What Is the Name of the 7-Piece Chinese Puzzle? Tangram & Other Possibilities

There's no single "7-piece Chinese puzzle" – the description fits several puzzles. The most famous is:

Tangram

The classic 7-piece dissection puzzle (qi qiao ban, "seven boards of skill") consisting of:

• 5 triangles (2 large, 1 medium, 2 small)
• 1 square
• 1 parallelogram

These tans form a square when assembled, but can create thousands of silhouettes – animals, people, objects, geometric shapes.

Other Possibilities

• Tangram variants – Some modern puzzles use 7 pieces with different shapes
• Burr puzzles – Interlocking wooden puzzles; some 7-piece versions exist
• Custom/artisan puzzles – Many designers create unique 7-piece Chinese-style puzzles

How to Identify Yours

1. Photograph it – Piece shapes, markings, box art
2. Note the material – Wood, plastic, ivory, cardboard?
3. Describe the goal – Form a square? Match silhouettes? Interlock into a shape?
4. Check for markings – Maker's marks, Chinese characters, patent numbers

With images and details, puzzle communities (Reddit's r/puzzles, PuzzleWorld, or BoardGameGeek) can usually identify specific designs.