US20080160875A1 - Interconnectible Building Elements For Intellectual Challenge Games - Google Patents

Abstract

A construction kit with basic building elements (1) and connecting pieces (M) and a game with variable level of intellectual challenge in which a first player assembles the basic building elements into different composite building elements by using the connecting pieces, introduces connecting pieces into receiving means (a2) on the outer faces of the composite building elements, and assembles a final structure. A second player is presented with the challenge of disassembling the final structure and reassembling it from the same composite building elements with the same connection means in the same positions that were used by the first player.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS
• The present application is based on, and claims priority from, International Application Number PCT/IL2005/000879, filed Aug. 15, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
• The present invention belongs to the large family of constructional toys, consisting of building elements with attachment means and games to be played with such toys.
BACKGROUND ART
• Many constructional toys of the prior art enable creative assembly into diverse forms.
• Thus for example GB 2384721 teaches a construction toy comprised of brick like elements which have receiving means extending through and mats with receiving means representing mortar, to be joined together by plastic dowels for constructing buildings of different designs.
• Similarly, GB 2108857 comprises a building toy system with a basic element of two components secured together into which orthogonally arranged securing means such as rods, dowels or pegs may be introduced, thus enabling free building of different shapes, while GB 214821 teaches a toy building element having right angled corners and equispaced grooves that may be connected by using hinges, clips, bolts etc.
• Finally, JP 4161186 proposes a kit with hollow elements that may be interconnected using separate connecting members that fit into receiving means in the elements.
• All of these toys of the prior art are directed at the creative power of the child and propose an amusing, variable pastime as well as the development of mechanical skills.
• Different kinds of constructional games pose technical and logical problems due to certain predefined limitations of structure that make the task of creating a construction of preset shape an intellectual challenge. It is characteristic of these games that the main configuration remains unchanged.
• A well known example of this prior art is Rubik's cube. Another example is UK 4605 (of 1909) consisting of a box to be moved around inside a cube made of an inner part and an outer part until it is released. Yet another example is a special logical toy, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,665 that has a total of 26 elements mounted on a spherical internal connecting element. The toy elements, marked by colors, numbers etc., are mixed by rotation and the objective is to return them to the original arrangement.
• There is a need for a game that combines creative freedom and intellectual challenge by providing separate building elements with connecting pieces that may be freely assembled into a large variety of different composite building elements and wherein the said different composite building elements have different configurations and connecting pieces may be attached on the faces of the said composite building elements in various positions such that a nearly infinite number of final structures may be created by assembling the said composite building elements, but only a limited number of modes of assembly for a predefined final structure exist when using the same composite building elements.
• There is a need for a game in which a large variety of different puzzles may be created by a first player using the same kit of building elements and connecting pieces by assembling different composite building elements with different arrays of connecting pieces on their faces, and creating a final structure by assembling the said composite elements, which final structure may then be presented as a puzzle to a second player to disassemble and reconstruct the said final structure using the same composite building elements.
• There is a need for a puzzle game in which the level of intellectual challenge may be controlled according to the players' wish or to their abilities while using the same basic building elements and connecting pieces.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention proposes a construction kit comprising a plurality of basic building elements and a plurality of connecting pieces, the said connecting pieces adapted for connecting the said basic building elements and for being received in receiving means on the faces of the said basic building elements such that they enable assembly of the basic building elements into composite building elements in accordance with a large variety of different shapes and with a large variety of different patterns of connecting pieces on the outer faces of the said composite building elements, wherein each of the said connecting pieces may be hindering or facilitating the assembly of a pre defined structure from the said composite building elements depending on the respective positions of the said connecting pieces and the said receiving elements.
• The invention further proposes an intellectual challenge game in which a first player: a) assembles the basic building elements into composite building elements by using the connecting pieces to interconnect two or more basic building elements, b) introduces connecting pieces into a number of receiving means on one or more of the outer faces of the composite building elements, thereby enabling a large variety of different composite building elements wherein the shapes of the said composite building elements and the positions of the said connecting pieces on the outer faces of the said composite building elements are designed by the first player such that they are mutually compatible in a manner that enables the player to assemble a pre defined structure using the said composite building elements, c) assembles the said pre defined structure from the said composite building elements, d) optionally creates a pattern on the outer face of the said pre defined structure by introducing connecting pieces into the receiving means on the outer surface of the said pre defined structure, e) presents a second player with the challenge of disassembling the said pre defined structure into its separate composite building elements and, without changing the positions of the connecting pieces on the said composite building elements, to reassemble the same structure with the same pattern from the same composite building elements that were used by the first player.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be implemented in practice, a plurality of preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which
