Also known as a
Halpern-Meier Pyramid, Trajber's Octahedron is a
geometric puzzle similar to
Rubik's Cube. Instead of simpler
octahedral versions, which have triangular face sections, Trajber's Octahedron has three different kinds of face sections:
triangles,
trapezoids, and
rhombuses.
One face of the octahedron looks like this:
/\
/ \
/ \
/\ /\
/ \ / \
/ \/ \
/ /\ \
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/_ _ _/_ _ _ \_ _ _\
/ / \ \
/ / \ \
/_ _ _/_ _ _ _ _ _ \_ _ _\
It has six
axes of rotation, and was first mentioned in
Joseph Trajber's 1981 book,
Der Werfül (The Cube). The optimal solution has at most twelve moves.
Trajber's Octahedron is patented under US patents US04558866 and US04453715, but I have been unable to find one for sale anywhere.
sources
Joshua Bell. The Magic Polyhedra Patent Page. http://www.calormen.com/TwistyPuzzles/twisty.htm The Magic Plyhedra Patent Page 7/29/02
Jaap Scherphuis Pyraminx/Tetraminx. http://www.org2.com/jaap/puzzles/pyraminx.htm Jaap's Puzzle Page 7/29/02