Eternity II

Eternity is a mighty long time, but it's probably how long the makers of Eternity II hope it will take you to solve their fiendishly vexing puzzle. Why? Well for starters this infuriating geometric head-scratcher took yonks to design. Secondly - and more importantly - the first person to solve it wins $2 million. You heard, $2 million!

If your eyeballs have just started spinning around, cash register-styley, let's be sensible and put this into perspective: Eternity II is stupidly difficult, nay impossible, there are 256 pieces bordered by various coloured patterns which must be aligned across the whole of the puzzle and…hang on a minute, forget perspective. Let's look on the bright side - it could be you. Mmm…money!

This ingenious jigsaw-inspired brain-mangler is guaranteed to have you stroking your chin and wiping away the drool of anticipation in equal measure. After all $2 million is not to be sniffed at. Just ask the two Cambridge eggheads who solved the original Eternity puzzle back in 2000. Okay so they won £1 million, and even then they split it, but you get the idea.

Unlike most jigsaw puzzles, which only have one correct solution, there are thousands of ways Eternity II can be completed. Sadly that doesn't make it any easier to solve. What will help, however, are the two further 'clue' puzzles that complete the Eternity II range. By solving these you'll receive the locations of key pieces in the main puzzle to take you one step closer to that lovely lolly.

If you're a complete puzzle-dunce, don't despair. According to its creator, Christopher Monckton, Eternity II is just as likely to be solved by a 5-year-old as a mathematical genius. Apparently age and academic ability don't come into it. Then again Mr Monckton is a former policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher. But there are loads of reasons why you shouldn't hold that against him. In fact we can think of two million rather good ones!