• FIG. 1 shows a basic building element and a connecting piece;
• FIG. 2 shows a structure assembled from the building elements of the inventive construction kit;
• FIG. 3 shows the composite building elements used for constructing the structure ofFIG. 1 in top view (3b) and in perspective view (3a);
• FIG. 4 shows in top view (4b) and in perspective view (4a) the composite building elements ofFIG. 3 with connecting pieces introduced into the said composite building elements ; and,
• FIG. 5 shows the structure ofFIG. 2 after assembly in top view (5b) and in perspective view (5a), with connecting pieces introduced into the outer faces of the said structure creating a pattern on the said outer faces of the said structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• In accordance with one aspect of the present invention an intellectual challenge construction kit to be applied in a game for at least two players is proposed. The inventive toy comprises a plurality of basic building elements and a plurality off connecting means adapted to be received in receiving means provided on the said basic building elements that enable the assembly of a huge variety of composite building blocks of different shapes and with different patterns of connecting means on their outer faces. Thus an almost infinite number of different construction kits with different composite building elements may be created using the same basic building elements and connecting pieces. Such a construction kit may be prepared by a first player to be used by the said first player for assembling a pre defined structure, while overcoming hindrances created by connecting pieces at some positions and using to advantage the connecting pieces that facilitate attachment of two adjacent composite building elements at other positions. The first player may then present the pre defined pre defined structure to a second player and challenge him to take apart the said pre defined pre defined structure and reassemble it using the same composite building elements with the same attachment means at the same positions that were used by the first player.
• In accordance with the variable construction kit of the invention, the basic building elements may be made in many different shapes such as a cube, a tetrahedron or any other polyhedron, a prism, a trapezoid, a cylinder, a cone, etc.
• The connecting pieces may also be made in different designs such as pegs with conical heads, pointed heads of any structural design, flat heads that may be cylindrical or prismoidal, flower shaped heads, animal shaped heads, etc. It will be understood that at least some of the receiving means must have a shape that enables the said receiving means to receive the said heads if the said connecting pieces.
• The connecting pieces may also have attachment means such as stems with bayonet pin and socket attachment means, threaded stems etc. that enable fast attachment of the connecting pieces within receiving means having a shape that enables the said attachment means to be received and attached in the said receiving means.
• In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the said basic building elements are cubes with six equivalent faces, on each of the faces of the said basic building elements a cylindrical depression is disposed and at the center of the said cylindrical depression a bored hole is provided. In this preferred embodiment the connecting pieces have threaded stems and flat cylindrical heads such that the cylindrical heads are adapted to be tightly received in the said cylindrical depressions and the said threaded stems are adapted to be threaded into the said bored holes.
• In accordance with the preferred embodiment, connecting pieces may be used to assemble a selected number of basic building elements into a composite building element wherein the composite building element may be a straight row of basic building elements in the shape of a prism, or it may be assembled of five building elements to form a branched T design, assembled of three basic building elements creating an L shape, or it may be assembled according to any other design including designs branched in three dimensions, selected at will by a player.
• In accordance with another embodiment the inventive construction kit comprises integral building elements designed to simulate the above described composite building elements. The integral building elements have generally the same shapes and proportions as if they were composite building elements assembled from basic building elements and their outer surfaces are marked by transversely disposed grooves appropriately positioned to simulate grooves separating adjacent basic building elements.
• In one embodiment of the invention the construction kit comprises 27 basic building elements having the shape of a cube with six faces and bevel edges, each of the basic building elements having a centrally located cylindrical depression with a bored hole at the center of the said cylindrical depression on each of its six faces. The construction kit further comprises a plurality of connecting pieces preferably shaped as screws with a head having a cylindrical shape and a diameter that enables it to be tightly received in the said depressions and a threaded stem that can be screwed into the said bored holes.
