Tony Fisher (puzzle designer)

Tony Fisher is a British puzzle designer, who specialises in creating custom rotational puzzles. He is acknowledged by cubing enthusiasts as a pioneer in the creation of new puzzle designs and new manufacturing techniques.[1][2][3]

Career

Fisher first began creating puzzles in 1981, when he modified two existing Rubik’s cubes by joining them along one edge to create a new device called the Siamese cube.[1] This has been accredited as the first example of a “handmade modified rotational puzzle”.[1]

Tony Fisher at a puzzle event with one of his puzzles

In 1995 Fisher further modified the conventional rotational puzzle design by shifting its cutting planes to create a 3x3x4 cube.[1] This invention was further adapted in the creation of 2x3x4, 3x3x5 and 4x4x5 cube puzzles. Another technique, initially developed by Geert Hellings, rounded the centre piece of a conventional 4x4x4 cube to create additional turning layers for a uniform 2x2x4, 6x6x6 and non-uniform 2x2x6.[1] Fisher’s Golden Cubes, initially intended to be released as the Millennium Cube, began production in the early 2000s.[2] Created by modifying the Skewb, it is the first example of a rotational puzzle that features just one colour scheme, requiring the solver to restore the cube’s shape without the visual aid of having separate colours for each side.[1] The Golden Cube is considered to be Fisher’s most unusual contribution to the design of new combination puzzles,[1] and has been mass-produced by Uwe Meffert.[2]

This cube puzzle was followed by the Cube, using the modified mechanism from an Eastsheen 4x4x4 cube, and in 2007 the Hexaminx puzzle, a cubic version of the Megaminx for which Fisher has used new manufacturing techniques involving polyurethane resins.[1]

Since 1981 Fisher has designed and crafted around 100 puzzles based on different puzzle mechanisms.[1] As well as puzzle manufacturing, he has also worked for Suffolk County Council as an archaeologist.[4]

Puzzle designs

Examples of Fisher’s puzzle designs can be found at the Puzzle Museum, including his Cylinder Cube, Golden Cube, Hexagonal Prism, Truncated Octaminx and Truncated Octahedron.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Slocum, Jerry (2009). The Cube. The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Best Selling Puzzles. Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-57912-805-0.
  2. 1 2 3 "A Fully Operational 2x2x4 Cube with Uniform Cubies". TwistyPuzzles.com. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Dutch Cube Day". SpeedCubing.com. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Mr Tony Fisher, Archaeologist". Retrieved 19 July 2014.
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