The other day, Superman came by with a tired look on his face.
I asked him, "Superman, what's wrong?"
He replied, "Recently, problems have occurred in many places at the same time, and I've been busy with rescue operations. I've saved thousands of people, but as you can see on TV, it's unfortunate that there are so many people I couldn't save."
He then handed me a small box and said, "Today, I'm going to give you a gift: a three-dimensional version of a puzzle played in the four-dimensional world. I've been meaning to give you this for a while, but I've been too busy."
He then said, "I'm going to start rescue operations again today, so I can't stay long. See you later," and flew off.
I said, "Thank you," and opened the box. Inside was the puzzle shown below.
(Conceptual image)
(Original photo source: https://www.toys42hands.nl/en/products/toys42hands-cylinder-puzzle)
<Puzzle Structure>
1. It has the same cylindrical shape as the existing normal cylinder puzzles.
2. There are 6 LEDs per row x 5 rows = a total of 30 LEDs on the surface.
3. There is a button switch in the center of each LED.
4. Only the top layer of the cylinder can rotate horizontally.
5. There is a Scramble switch on the top of the cylinder.
<How to play>
1. Press the Scramble switch on the top of the cylinder, and all the LEDs begin flashing, and then the six colors are arranged randomly. Start from this state.
2. Select 3 horizontally consecutive LEDs in any row other than the top row that you want to move to the top row.
3. Select 3 consecutive LEDs in the top row that you want to move to the row immediately below, and rotate the top layer so that they are lined up vertically with the 3 selected in step 2 above.
4. Press the buttons for the 3 LEDs in step 2 above. When you do this, the colors of those LEDs change to the colors of the LEDs in the row above it, and the LEDs in the row above that change to the colors of the LEDs in the row above that, and so on, until the colors of the LEDs in the top row change to the colors of the LEDs in step 2 above. (As shown in the conceptual image above, the change in LED color makes it appear as if the selected pieces are falling out, pieces are falling from top to bottom, and the selected pieces are fitting into the top row.)
5. Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 above until the problem is solved.
The big difference between existing puzzles of this type and this puzzle is that in the former, you can move the pieces one by one, while in the latter, you must move 3 consecutive pieces at the same time.
Incidentally, in a four-dimensional world, 3 consecutive pieces can be successfully removed from the cylinder without falling apart, and the other pieces can be moved smoothly from top to bottom, but this doesn't work in our three-dimensional world, so Superman, like the previous puzzles (Soccer ball puzzle, Christmas present), brought me an LED version.
I started solving it right away and was able to line up the first 4 vertical columns, but I just couldn't line up the remaining 2 columns. I think it's probably impossible to complete the puzzle by lining them up in order.
Thank you, Superman, for giving me this difficult puzzle.
I asked him, "Superman, what's wrong?"
He replied, "Recently, problems have occurred in many places at the same time, and I've been busy with rescue operations. I've saved thousands of people, but as you can see on TV, it's unfortunate that there are so many people I couldn't save."
He then handed me a small box and said, "Today, I'm going to give you a gift: a three-dimensional version of a puzzle played in the four-dimensional world. I've been meaning to give you this for a while, but I've been too busy."
He then said, "I'm going to start rescue operations again today, so I can't stay long. See you later," and flew off.
I said, "Thank you," and opened the box. Inside was the puzzle shown below.
(Conceptual image)
(Original photo source: https://www.toys42hands.nl/en/products/toys42hands-cylinder-puzzle)
<Puzzle Structure>
1. It has the same cylindrical shape as the existing normal cylinder puzzles.
2. There are 6 LEDs per row x 5 rows = a total of 30 LEDs on the surface.
3. There is a button switch in the center of each LED.
4. Only the top layer of the cylinder can rotate horizontally.
5. There is a Scramble switch on the top of the cylinder.
<How to play>
1. Press the Scramble switch on the top of the cylinder, and all the LEDs begin flashing, and then the six colors are arranged randomly. Start from this state.
2. Select 3 horizontally consecutive LEDs in any row other than the top row that you want to move to the top row.
3. Select 3 consecutive LEDs in the top row that you want to move to the row immediately below, and rotate the top layer so that they are lined up vertically with the 3 selected in step 2 above.
4. Press the buttons for the 3 LEDs in step 2 above. When you do this, the colors of those LEDs change to the colors of the LEDs in the row above it, and the LEDs in the row above that change to the colors of the LEDs in the row above that, and so on, until the colors of the LEDs in the top row change to the colors of the LEDs in step 2 above. (As shown in the conceptual image above, the change in LED color makes it appear as if the selected pieces are falling out, pieces are falling from top to bottom, and the selected pieces are fitting into the top row.)
5. Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 above until the problem is solved.
The big difference between existing puzzles of this type and this puzzle is that in the former, you can move the pieces one by one, while in the latter, you must move 3 consecutive pieces at the same time.
Incidentally, in a four-dimensional world, 3 consecutive pieces can be successfully removed from the cylinder without falling apart, and the other pieces can be moved smoothly from top to bottom, but this doesn't work in our three-dimensional world, so Superman, like the previous puzzles (Soccer ball puzzle, Christmas present), brought me an LED version.
I started solving it right away and was able to line up the first 4 vertical columns, but I just couldn't line up the remaining 2 columns. I think it's probably impossible to complete the puzzle by lining them up in order.
Thank you, Superman, for giving me this difficult puzzle.
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