How to Make a Pentominoes Puzzle

The Twelve Pentominoes

Pentomino puzzles have been featured in several games and books; examples include the popular video game, Tetris, and the novel, "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett. Pentomino puzzles are fun and addictive, all the while teaching you spatial thinking. While there are many commercial puzzles available, it is easy and fun to make your own version.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 sheets of card stock
• 2 sheets of graph paper
• 1 black permanent marker
• Washable markers, various colors
• 1 manila folder
• 1 quart size zipper storage bag
• 1 paper clip

1. Know that there are 12 pentomino shapes. They are named for the letters they represent: F I L N P T U V W X Y Z. A pentomino is a shape composed of five congruent squares connected by at least one side. Since there are twelve pentominoes made of 5 squares each, pentomino puzzles are played on grids of 60 squares: 6 by 10, 5 by 12, 4 by 15, or 3 by 20.

2. Make your grids. Sketch them on one sheet of graph paper. Cut them out, then trace them onto card stock. Go over the lines with a permanent marker to make a border, then cut the grids out and set aside.

3. Make your puzzle pieces. Sketch out one of each pentomino onto graph paper. Cut them out and trace them onto card stock. Color the pentominoes. Try to use one color for each piece if you have enough markers available. Otherwise, just make it as colorful as possible. Then cut out the pieces and set aside.

4. Construct your folder, which will contain your puzzles. Open the folder and staple the zipper bag to one side of it. Your grids and pieces will be stored in the bag when you are not playing with your puzzle. Put the paper clip on the other side. This will be used to hold whichever grid you are playing on at the time.

5. Play pentominoes. Take a grid out of your bag and clip it onto the folder. Using your pentomino pieces, fill the grid by leaving no empty spaces and overlapping no pieces. Each grid size has several solutions, so enjoy finding them all.

Tips & Warnings

• Your puzzle can be made out of more durable materials if you desire. This method is just a cheaper, easier way good for use with your children or in a classroom where time and money are both limited resources.

• You can print graph paper rather than purchase it.

• While Tetris is inspired by pentominoes, it is not a true pentominoes puzzle. It uses some pieces that only have 4 congruent squares, which are called tetrominoes.