{"product_id":"torture","title":"Torture | One Solution Out of 7,680 Assemblies","description":"\u003ch2\u003eTorture - Quick Summary\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTorture is a six-piece separated board burr designed by Frans de Vreugd in 2002, burr level 17.4. The six boards form 7,680 assemblies, and exactly one of those is a solution. Expert difficulty, 4+ hour solve time. Ships disassembled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBest for:\u003c\/strong\u003e burr collectors who already own a board burr or two and want the one with a genuinely unique solution, and solvers who have finished \u003ca href=\"\/products\/zigzag\"\u003eZigZag\u003c\/a\u003e and want the next step up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eOne Solution Out of 7,680 Assemblies\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost interlocking puzzles let you wander a bit. Torture does not. De Vreugd ran a computer search across every combination of pieces this shape allows. 7,680 of them are assemblies, meaning the boards genuinely form the finished shape. Exactly one of those assemblies is a solution, meaning it can actually be built and taken apart. Everything else is a dead end that looks correct right up until the last board will not drop in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe level reads 17.4. Seventeen moves to free the first board, four more for the second.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eMoves That Look Like Nothing\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDe Vreugd noticed a mechanism that keeps turning up in high level puzzles. Boards slide back and forth, apparently getting nowhere, purely to shift one other board a few units across. In Torture it takes seven moves to move a single board three units. Nothing is wasted and nothing looks like progress, which is most of what makes it hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also the design that made \u003ca href=\"\/products\/extreme-torture\"\u003eExtreme Torture\u003c\/a\u003e possible. Torture came first, and once de Vreugd had it he pushed the same search as far as it would go.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIt Arrives in Pieces\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix loose boards and the knowledge that they fit. There is no solved state to copy, and with one solution out of 7,680 assemblies there is not much room to guess your way in. Expect to put it down and come back to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTorture sits in the middle of the three. If you want all of them, they come together as the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/separated-board-burr-set\"\u003eSeparated Board Burr Set\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is a separated board burr?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA standard six board burr has six flat pieces in three pairs. In a separated board burr the two boards in each pair sit one unit apart rather than flush. The gap opens the shape up and allows much longer move sequences. Jim Gooch suggested the idea in 2002, Frans de Vreugd designed the puzzles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy is Torture so hard to assemble?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause almost every arrangement that looks right is wrong. The six boards form 7,680 assemblies and only one of those is a solution that can actually be built, so recognising the correct arrangement is a real part of the puzzle, not just executing the moves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDoes Torture arrive assembled?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. It ships as six separate boards, and assembling them is the challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Torture harder than Extreme Torture?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. Torture is level 17.4, Extreme Torture is level 28-22-9-8-3. Torture is the one to solve first.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Greg Puzzles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51411272269991,"sku":"GP-TORT","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0668\/2827\/1783\/files\/torture_marble.png?v=1790218238","url":"https:\/\/gregpuzzles.com\/products\/torture","provider":"Greg Puzzles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}