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Sliding-City Puzzle 
Report 
EVLU 4006 Child-Friendly Cities 
Instructor: Rae Bridgman 
Student Number: 7755712 
Gustavo Henrique Campos de Faria 
Email: camposgh@myumanitoba.ca 
Student Number: 7755684 
Ingrid Naylla Rocha Souza 
Email: rochasin@myumanitoba.ca 
 
 
 
University of Manitoba 
2014 
Sliding-City Puzzle Report Gustavo Campos | Ingrid Naylla 2 | P a g e 
 
Sliding-City Puzzle Report 
 
 
Gustavo Henrique Campos de Faria 
Instituto Metodista Izabela Hendrix 
Science without Borders student at University of Manitoba 
Ingrid Naylla Rocha Sousa 
Instituto de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais Professor Camillo Filho 
Science without Borders student at University of Manitoba 
Rae Bridgman 
Advisor Professor 
Child-Friendly Cities (EVLU 4006) 
Department of City Planning – Faculty of Architecture - University of Manitoba 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
 This paper draws from the process of toy creation using the principle of City Building as 
a base. The work team came up with the Sliding- City Puzzle that consists of a remaking of the 
Sliding-Tiles Puzzles in a three-dimensional perspective and also in order to create cityscapes. 
This study is part of the outline of Child-Friendly Cities instructed by Rae Bridgman at the 
University of Manitoba. This study is divided into 4 parts. First, it briefly describes the 
background that was crucial in the definition of toy elaboration and first steps of the study. In the 
second part, this report describes the methodology that was utilized by the work team. The third 
section presents a literature review according to the background of toy history and its 
surroundings. To conclude the article, the last section shows the findings and analysis after the 
elaboration of a prototype of the toy that was proposed by the work team. This study was 
developed by Gustavo Campos and Ingrid Naylla, Science without Borders students from Brazil. 
 
KEY WORDS: [toy], [city building], [cityscape], [sliding puzzle], [child-friendly cities] 
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INTRODUCTION 
Currently, the world is being globalized, and technology is taking over various spaces 
and games that marked the childhood of many people. Lack of time by parents and the hectic 
lifestyle that the child participates in from their small steps is creating a big gap between children 
and games/toys. Aiming to create a new generation that cares about children and their space in 
the world, our team proposes the introduction of a toy to be part of the everyday life of children 
and encourage the same for new games that do not necessarily fall within the virtual world and 
technology. 
 Children around the world spend a great part of their time playing, and it is an important 
activity because the toys that they use can offer fun and also serve as effective instructional tools. 
Puzzles are good to help in children’s development and some of the benefits that can be cited 
are: hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving, shape recognition, 
memory and setting small goals (Child Development Institute). Based on the knowledge about 
the benefits of puzzles to children’s development, it was aimed to create a puzzle taking as a 
basis the toy named Sliding-Tile Puzzle (See 
image 01). In this context, the team aims to 
create a similar board, with 4x4 tiles and the 
toy will be called Sliding-City Puzzle. The 
main goal of this work will be to create 
pieces of city on each tile allowing the child 
to create different organizations of the 
cityscape. The game enables children to use 
their imagination and play in different ways Image 01: Sliding-Tiles Puzzle 
Source: http://www.thelagoongroup.com/images/Produ 
cts/1196.jpg 
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such as creating new cityscapes, new boards to play with mini-cars or mini-dolls, and also to try 
to find the best way to organize the small city. The game gives children the opportunity to 
develop strategies to make the best city according to their thoughts. 
 In order to stimulate the creative development of the child, the project aims to reach 
children above 4 years. Without distinction of gender, the toy will reach the audience of boys and 
girls. 
 