• The basic building elements may be assembled into 9 composite building elements each consisting of three basic building elements. Each of the composite building elements is assembled by screwing the threaded stem of a first connecting piece into a bored hole in a first basic building element and introducing the head of the said first connecting piece into a cylindrical depression in a first face of a second building element such that the said head is tightly received in the said cylindrical depression, then screwing the threaded stem of a second connecting piece into a bored hole in a second face of the second building element that is opposite and parallel to the said first face of the second building element, and finally introducing the head of the said first connecting piece into a cylindrical depression in a first face of a third building element such that the said head is tightly received in the said cylindrical depression.
• In accordance with the invention, an intelligence game may be played using the said composite elements wherein a first player may introduce further connecting pieces into bored holes at pre defined positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements by screwing the stems of the said connecting pieces into the said bored holes in the center of the said cylindrical depressions. It will be understood that a connecting piece may be driven into a bored hole until the cylindrical head of the said connecting piece is wholly received in the said cylindrical depression and the said cylindrical head comes to lie generally level with the surface of the said composite element or the said cylindrical head may be only partly received in the said cylindrical depression such that the said cylindrical head is protruding from the surface of the said composite element.
• In accordance with another embodiment the present invention, a computerized spatial game is provided, comprising inter alia the following steps: (a) selecting a plurality of basic building elements being displayed as a cube or any other object having a plurality of outer faces, with a depression disposed on at least a portion (e.g., one or more faces, every face etc) of the said faces and with a hole centrally disposed within at least a portion of the said depressions respectively; (b) selecting a plurality of connecting pieces, each of the said connecting pieces having a stem adapted to be tightly received in one of the said receiving means in a first basic building element and each of the said connecting pieces further having a head adapted to be tightly received in one of the said depressions on a face of a second basic building element such that the said basic building elements may be interconnected by the said connecting pieces to create a composite building element; (c) selecting a number of connecting pieces adapted to be attached at selected positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements; and (d), constructing at least one predefined structure in the manner that the said stems are tightly received in the said receiving means on the faces of the said composite building elements and the said heads are abutting from the said outer faces of the said composite building elements in a manner that may hinder or facilitate the assembly of the said composite building elements into a predefined structure whereby the said composite building elements must be arranged in a specific manner so as to enable the computerized assembly of the said predefined structure.
• In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of playing a intellectual challenge game is provided, this method comprising inter alia (a) assembling a plurality of basic building elements into a plurality of composite building elements by using a plurality of connecting pieces each of said pieces being adapted to interconnect two or more basic building elements; (b) introducing a plurality of connecting pieces into a plurality of receiving means on one or more of the outer faces of the composite building elements, thereby enabling a variety of different composite building elements; wherein the shapes of said composite building elements and the positions of said connecting pieces on the outer faces of said composite building elements are designed by a first player such that they are mutually compatible in a manner that enables the player to assemble a pre-defined structure using the said composite building elements; (c) assembling said pre-defined structure from said composite building elements; (d) optionally creating a pattern on the outer surface of the said pre-defined structure by introducing a plurality of connecting pieces into the receiving means on the outer surface of said pre-defined structure; and (e), presenting at least a second player with the challenge of disassembling said pre-defined structure into its separate composite building elements and, without changing the positions of the connecting pieces on the said composite building elements, to reassemble the same structure with the same pattern on its outer surface from the same composite building elements that were used by the first player.
• It will be understood that as a result of introducing the connecting means in the bored holes on the outer faces of the said composite building blocks in the above described manner various fits and misfits between the different composite building element are created such that where a first connecting piece protruding from a first composite building element is juxtaposed to a second connecting piece protruding from a second composite building element, this configuration is a misfit that hinders the coupling of the said first and second composite building elements whereas where a connecting piece protruding from a first composite building element is juxtaposed to a cylindrical depression in a second composite building element, this configuration is a fit that facilitates the coupling of the said first and second composite building elements.
• It will be further understood that where the threaded stem of a connecting piece is screwed into the said bored hole until its cylindrical head is received in the said cylindrical depression whereby it comes to lie level with the face of a composite building element, such connecting piece will neither facilitate nor hinder the coupling of the said first and second composite building elements.
• These composite building elements may now be used by a player to assemble different kinds of structures such as a cube in which the size of each of the three dimensions length, width and depth is equal to the length of three basic building elements assembled in a row.
• It is a main advantage of the inventive construction game that using the same basic building elements and connecting pieces an almost unlimited number of different composite building elements and structures may be created in accordance with the desired level of difficulty which in turn may be suited to the abilities of the players.
