| To make a set of tangram pieces Cut out a square piece of card. About 6 or 8 cm square is a good size. Lightly mark a 4 by 4 grid of squares on it, as shown in the diagram on the right, to act as guide-lines. |  |
 | Draw in the lines shown on the left (in red) and cut out along those lines. This should make the 7 pieces of the tangram as shown below. |
These 7 pieces are the basis of all tangram puzzles.
For each puzzle a shape is given, and you have to find how to make that shape using
ALL 7 PIECES.
Here is an example of a puzzle and its solution -
Here are 3 puzzles for you to try
OR go to Tangram Puzzles Set 1
Tangrams - Other Sources
Many of the books on this subject are out of print but are listed here because they are
a very good source of ideas and should be available through the usual library channels.Tangram,the Ancient Chinese shapes game Joost Elffers Penguin Books 1976 ISBN ? Contains over 1500 Tangram puzzles (and their solutions) Tangrams, 330 puzzles Ronald C Read Dover Publications 1965 ISBN 486 21483 4 It also introduces a 15-piece puzzle. The 8th Book of Tan Sam Loyd Dover Publications 1968 ISBN 0 486 220117 A Tangram Tale William Cameron Brockhampton Press 1972 ISBN 0 340 15949 9 A picture story of the Willow Pattern told in Tangrams For a historical account of the tangram puzzle and several examples of similar types of puzzles see Creative Puzles of the World Pieter van Delft & Jack Botermans Cassel Ltd 1978 ISBN 0 304 303003 OR Puzzles Old and New Jerry Slocum & Jack Botermans ADM International 1987 ISBN 1 85336 018 X
The Web has plenty of sites dealing with Tangrams You could go to the excellent Search Engine www.google.com/ and ask for 'tangrams' Or to a very good site, with lots of material and also many links to other sites at
Work intended specifically for the classroom can be found on this site here
| Tangram,the Ancient Chinese shapes game | |
| Penguin Books 1976 | ISBN ? |
| Contains over 1500 Tangram puzzles (and their solutions) | |
| Tangrams, 330 puzzles | Ronald C Read |
| Dover Publications 1965 | ISBN 486 21483 4 |
| It also introduces a 15-piece puzzle. | |
| The 8th Book of Tan | |
| Dover Publications 1968 | ISBN 0 486 220117 |
| A Tangram Tale | |
| Brockhampton Press 1972 | ISBN 0 340 15949 9 |
| A picture story of the Willow Pattern told in Tangrams | |
| For a historical account of the tangram puzzle and several examples of similar types of puzzles see | |
| Creative Puzles of the World | Pieter van Delft & Jack Botermans |
| Cassel Ltd 1978 | ISBN 0 304 303003 |
| OR | |
| Puzzles Old and New | Jerry Slocum & Jack Botermans |
| ADM International 1987 | ISBN 1 85336 018 X |
| The Web has plenty of sites dealing with Tangrams |
| You could go to the excellent Search Engine www.google.com/ and ask for 'tangrams' |
| Or to a very good site, with lots of material and also many links to other sites at |
| Work intended specifically for the classroom can be found on this site here |