BACKGROUND 
 The Sliding-Tile Puzzle consists of a board divided into a grid square. Each grid square 
has a tile, and one square is kept empty. With that, a tile close to the empty grid square can be 
slipped into the empty space, leaving its old position empty. The goal of this toy is to create a 
configuration of tiles from a different configuration by moving the individual tiles around the 
grid (The 8-Puzzle). 
 There is no certainty regarding who was the creator of the sliding piece puzzle. Two 
important names related to the creation of this type of toy are Sam Loyd (1841-1911) in America 
and Henry Dudeney (1847-1930) in England. The most known type of sliding- tile puzzle is the 
15' puzzles, and following the same principle, many others were invented. In August 1878, 
Ernest Kinsey was granted a patent for a 6 x 6 square sliding block puzzle in which all the pieces 
were tongued and grooved to prevent any of them falling out, and it was the first to suggest a 
single space into which another block could be slid (Hordern, 1986, p. 18). 
METHODOLOGY 
 'Although technology has changed children's experiences, children's priorities have 
remained reasonably stable over the last decades' (Freeman, Claire and Paul Tranter, 2011, p20). 
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The idea of remaking an old toy came when the passage above was read because it showed that 
if children's priorities remained similar to the last decades, it would be the same with their 
interest in toys which were developed for children some years ago. Old toys have been studied in 
order to give a new use for it and at the same time, allow children to create new ways to use the 
toy. 
After the first month of research, it was decided that the toy used as reference for the 
development of the project would be, the already mentioned, Sliding-Tile Puzzle. Before starting 
the development of the prototype, a visit to some toy stores was made in order to find the toy that 
would serve as a base. The toy was found in a toy store called Toad Hall Toys localized at 
54 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 1G7. During the site visit, some furniture 
miniatures were seen and then the idea of using three-dimensional elements on top of each tile in 
our toy arose. Also, with the use of three-dimensional elements the toy would become more 
attractive to children. Another idea, which raised from group discussions, is the use of famous 
landscapes around the world, so people could enjoy playing with a toy that allows them to have 
an identity with these places. 
With the purpose of gaining knowledge about the product acceptance in the market of 
toys, a search for studies that contained data about the subject was made. According to The 
European Competitiveness and Sustainable Industrial Policy Consortium, ECSIP Consortium for 
short: " board games and puzzles show stable market share forecasts, as they face most direct 
competition from video games, tablets and smart phone applications". From this information and 
other research, it was concluded that the product has a chance to enter the toy market. 
The development of the prototype followed some steps. First, a sliding-tile puzzle was 
purchased to allow the study of dimensions and materials to be used. After, it was decided that 
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the toy would be made in larger scale due to the use of three-dimensional pieces. The design of 
the toy was done in Sketch Up, that is a 3D modeling program used in many areas such as 
architecture, interior design,civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design 
(Sketch Up). The chosen material was plastic because as the pieces require great precision in the 
grooves to allow the sliding of parts, the pieces could be printed in a three-dimensional printer 
that is available at University of Manitoba. The dimensions used are the following: 
 
 
 
 
Image 02: Proposed board game 
Image 03: Proposed piece Image 04: Displacement system 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_engineering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_developer
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LITERATURE REVIEW 
 Childhood is an important step in life. It is a period of learning, playing and education. 
This is the freedom time that allows children to learn about responsibilities, but it also is a time 
for play and mess. Toys are an important way to teach and amuse children. But the reflection 
between architecture and toys are a complex world of questions. From the question proposed by 
Brenda and Robert in their book Architecture on the Carpet: The Curious Tale of Construction 
Toys and the Genesis of Modern Buildings (2013), “Does architecture drive the toy or does the 
toy reflect the architecture of the time?” the author of this book when questioned, in an interview 
what conclusion they have about this question, Brenda said, “I think the most serious answer is 
that playing with modular construction sets teaches a lot about the process of building and this 
may be more significant than what can be built with the sets.” (Charlotte County Florida 
Weekly). From this answer, the Sliding-City Puzzle reflects in its modular construction and its 
freedom of play, allowing children to learn with it not only about the process of building, but 
also about the spatial organization of the cities and also its role in society. And it might reflect in 
their career and community participation over time. Architecture on the Carpet: The Curious 
Tale of Construction Toys and the Genesis of Modern Buildings also analyzes the connections 
between toys and architectural and social movements. It also shows a reflection about how toys 
influence the growth of children and how toys reflect in their future careers. The book also 
explores the gender bias and the class directions of construction toys, being an important tool to 
elaboration of this work. 
 
 
 
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ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 
 Through the development of a city building toy, the Sliding-City Puzzle (see Image 05) is 
an interactive toy that allows a wide field of imagination and at the same time it is an educational 
toy reflecting the conceptions of city development, order and space for children. It is also a board 
game that has a wide acceptance by 
the commercial market. With that, the 
implementation of this toy in the 
market can be successful according to 
its acceptance for children. It also 
regards some points for improvement, 
in order to turn the toy more accessible 
to all social classes. Through analyses, 
the work team also observed that this 
toy can have different perspectives of 
play, amplifying the use of this board 
game. 
 In order to study the acceptance of this toy, the second step for development of this work 
would be the study of the toy insertion into groups of children. To develop this research, the 
group team has suggested development of a study which consists in selection of 6 groups with 4 
kids each being: GROUP 01: low familial income, only boys, GROUP 02: low familial income, 
only girls, GROUP 03: low familial income, mixed group, boys and girls, GROUP 04: high 
familial income, only boys, GROUP 05: high familial income, only girls, GROUP 06: high 
familial income, mixed group, boys and girls. In these groups, a full board with extra pieces will 
Image 05: 3D model – Sliding-City Puzzle 
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be distributed and a commercial 
advertising (see Image 06) will be 
shown for these groups. Through 
analysis of observation, it will be 
possible to analyze the reaction of 
these children with the toy and also 
the way of play. After this study of 
observation, a small and interactive 
survey will be answered by these 
children in order to collect their own 
opinion about the toy. After that, through a study of the answers of the survey and the reports 
about the observation the work team will have notion about the use and develop the next steps 
until the implementation of the Sliding-City Puzzle in the market. 
After the elaboration of the prototype toy (see 
Image 07), the work team could also reflect about the 
materials utilized for it. The toy will regard a different 
material than that used to construct the prototype, in order 
to turn this toy less heavy, cheaper and also be possible to 
amplify the scale of production. 
 As cited before, this toy also has the possibility 
to amplify its use in many ways. At the first moment, it is a three-dimensional board game in 
order to produce different moulds for city. But it can also reproduce famous 
landscapes/cityscapes around the world, as an example downtown Toronto, Canada, with the CN 
 Image 06: Commercial Advertisement – including 
 YouTube link to online access 
 
