NaeF competition X2

Once again I have entered the biannual Naef toy competition at Virginia Tech. This time I teamed up with a classmate who won third prize in the previous competition. Like one of the original toys designed by Kurt Naef this is a simple wooden block that is meant for imaginative exploration of geometry.competition board

Naef Toy

A little over a year ago I submitted an entry for a competition put on by the Naef toy company. Although the original idea was not to make a puzzle, the toy developed as such. Essentially the toy is intended to be a manipulation of classic blocks that introduces rare-earth magnets as an added level of complexity. The competition board shows how multiple sets of eight blocks can be used together.

axonometric conceptualization

competition board

the finished product

Corners are eased by chamfering them so that there are no sharp edges to chip off as the toy is played with over time.

here you can see one of the neodymium magnets before being glued into a block

the cubes are sized for tactility and ease of manipulation