  Two observables are called complementary if preparing a physical object in an
eigenstate of one of them yields a completely random result in a measurement of
the other. We investigate small sets of complementary observables that cannot
be extended by yet another complementary observable. We construct explicit
examples of the unextendible sets up to dimension $16$ and conjecture certain
small sets to be unextendible in higher dimensions. Our constructions provide
three complementary measurements, only one observable away from the ultimate
minimum of two observables in the set. Almost all of our examples in finite
dimension allow to discriminate pure states from some mixed states, and shed
light on the complex topology of the Bloch space of higher-dimensional quantum
systems.
