fivesquare

Fivesquare is not a single, universally defined term; it appears in several contexts across mathematics, puzzles, design, and branding. When used in mathematics and recreational puzzles, the phrase often points to a class of five-square shapes.

In mathematics and recreational puzzles, five-square commonly refers to pentominoes—the polyominoes formed by five unit squares connected edge-to-edge.

There are 12 distinct pentomino shapes in the free set, usually labeled by letters F, I, L, N, P, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. These shapes can be rotated and reflected but are considered the same under such symmetries. Pentomino tiling problems explore covering regions with pentomino pieces, sometimes using all twelve once.

One well-known puzzle asks to tile a 6-by-10 rectangle using each of the twelve pentominoes exactly once; many solutions exist, illustrating the combinatorial richness of pentomino tilings.

Beyond mathematics, the term is also used in gaming, design, and branding as a name for puzzle concepts or products that rely on five-square units. As such, "fivesquare" serves more as a linguistic umbrella than a single canonical subject.