• It will be further understood that the variability of the inventive construction kit is further increased due to the fact that many different kinds of composite building elements with differently positioned connecting pieces may be used to assemble the same structure.
• Thus even in the simple embodiment of 9 composite building elements of equal size and shape that are assembled into a cube structure, the said cube structure may be assembled in accordance with any of a large number of variations by altering the distribution of the connecting pieces on the different faces of the composite building elements.
• It is an advantage of the inventive construction kit and intellectual construction game that a large number of variations is made possible by the variability of the distribution of the connecting pieces on the faces of the composite building elements. It will be understood that the total number of receiving means in a composite building element that is made of three basic building elements, each basic building element having a receiving means on each of its faces, is 14. As a result, to each of the composite building elements any number of connecting pieces may be added by the first player in a range of 1-14 and a considerable number of different modes of distributing the said connecting pieces by introducing the said connecting pieces into receiving means at different locations on the faces of the said composite building element is available.
• It will be further understood that more than one receiving means for more than one type of connecting piece may be provided on a face of a basic building element once more increasing the variability of the game that may be played using the same basic construction set.
• In accordance with a further advantage of the intellectual challenge game of the invention the number of limitations imposed by the first player may be increased and the level of difficulty elevated such as by defining a pattern of connecting pieces on the outer surface of the cubic structure and challenging the second player to reconstruct the said pattern while reassembling the said cubic structure.
• In accordance with yet another advantage of the inventive construction kit the connecting pieces may be disposed such that they are protruding from a composite building element at different orientations, with direct angles between the said orientations of the said connecting pieces. In this case a further obstacle is created that raises the level of difficulty due to the fact that it becomes compulsory to connect the said composite building element in its predestined position prior to connecting any adjacent composite building elements that may obstruct the placing of the said composite building element in the said predestined position due to the said protrusion of the said connecting pieces.
• Additional ways of increasing the level of difficulty are made possible by adding further variations in the basic elements such as differently colored basic building elements or differently colored connecting pieces, using connecting pieces that are designed to fit into differently designed depressions, using connecting pieces of varied heights, etc.
• Relating now to the invention in general, the level of difficulty depends on several variable elements of the novel construction game:
• • 1. The design of the basic building elements
  • 2. The configuration of the composite building elements, whether cuboid or polygonal objects, T shaped, L shaped or curved shaped etc.
  • 3. The structure to be assembled.
  • 4. The design of the connecting pieces.
  • 5. Any configurations imposing a predefined order of assembly wherein a second composite building element must be attached to a first composite building element prior to a third composite building element and the final construction cannot be achieved in any other manner.
  • 6. Patterns on the outer surface of the final construction.
  • 7. Patterns of different colors and/or designs of the basic building elements and/or the connecting pieces.
  • 8. The number of receiving means on a face of a basic building element.
• It is an advantage of the inventive construction kit that it enables the creation of simple planar puzzles suitable for children of different ages as well as complex puzzles on different levels for adults of varied capabilities.
• In accordance with yet another aspect of the inventive construction kit, the invention may be applied as clinical or educational a tool for testing the players' intelligence or developmental stage.
BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
• The invention will be described hereinbelow by way of example only in accordance with a preferred embodiment. It will be understood however that many other variations and modifications of the inventive construction kit may be made that still remain within the scope of the invention.
• In the preferred embodiment the construction kit comprises a limited number of basic building elements.
• FIG. 1 shows a basic building element A having the general form of a cube with six faces. It will be understood thatFIG. 1 being a perspective view of the basic building element, only three faces a, b and c of the basic building element are visible. The basic building element has six bevel edges. InFIG. 1bevel edges1,2 and3 are shown. Each of the faces of the basic building element A is made with a centrally positioned cylindrical depression. InFIG. 1 cylindrical depressions a1, b1 and c1 in faces a, b and c respectively of the basic building element A are shown.
• At the center of each of the cylindrical depressions a bored hole is provided. InFIG. 1 bored holes a2, b2 and c2 at the centers of cylindrical depressions a1, b1 and c1 respectively are shown.
• In accordance with the preferred embodiment the inventive construction kit further comprises connecting pieces for connecting the basic building elements. A connecting piece M is shown inFIG. 1. As seen inFIG. 1, the connecting piece M has a flat head m1 with a cylindrical shape and a groove m2 extending across the upper surface of the flat head m1. A threaded stem m3 is downwardly extending from the flat head m1 at a straight angle to the flat head m1. In accordance with the invention the threaded stem m3 is adapted for screwing into a bored hole such as a2 or b2 or c2 on the face of a basic building element and the flat head m1 is adapted to be tightly received in a cylindrical depression such as a1 or b1 or c1.
