Puzzling Stack Exchange
Puzzling Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mechanical-puzzles]

Puzzles that are physically made and have some sort of mechanism for turning or moving them, such as Rubik's Cubes or trick boxes.

Puzzles that involve physical objects and have moving or rotating parts fall under this tag. For example, questions involving Rubik's cubes (or variants on a rubik's cubes) and trick boxes.

136 questions
20
votes
5 answers

People trapped in a shrinking room

D'alar'cop and Rand al'Thor wake up and find themselves trapped in a square shaped room. Suddenly, all four walls start moving at the exact same time, and each of them moves at the same speed towards the center of the room. D'alar'cop and Rand…
pacoverflow
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votes
1 answer

A haunted vending machine that you can't see inside

This question asks about a strange vending machine in which coins can fall out as well as being deposited in, and all the coins it asks for must be deposited before the machine will accept them. That got me thinking, what would happen if you…
user88
13
votes
3 answers

Oskar van Deventer's “haunted vending machine puzzle”

Oskar van Deventer has created the “haunted vending machine puzzle”. You have to insert coins into the slots 1, 2, 3 or 4. A coin that hits a green switch on its head rests there; a coin that hits a switch on its leg changes switch position. A…
Harvey
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11
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2 answers

Arrange coins on 3x3 table from vertical to horizontal

In 5 moves, rearrange the coins. From 1st picture to 2nd picture. Each move consists of rotate (right/left) 4 (in 2x2 grid) coins at one time.
Jamal Senjaya
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7
votes
0 answers

Wooden disentanglement puzzle with two metal parts, and a string ended by two wood balls

I am convinced this puzzle is not possible, yet it is not easy to prove. It seems, by analogy with another puzzle, that if the board can't pass into a metal ring, it can't be solved. Description: A wooden board with 4 holes in which the wooden…
Gaspartame
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6
votes
4 answers

Where should I start on the Ghost Cube?

The Ghost Cube is a 3x3 shape modification which is solved when two layers are rotated out of position. As a result, in order to solve the puzzles, you need to move pieces into positions where they don't necessarily line up with the other centers or…
user20
4
votes
1 answer

How to solve wooden octagon box puzzle?

This is a puzzle with a hidden mechanism I have had for probably 20 years and recently found. The two halves of the box can not rotate. There is something inside that rattles and rolls around, perhaps a bearing. I can pull the halves very slightly…
user51689
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2
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1 answer

halloween.zip file

I found an envelope in my mailbox today. It had some some weird looking symbol where the sender's address should have been, but I decided to open it anyway. We've been watching you. Since you enjoy puzzles, we've taken the liberty of offering you…
David Starkey
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1
vote
1 answer

Unsolved Ring Puzzle

I have not been able to solve this puzzle. I believe that the objective is to remove the larger circular ring, not the 2 smaller ones.
Display name
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