 Image 07: Prototype 
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Tower (see Image 08), the Trocadero Square, Paris, with the Eiffel Tower (see Image 09), and as 
a last example the Ministries Esplanade (Esplanada dos Ministérios), Brazil, with the Niemeyer’s 
work (Brasilia Cathedral, and so on) (see Image 10). 
 The Sliding-City Building is a toy that has the power of imaginative use, allowing 
different perspectives and uses. With that, distinct studies can show different findings and 
analyses than those presented in this paper. This toy was created in order to develop the thinking 
for children, and it relates to the children as members of the community. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONCLUSION 
 This study introduced a new toy called Sliding-City Puzzle. In this paper, the work team 
shows how they developed their work process in order to produce a remade toy with basis in 
literature review and research. 
Image 08: CN Tower – Toronto – ON – CA 
Image 09: Eiffel Tower – Paris - France 
Image 10: Brasilia Cathedral – Brasilia – DF - Brazil 
 
Image 08 
 
Image 09 
 
Image 10 
 
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To conclude this paper, the work team came up with findings and analysis that are an 
important reflection about the results of this paper. This presented a possibility to introduce the 
toy to the market, in order to turn it into a part of children’s everyday life. 
The Sliding-City Puzzle is an interactive and educational toy, but it also offers 
entertainment to children. In order to promote the childhood and insert children to the 
community, this toy provides a wide range of imaginative possibilities, making them reflect 
about spatial organization of cities, sustainability and the importance of green areas around the 
city, and it also promotes pedagogical skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor 
skills, problem solving, shape recognition, memory and setting small goals. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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REFERENCES 
Learn The Benefits Of Puzzles For Children And Their Development. (2011, November 2). 
Retrieved October 24, 2014, from http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-activities/why-
puzzles-are-good-for-your-childs-development/ 
 
The 8-Puzzle. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2014, from 
http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~gwickler/eightpuzzle-inf.htmlHordern, E. (1986). History of the Sliding Block Puzzle. In Recreations in Mathematics Sliding 
piece puzzles. New York: Oxford University Press. 
 
Freeman, C., & Tranter, P. (2011). Children and their urban environment: Changing worlds. 
 London: Earthscan. 
 
Study on the competitiveness of the toy industry Final Report by ECSIP Consortium. (2013, 
 August 30). Retrieved October 31, 2014, from 
 http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/6653/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/
 native 
 
The SketchUp Story. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2014, from 
 http://www.sketchup.com/about/sketchup-story 
 
 
Sliding-City Puzzle Report Gustavo Campos | Ingrid Naylla 13 | P a g e 
Vale, B., & Vale, R. (2013). Architecture on the carpet: The curious tale of construction toys and 
 the genesis of modern buildings. London: Thames & Hudson. 
 
Stetson, N. (2014, July 24). ARCHITECTURE ON THE CARPET | Punta Gorda and Port 
 Charlotte Newspaper | News, Business, Real Estate and Arts in Charlotte County FL | 
 Florida. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from 
 http://charlotte.floridaweekly.com/news/2014-07-
 24/Arts_(and)_Entertainment_News/ARCHITECTURE_ON_THE_CARPET.html 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sliding-City Puzzle Report Gustavo Campos | Ingrid Naylla 14 | P a g e 
 
Student Number: 7755712 
Gustavo Henrique Campos de Faria 
Email: camposgh@myumanitoba.ca 
 
 
University of Manitoba 
2014 
Student Number: 7755684 
Ingrid Naylla Rocha Souza 
rochasin@myumanitoba.ca 
 
 
 
EVLU 4006 Child-Friendly Cities 
Instructor: Rae Bridgman