Eternity puzzle

As soon as the puzzle was launched, an online community emerged devoted to solving it, centred on a mailing list[4] on which many ideas and techniques were discussed.

The hope of solving the end-game depended vitally on having pieces that were easy to tile together in a variety of shapes.

[5] Key to their success was the mathematical rigour with which they approached the problem of determining the tileability of individual pieces and of empty regions within the board.

[9] According to Alex Selby the puzzle was actually significantly easier to solve without enforcing any fixed hint pieces.

[1] One estimate made at the time stated that the puzzle had 10500 possible attempts at a solution, and it would take longer than the lifetime of the Universe to calculate all of them even if you had a million computers.

[10] Once solved, Monckton claimed that the earlier-than-expected solution had forced him to sell his 67-room house, Crimonmogate, to pay the prize.

[2] The architectural design of the Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia, was heavily influenced by the eternity puzzle; the exterior design is also strongly reflected throughout the main arena, foyers, breakout function rooms and the entrance to the venue.