Hexiamonds – The Game Pieces

Hexiamonds are formed by joining 6 equilateral triangles. Since there are 12 different ways to do this, there are 12 hexiamonds. Hexiamonds belong to the family of polyamonds.

12 Hexiamonds

Puzzles made of Hexiamonds

Shapes and Solving Programs

The Hexiamond shape page shows a selection of the many symmetrical shapes that can be created with hexiamonds.

The figure templates offered in the download section are suitable for both handmade cardboard pieces and 3D-printed pentominoes.

Custom shapes can be created using the solver program provided on this website or with free tools such as Puzzlesolver, and they can be checked for solvability.

Craft templates for cardboard hexiamonds
Craft templates for cardboard hexiamonds
Shape made from cardboard hexiamonds
Shape made from cardboard hexiamonds
3D-printed hexiamonds placed on a template
3D-printed hexiamonds placed on a template
Hexiamondfigur Katze
Hexiamond shape

Solvability of hexiamond shapes

hexiamond pieces church and comb
Hexiamond pieces church and comb with unevenly distributed triangles
screenshot solver program
This shape consists of 39 upward-pointing triangles and 33 downward-pointing triangles. The difference (parity) is 6. This shape cannot be assembled using the twelve hexiamond pieces.

Each hexiamond shape — and therefore each individual puzzle piece — is made up of two different types of equilateral triangles: those pointing upward and those pointing downward.

Ten of the twelve hexiamonds contain three triangles pointing up and three pointing down. In the remaining two (see the left illustration), the ratio is four to two. Overall, this gives a fixed distribution of triangle types for the complete set of twelve hexiamonds.

When attempting to form a shape using all twelve hexiamonds, an important rule applies:
Count how many triangles in the target shape point upward and how many point downward. The difference between these two numbers may only be 0, +4, or –4. If the difference lies outside this range, the shape cannot be solved with the available pieces.

The shape shown on the left contains 39 upward-pointing triangles and 33 downward-pointing triangles. The difference is 6, which is outside the allowed range. Therefore, this figure cannot be constructed using all twelve hexiamonds.

One Sided Hexiamonds

The one-sided hexiamonds are a variant of the classical hexiamond puzzle.

Among the twelve regular hexiamond pieces, seven are not mirror-symmetric. If you treat their mirror images as distinct shapes – playing without flipping the pieces – the set expands to a total of 19 different hexiamonds.

Where do you get the one-sided hexiamonds?

To create an extended set of hexiamonds, you can use the available 3D-printing templates or the craft templates for cardboard hexiamonds, even though these were originally designed for the standard set of twelve.

It is important that the front and back of each piece are colored differently so that mirror images remain distinguishable as separate shapes.

one sided hexiamonds


Close-up of a one-sided hexiamond
One-sided hexiamond shape 1
One-sided hexiamond shape 2

Shapes with maximum symmetry

A hexiamond shape can have at most six-fold rotational symmetry and six mirror axes. One example of such a fully symmetrical shape is the star assembled from eight hexiamonds.

It is indeed possible to construct shapes with full symmetry using 4, 7, 8, 9, or 10 hexiamond pieces.

With the standard set of 12 hexiamonds this is not possible — none of the achievable shapes exhibit full symmetry.

However, with the extended set of 19 pieces several fully symmetrical shapes do exist..

fully symmetrical hexiamond shape made from 8 pieces
fully symmetrical hexiamond shape made from 8 pieces – one solution
fully symmetrical hexiamond shape of the extended set
fully symmetrical hexiamond shape of the extended set – one solution

Some shapes made from one-sided hexiamonds

one sided hexiamond shape 1
124219 solutions
one sided hexiamond shape
4606 solutions
one sided hexiamond shape 3
16 solutions
one sided hexiamond shape 4
54 solutions
one sided hexiamond shape 5
137 solutions
one sided hexiamond shape 6
76 solutions

Resources & Downloads

3D Printing Templates

To create an extended set of hexiamonds, you can use the 3D-print templates of the “regular” hexiamonds.

To ensure that the front and back sides are distinguishable, they should be printed in two colors.

When using a monochrome 3D printer, this requires changing the filament during the printing process.

hexiamond puzzle with box
hexiamond shape from  3d printed hexiamonds

Solving Program

Screenshot solving program
screenshot solving program one sided hexiamonds

The solvers for the “regular” hexiamonds and for the extended set are part of a software collection available for download on Itch.io. It is for Windows only.

IMPORTANT: For a correct installation, please read the Instructions before unpacking!


Crafting Templates

Download of multicolored crafting templates and an assembly guide for a cardboard pentomino puzzle


Shape templates matching the crafting templates

Hexiamond Crafting Template
Hexiamond Shape Template