Confounded by puzzles* since 1967

For 5 full days I struggled with the 20th and final** (Expert level!) puzzle of Thinkfun’s “Cover Your Tracks”. The (GD) game was literally the first thing I did when I got up and the last thing I did before bed. In this game you are given four different shapes and have to cover up certain sections of the board using all four of the pieces. Here’s Effie with the solution to one of the Intermediate level puzzles:


Number 20 haunted my sleep for many a night to the point that I was convinced that a solution to it was simply not possible and had Gillian investigate the answer to assure me that, rather than an elaborate joke, it could in fact be done… only in a slightly different way from puzzles 1-19. Upon hearing this, Fergus immediately took the puzzle out of my hands and came up with this innovative 3-d creation:


Very clever, and all the tracks are indeed covered. But unfortunately not - legally - correct. Then, finally, at 7:36 yesterday evening I solved the stupid thing. I’d post a picture of the prize-winning*** solution but I wouldn’t want to spoil it since I’m sure I’ve built this game up enough that everyone is going to rush out and buy it pronto.

*and video games
**have since been informed by my ever-helpful-but-who-asked-you-to-look-anyway wife that 20 more can be downloaded and printed off the internet
***major familial hugs amidst a collective sigh of relief