About

This puzzle has a red frame in the shape of a cross containing 20 tiles. The centre of the cross 2×2 tiles large. The vertical arms contain a plunger with a block of 6×2 tiles which can slide up or down as a whole by two steps from its central position, so that all its tiles can reach the centre 2×2 square. The horizontal arms similarly have a 2×6 block of tiles that can be slid sideways two tiles in either direction. Every tile is split in half diagonally, one half coloured, the other half blank. This can be done in four different orientations, and indeed there are four tiles of each colour in the puzzle. Five colours are used, namely red, yellow, blue, green and purple, making up the 20 tiles of the puzzle. In the solved position the four tiles of each colour together form a diagonal square. This puzzle was sold on the 125th anniversary of the Red Cross (i.e. 1988) and they received part of the proceeds. It was invented by Athanasios Margaritis, patented on 20 October 1988, DE 3,711,368. If your browser supports JavaScript, then you can play the Magic Cross by clicking the link below: