Origami Heaven

A paperfolding paradise

The website of writer and paperfolding designer David Mitchell

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Why not try reading my Blog? - Life, Death and Paperfolding
 
  The vast majority of my puzzles are paperfolding puzzles, that is puzzles which are solved (and often also set) by folding paper.

Many of these can be found in my book Paperfolding Puzzles. My developments of the famous Flexatube puzzle are published in Silverflexagons and the Flexatube.

Both these books can be purchased from any good on-line retailer. However, as time permits, they will all be added to this page as well.

By downloading these diagrams you agree that they are for your personal use only in the terms of the copyright permission set out on the Permissions and fees page and that you will not otherwise distribute these diagrams in any way.

 
 
 
About Paperfolding Puzzles
 
Transformation Puzzles
 
The object of a transformation puzzle is to change one state of a puzzle into another. There is a sense in which every paperfolding puzzle is a transformation puzzle, but I usually reserve the term for apparatus puzzles where the possibility for such a transformation seems unlikely. Transformation puzzles can also be set up so that the aim is to find a route that avoids one particular intermediate state.
 
  Purgatory       Solution to Purgatory
             
  Limbo   Template for Limbo   Solution to Limbo
             
  Sheep and Goats (by Robert E Neale)   Template for Sheep and Goats   Solution to Sheep and Goats
             
  Night and Day   Template for Night and Day   Solution to Night and Day
             
  Three in a Row (by Robert E Neale)   Template for Three in a Row   Solution to Three in a Row
             
  Five in a Row   Template for Five in a Row   Solution to Five in a Row
             
  1, 2, 3, 4   Template for 1, 2, 3, 4   Solution to 1, 2, 3, 4
             
  End to End       Solution to End to End
             
  Trading Places (by Robert E Neale)   Template for Trading Places   Solution to Trading Places
             
  T-Time       Solution to T-Time
             
  The Windmill Flexagon       Solution to the Windmill Flexagon
 
Shape Making Puzzles
 
In shape forming puzzles the object is to fold the paper to match the shape of a given flat shape or motif.
 
 
  Nimue’s Mat        
 
 
Pattern Forming Puzzles
 
In pattern forming puzzles the object is to fold a piece of irogami (paper which is white one side and coloured the other) to match a specified target pattern.
 
 
 
Layering Puzzles
 
The object of a layering puzzle is to fold a sheet of paper so that the corners, or other clearly identifiable parts, such as certain squares within a larger grid, lie on top of each other in a given order.
 
           
 
Table-Top Puzzles
 
A table-top puzzle is a folding puzzle where some part of one or other surface of the paper must remain in contact with the top of a table (or a similar hard surface) while each of the folds (or unfolds) that lead to a solution is being made.
 
           
 
Fold and One Cut Puzzles
 
The challenge of a Fold and One Cut puzzle is to fold a sheet of paper in such a way that the target shape can be cut from the paper using just a single straight cut. It is worth noting that, despite the name, Fold and Cut puzzles are pure origami puzzles. The solution is achieved just by folding the paper. The cut simply confirms that the solution has been found.
 
           
 
Modular Assembly Puzzles
 
The object of assembly puzzles is to find how to put pre-folded paper modules together to create a given form or pattern or combination of both.
 
 
Miscellaneous Puzzles