Know When to Hold 'Em

by Derek Kisman

Answer: RIME

Solving this puzzle is fairly straightforward once you recognize what all the lines mean. The diagram is an "unfolding" of a 3D shape, similar to the cross you get from unfolding a cube. To produce the shape, you just need to print out the pattern, cut along all the black lines, and fold along the other lines. You want to fold 90 degrees downwards along blue lines and upwards along red lines (this is the natural, and easiest, way to do it, since the "outside" of the shape will become the one with the lines and numbers on it).

A little work (and tape) should cause the final shape to emerge. It is an

enclosed 5x5x5 solid consisting of connected 1x1x1 cubes. The five

cross-sections, top to bottom, look like this:

..... .X..X XXX.. ..... .....

X...X X...X X.X.. ..... ....X

X...X ..... .X... ..... ....X

X...X X...X XXX.X X.X.X X.X.X

..... ...X. X.XXX ....X .....

To get letters from this, we just look at the solid along each of the three

axes:

XXX.2 X...X .XXX.

1.X.X X3.XX XX.XX

XX..X XXXXX 4XXXX

XXX.X X.X.X XX...

X.XXX X...X .XXX.

The numbers label the visible letters, giving us the word RIME.