difficulty

This is a challenging puzzle, especially since there is only one solution. I created the puzzle and still struggled! If you want a bit easier of a challenge, you can print out the pieces in two colors to form a checkerboard pattern.  It's easier but still a challenge!

Printing

The pieces and the tray can be printed easily with no supports or bridging.

There are two options for printing: Master Mode or Moderate Mode. The pieces and the tray are the same for both, but Moderate Mode splits pieces to be printed in two colors.

Master Mode (Mono Color)

Print

• Mono_Color_Master_Mode/Penta_Bishops_Tray.stl

• Mono_Color_Master_Mode/Penta_Bishops_Pieces_All_12.stl

No colors to help you out! All pieces are the same color

Moderate Mode (Dual Color)

Print

• Two_Color_Moderate_Mode/Penta_Bishops_Tray.stl

• Two_Color_Moderate_Mode/Penta_Bishops_Pieces_Part_1.stl

• Two_Color_Moderate_Mode/Penta_Bishops_Pieces_Part_2.stl

Print the two parts in different colors for a woven two-tone look.