page_title: Disentanglement puzzle
section_title: Wire-and-string puzzles
hierarchical_section_title: Disentanglement puzzle / Wire-and-string puzzles
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of the "mini rope bridge puzzle" and how to solve it.
context_page_description: Disentanglement puzzles are a type or group of mechanical puzzle that involves disentangling one piece or set of pieces from another piece or set of pieces. Several subtypes are included under this category, the names of which are sometimes used synonymously for the group: wire puzzles; nail puzzles; ring-and-string puzzles; et al. Although the initial object is disentanglement, the reverse problem of reassembling the puzzle can be as hard as—or even harder than—disentanglement. There are several different kinds of disentanglement puzzles, though a single puzzle may incorporate several of these features.
context_section_description: Wire-and-string puzzles usually consist of: 
  one piece of string, ribbon or similar, which may form a closed loop or which may have other pieces like balls fixed to its end.
  one or several pieces of stiff wire
  sometimes additional pieces like wooden ball through which the string is threaded.
  One can distinguish three subgroups of wire-and-string puzzles:
  Closed string subgroup: The pieces of string consist of one closed loop, as in the Baguenaudier puzzle. Usually the string has to be disentangled from the wire.
  Unclosed loose string subgroup: The pieces of string are not closed, and are not attached to the wire. In this case the ends of the string are fitted with a ball, cube or similar which stops the string from slipping out too easily. Usually the string has to be disentangled from the wire. Sometimes other tasks have to be completed instead, such as shifting a ring or ball from one end of the string to another end.
  Unclosed fixed string subgroup: The pieces of string are not closed, but are somewhere on its length attached to the wire.  In these puzzles the string is not to be disentangled from the wire. One possible task may be to shift a ring or ball from one end of the string to another end.
  One particularly difficult puzzle was designed by R. Boomhower in 1966 and has been modified into different designs (but topologically similar). Different versions include a paddle-shaped design, a vertical beam on a wood support, and two vertical beams on a wood support. Variations also have the string passing through the slot once or two times. Names have included the Boomhower puzzle, T-Bar puzzle, Wit's End puzzle, and the Mini Rope Bridge puzzle. Some sources identify a topologically-equivalent puzzle called the Mystery Key issued by the Peter Pan company in the 1950s.
caption: The "Mini rope bridge puzzle". The goal is to remove the two rings. (solution shown).
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