Einstein Origami Paper Puzzles & Games - by Sy Chen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The ultimate fusion of puzzles and origami!

In Einstein Origami Puzzles, origami master Sy Chen shows you how to fold ingenious hat-shaped "Einstein" paper pieces that fit together endlessly without ever repeating the same pattern. Chen provides clear, step-by-step instructions and photos for dozens of fascinating paper puzzles and brain teasers you can create with simple paper polygons.

You'll start by learning to fold the "Einstein" polygon from a single sheet of paper. This unique shape baffled mathematicians for many decades until a clever hat-shaped version was discovered in 2023. Chen then developed a folded paper version of this remarkable shape, along with many variations--including one folded from a dollar bill! All of these are featured in this groundbreaking book.

Along with his 10 innovative "Einstein" tiles, Chen also offers instructions for creating folded paper shapes used in entertaining geometric puzzles and games, such as:

• Polyominoes: Tetris-like folded paper pieces that can be fitted together in a variety of ways
• Tangrams: Seven simple origami shapes that form deceptively challenging tangram puzzles
• Rep-Tiles: Geometric shapes formed of smaller pieces having the same shape
• And more: Including a unique origami jigsaw puzzle

The perfect book for anyone who loves brain teasers, mathematical challenges and jigsaw puzzles!

Review Quotes

"Sy Chen has earned a strong reputation as a creative, ingenious and elegant origami artist, and Einstein Origami Paper Puzzles & Games lives up to that reputation." --Thomas C. Hull, author of Origametry: Mathematical Methods in Paper Folder

About the Author

Sy Chen is a master origamist who has been folding for over 40 years. His simple and elegant designs use clever color changes and folded lines to capture the essence of a model. His passion for geometric puzzles led him to origami designs based on commercial puzzles. In 2023, his origami tiling of the newly discovered "Einstein hat" shape led to becoming a finalist for the Einstein Mad Hat Award, hosted by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust and the National Museum of Mathematics. He has published three origami books and is an active member of a group of paper folders based outside Washington, D.C. He lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife.

Michael G. LaFosse has been an origami artist for decades, and is an acknowledged authority and master of the art. An avid teacher, LaFosse co-founded the Origamido Studio, a learning center and design studio dedicated to the art of origami, and the only place in the world specializing in handmade papermaking for the origami artist community. Origamido also produces folded art and commercial designs for a variety of international clients. LaFosse co-curated Origami Now!, a wildly popular, year-long exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Vanessa Gould prominently features LaFosse in the Peabody Award-winning film, Between the Folds.