Playable
Try small browser experiments instead of only reading about them.
Eastern Puzzle ArchiveMaker-run resource / community lab
Ancient Puzzles.Living Mathematics.
A maker-run resource for old puzzle systems, recreational mathematics, and AI-assisted exploration, built for enthusiasts who like to read, test, and play with ideas.
Source-aware
Read what the sources can support, and where the story stays uncertain.
AI-curious
Use AI as a workshop tool for notation, search, explanation, and prototypes.
Community-built
Made for enthusiasts who want to suggest, correct, test, and share.
S = a(1 - r^n) / (1 - r)
Structure in play
Old Objects
Puzzles, toys, boards, and diagrams that survived because their rules still feel alive.
Mathematical Play
Geometry, symmetry, state, recursion, search, and complexity made tangible.
Hands-on Notes
Readable guides, original diagrams, and browser workbenches that make ideas testable.
AI Workshop
A place to ask what modern tools can reveal about very old forms of play.
Featured systems
The first shelf: shape, sequence, and search.
These three systems are the starting collection, not the edge of the project. I am using them to build a repeatable pattern for future puzzle toys, mathematical games, and AI experiments.
Geometry and dissection
Tangram
Seven simple tans become animals, letters, proofs, and silhouettes through area-preserving rearrangement.
- Math
- Shape transformation, symmetry, area, and convexity.
- Status
- Playable workbench
Binary state and recursion
Nine Linked Rings
A mechanical sequence puzzle where progress depends on legal state changes rather than brute force.
- Math
- Binary-like states, Gray code, recursion, and move counts.
- Status
- Playable state stepper
Sliding blocks and search
Huarong Dao
A compact sliding-block system that turns a historical story shape into an algorithmic search problem.
- Math
- State-space graphs, breadth-first search, heuristics, and optimization.
- Status
- Playable board
Research queue
What the site can grow into next.
I do not want to publish a new puzzle page just because a name is interesting. These candidates show the direction of travel: more old systems, more mathematical structure, and more careful AI experiments after the source work is ready.
Luban Lock
An interlocking construction puzzle family where the interesting question is how pieces constrain one another in three dimensions.
Needs source review before publication; likely useful for a future construction-toy and constraint-solving track.Go
A deep board game for territory, influence, and search that connects classical play with modern AI history.
Requires careful scope decisions because the source base is large; best treated as a research candidate before any public page.AI Puzzle Lab
A workshop track for turning puzzle states into notation, legal moves, search graphs, and small explainable prototypes.
This should stay in research until each prototype has tests, limitations, and a clear explanation of what AI is and is not deciding.Living mathematics
Make the hidden structure visible.
Geometry
See how equal areas survive rotation, reflection, and recombination.
State
Treat every valid position as a readable system state, not just a picture.
Recursion
Break long mechanical sequences into repeated smaller patterns.
Search
Understand how sliding-block puzzles become paths through a graph.
Library preview
Guides for readers who want more than a quick definition.
Start with the overview, then follow Tangram geometry, Nine Linked Rings recursion, and Huarong Dao search through edited English guides. The goal is useful explanation, not a dump of source text.
A Guide to Three Classical Chinese Puzzles
The opening guide frames the archive as a study of shape, sequence, and search across three classical Chinese puzzle systems.
Source pages 1-24Read guideA Short History of the Tangram
A careful history of Tangram origins, circulation, printed puzzle culture, and its later role in recreational mathematics.
Source pages 25-36Read guideMaking a Tangram
A practical guide to Tangram construction that explains why the standard cuts matter for play and mathematics.
Source pages 37-41Read guideTangram Mathematics
A source-backed path into dissection geometry, topology, graph thinking, and area-preserving transformations.
Source pages 42-96Read guideTangram Games
A guide to Tangram as a playable activity: free construction, silhouette solving, challenge rules, and group formats.
Source pages 97-100Read guideUnusual Uses of the Tangram
A survey of Tangram beyond pastime: demonstrations, teaching aids, design prompts, and visual reasoning tools.
Source pages 101-118Read guideTangrams Outside China
A reception history of Tangram abroad and the broader family of dissection puzzles influenced by its spread.
Source pages 119-137Read guideFrom Plane Tangram to Solid Tangram
A guide to three-dimensional Tangram ideas, spatial reasoning, and the shift from area-preserving figures to volume-aware construction.
Source pages 138-161Read guideNine Linked Rings as a Sequence System
A bridge from a traditional mechanical puzzle to binary-like state notation and recursive solving.
Source pages 162-193Read guideHuarong Dao and Sliding-Block Search
A source-backed guide to Huarong Dao as a Chinese sliding-block puzzle and a natural route into state-space exploration.
Source pages 205-289Read guideSources and methods
A personal project with a visible editing trail.
I am an independent AI developer with a nontraditional path into mathematics, physics, and old puzzle systems. This site is where I collect what I find, rewrite it in readable English, build small interactions around it, and invite other enthusiasts to improve the trail.