MinimIce

Minimal Icehouse Pieces

Brass sheet cut and folded

February 1998

horizontal rule

Explanation

Another view

So, the theory is that even though most Icehouse pieces are solid pyramids, really most games only use either the square base or one of the triangular sides of the pyramid at any given time. At least, that was the theory back in 1998 when I made these pieces. Things have changed quite a bit with the newer hollow pieces and their stackability. Anyway, with that theory as a starting point, I decided to cut Icehouse pieces down to the bare minimum, just a triangle and a square, joined at the correct angle for form's sake. Remember, at the time you couldn't buy Icehouse pieces of any kind, except for paper pieces, and those take some patience to construct. I figured maybe pieces like MinimIce could maybe be stamped out very easily. The point is moot with today's factory perfect plastic pieces, but they were fun to make.

Anyway, even though these pieces weren't very useful for playing Icehouse, they're perfectly serviceable for Zarcana and other games that use the pieces symbolicaly instead of physically.

Materials

There's probably a more economical way to buy sheet brass, but I bought 4"x6" rectangles of it at the craft store. It's only about 1/32" of an inch thick, and I don't remember how much it cost.

The Process

I drew triangles and squares in a drawing package, according to the specification. Then, I arranged them so that the tips of the pieces would interlock. I printed the design onto a 3"x5" sticker, and applied the pattern to my sheet brass. Using a pair of super scissors (the kind that EMTs use), I cut along my printed lines. Cutting with the scissors makes the brass curl, so I had to flatten out everything before I could continue. then, I just bent the brass where the square and triangle met, and voila.


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