• Referring now toFIG. 2, a single plane pre defined construction is shown that may be pre defined at will by a first player. The pre defined construction has the shape of a cuboid with a length L of four basic building elements L1, L2, L3 and L4 and a width W of three basic building elements L1, W2 and W3. The total number of basic building elements in the pre defined construction ofFIG. 2 is 12. As seen inFIG. 2, due to the beveled edges of the basic construction elements a groove with a generally triangular cross section is formed between two adjacent faces of adjacent basic building elements. Thus for example basic building element L1 has a face L1athat is adjacent to the face W2aof the basic building element W2 and between the two adjacent faces L1aand W2aa groove g with a generally triangular cross section is formed.
• Having pre defined the final structure ofFIG. 2, the first player proceeds to assemble a set of composite building elements designed in a manner that enables the assembly of the said final structure using the said set of composite building elements. The composite building elements are assembled using the required number of basic building elements and connecting pieces.
• It will be understood that many different designs of the composite building elements may be assembled according to the first player's imagination or according to the level of difficulty he wishes to create.
• FIG. 3 shows one example of a set of composite building elements that may be used in the assembly of the final structure ofFIG. 2, consisting of four composite building elements of different designs O, P, R and S chosen at will by the first player wherein3ais a perspective view and3bis a top view of the said set of composite building elements O, P, R and S.
• The assembly of the composite building elements O, P, R and S is carried out by using connecting pieces to connect the basic building elements.
• Thus for example the composite building element O, that is an assembly of three basic building elements O1, O2 and O3 connected in a row, is assembled by screwing the threaded stem of a first connecting piece into a bored hole on a first face of the basic building element O1, inserting the cylindrical head of the said first connecting piece into a cylindrical depression on a first face of the basic building element O2 such that it is tightly received in the said cylindrical depression, then screwing the threaded stem of a second connecting piece into the face of the basic building element O2 that is opposite and parallel to the said first face of the said basic building element O2 and inserting the cylindrical head of the said second connecting piece into a cylindrical depression on a first face of the basic building element O3 such that it is tightly received in the said cylindrical depression.
• Composite building element P is a generally T shaped structure assembled of four basic building elements using three connecting pieces in the manner that was described above for composite building element O, while composite building element R is an L shaped structure assembled from three basic building elements A using two connecting pieces and composite building element S is a simple assembly of two basic building elements A connected by a single connecting piece.
• As seen inFIG. 3, the composite building elements O, P, R and S are first assembled without any connecting pieces on their outer faces.
• Following assembly of the composite building elements O, P, R and S, connecting pieces are added to the composite building elements O, P, R and S by screwing the stems of a pre defined number of connecting pieces M into bored holes at pre defined locations on the outer faces of the composite building elements O, P, R and S. An experienced player is capable of planning in advance the location of the connecting pieces such that assembly of the composite building elements O, P, R and S into the pre defined final structure ofFIG. 2 is facilitated. It is an advantage of the inventive construction kit that the connecting pieces may be relocated in the event that the player is not satisfied with the result for any reason or in the event that the positions of the connecting pieces or any of them are found to obstruct the assembly of the final construction.
• FIG. 4 shows one example of an arrangement of the connecting pieces M on the composite building elements O, P, R and S that enables the assembly of the final structure ofFIG. 2.
• It will be understood that the drawing on the right side ofFIG. 4, generally designated4a, shows the set of composite building elements O, P, R and S in perspective view while the drawing on the left side ofFIG. 4, generally designated4b, shows the set of composite building elements O, P, R and S in top view.
• As seen best inFIG. 4b, in the example ofFIG. 4 composite building element O has two connecting pieces M1 and M2, located in the cylindrical depressions on a face X of the said composite building element O. The connecting pieces M1 and M2 enable the player to attach the composite building element O to the composite building element P by pushing the cylindrical heads of the connecting pieces M1 and M2 into cylindrical depressions in the face Y of the composite building element P. At the same time the cylindrical head of the connecting piece M3 that is abutting from the said face Y of the composite building element P is pushed into a cylindrical depression in the face X of the said composite building element O.
• Looking again atFIG. 4, on a face Z of the said composite building element P a further connecting piece M4 is located that enables the attachment of composite building elements P and R by pushing the cylindrical head of the said connecting piece M4 into a cylindrical depression in the face Q of the composite building element R. It will be understood however that once the composite building element R is attached to the composite building element P, it will be impossible to complete the final structure ofFIG. 2 due to the position of the connecting pieces M5 and M6 on the composite building element S. As seen inFIG. 4b, the connecting piece M5 is disposed in an orientation that is perpendicular to the orientation of the connecting piece M6. Each of the said connecting pieces M5 and M6 must be allowed to move freely along an adjacent composite building element while the other connecting piece is being pushed into the respective cylindrical depression that is designed to receive it. Thus while the connecting piece M5 is pushed into the cylindrical depression in the face T of the composite building element P the connecting piece M6 must be free to move in the direction of the said face T of the composite building element P. This cannot be achieved in the event that the composite building element R is already attached to the composite building element P. In this latter case the face U of the composite building element R will hinder the movement of the composite building element S due to the protrusion of the connecting piece M6 from the face of the said composite building element S.
• The above is just a simple example of the obstacles and limitations that may be presented to a second player who is invited to take apart the final structure ofFIG. 2 and rebuild it without altering the configuration of the basic building elements O, P, R and S, the number of connecting pieces on the said basic building elements O, P, R and S or the mode of distribution of the said connecting pieces M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6 on the said basic building elements O, P, R and S.
• Looking now atFIG. 5awherein drawing5bis a top view of drawing5a, a pattern of connecting pieces that was added on the outer faces of the pre defined structure ofFIG. 2 by the said first player is shown. The pattern of drawings5aand5bconsists of diagonal rows of connecting pieces alternating with diagonal rows of cylindrical depressions with no connecting pieces. Thus connecting pieces M7, M8 and M9 comprise a diagonal row of connecting pieces, while cylindrical depressions b1, b2, and b3 comprise a diagonal row of cylindrical depressions without connecting pieces.
• It will be understood that where the final structure of drawings5aand5bis presented to a second player to be disassembled and reassembled into the same structure and using the same composite building elements, the number of limitations and thence the level of intellectual challenge facing the said second player is considerably elevated.
• It will be further understood that an experienced player is capable of adding connecting pieces to the said composite building elements O, P, R and S before assembling the final structure ofFIG. 5 in a manner that will result in the diagonal pattern ofFIG. 5.
• It will be understood that the invention has been described hereinabove by way of example only in accordance with a preferred embodiment and many modifications, variations and applications of the invention exist that remain within the scope of the description and the claims.
• In accordance with a major advantage of the inventive construction kit and intellectual game, a different set of composite building elements may be devised, wherein the design of the composite building elements or some of them is different or the positions of the connecting pieces on the faces of the said building elements may be altered such that assembling the same final structure becomes a completely different task.
• In accordance with yet another important advantage of the inventive construction kit and intellectual game, differently designed composite building elements with different positions of connecting pieces on the faces of the said building elements may be used to build a different structure with or without a pattern on its outer face.
• The invention enables the player to create a large variety of puzzles using the same basic building elements and connecting pieces. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the inventive construction kit may be made of a number of integral composite building elements, each integral composite building element being a solid unit having generally the same size and form as three basic building elements put together. It will be understood that solid units may also be made of two elements or four elements arranged in different ways.
• It will be further understood that in accordance with the invention many different games may be played with solid units having generally the same design by creating different arrays of the connecting pieces on the faces of the said solid units.
• Due to the huge variety of puzzles that may be created using the same basic building elements and the same basic connecting means, the invention has considerable applicability as a toy, an intellectual game, a therapeutic game and a means for diagnosis or for testing intellectual development.
• In accordance with yet another important advantage of the inventive construction it may be utilized as a spatial game, being either a computer game, physical game or a combination thereof. The game is comprised in a non-limiting manner of the following playing steps (a) selecting a plurality of basic building elements being displayed as a cube or any other object having a plurality of outer faces, with a depression disposed on at least a portion of said faces and with a hole centrally disposed within at least a portion of the said depressions respectively; (b) selecting a plurality of connecting pieces, the said connecting pieces having a stem adapted to be tightly received in one of the said receiving means in a first basic building element and each of the said connecting pieces further having a head adapted to be tightly received in one of the said depressions in a second basic building element such that the said basic building elements may be interconnected by the said connecting pieces to create a composite building element; (c) selecting a number of connecting pieces adapted to be attached at selected positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements; and (d) constructing at least one predefined structure in the manner that the said stems are tightly received in the said receiving means on the faces of the said composite building elements and the said heads are abutting from the said outer faces of the said composite building elements in a manner that may hinder or facilitate the assembly of the said composite building elements into a predefined structure whereby the said composite building elements must be arranged in a specific manner so as to enable the assembly of the said predefined structure.

Claims (31)

1. A construction kit comprising a plurality of basic building elements and a plurality of connecting pieces, the said connecting pieces being adapted for connecting the said basic building elements and for being received in receiving means on the faces of the said basic building elements such that they enable assembly of the basic building elements into composite building elements in accordance with a large variety of different shapes and with a large variety of different patterns of connecting pieces on the outer faces of the said composite building elements, wherein each of the said connecting pieces may be hindering or facilitating the assembly of a pre defined structure from the said composite building elements depending on the respective positions of the said connecting pieces and the said receiving elements.

2. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein at least one of the basic building elements has a shape selected from the list comprising a cube, a row of cubes, a trapezoid, a tetrahedron, a cylinder, a cone.

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

8. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said basic building elements are made in different colors.

9. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said connecting pieces are made in different colors.

10. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said connecting pieces are made in different shapes.

11. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said receiving means are bored receiving means and the said connecting pieces have threaded stems adapted to be received in the said bored holes.

12. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said connecting pieces have flat cylindrical heads with a transverse slot adapted to receive a screwdriver means.

13. A construction kit according toclaim 1 wherein the said basic building element is a cube with a circular depression disposed on each of its faces and with a hole centrally disposed within each of the said circular depressions respectively and further comprising a plurality of connecting pieces, each of the said connecting pieces having a stem adapted to be tightly received in one of the said receiving means in a first basic building element and each of the said connecting pieces further having a circular head adapted to be tightly received in one of the said circular depressions in a second basic building element such that the said basic building elements may be interconnected by the said connecting pieces to create a composite building element, and a number of connecting pieces may be attached at selected positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements wherein the said stems are tightly received in the said receiving means on the faces of the said composite building elements and the said circular heads are abutting from the said outer faces of the said composite building elements in a manner that may hinder or facilitate the assembly of the said composite building elements into a pre defined structure whereby the said composite building elements must be arranged in a specific manner so as to enable the assembly of the said pre defined structure.

14. A spatial game comprising:

a. selecting a plurality of basic building elements being displayed as a cube or any other object having a plurality of outer faces, with a depression disposed on at least a portion of said faces and with a hole centrally disposed within at least a portion of the said depressions respectively;

b. selecting a plurality of connecting pieces, each of the said connecting pieces having a stem adapted to be tightly received in one of the said receiving means in a first basic building element and each of the said connecting pieces further having a head adapted to be tightly received in one of the said depressions in a second basic building element such that the said basic building elements may be interconnected by the said connecting pieces to create a composite building element;

c. selecting a number of connecting pieces adapted to be attached at selected positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements; and

d. constructing at least one predefined structure in the manner that the said stems are tightly received in the said receiving means on the faces of the said composite building elements and the said heads are abutting from the said outer faces of the said composite building elements in a manner that may hinder or facilitate the assembly of the said composite building elements into a predefined structure whereby the said composite building elements must be arranged in a specific manner so as to enable the computerized enabled assembly of the said predefined structure.

15. A spatial game according toclaim 14 wherein the said basic building element is a cube.

16. A spatial game according toclaim 14 wherein the said basic building element is a solid element designed to resemble a row of cubes.

17. A spatial game according toclaim 14 wherein the said connecting pieces are arranged in patterns of different colors.

18. A spatial game according toclaim 14 wherein the said basic building elements are arranged in patterns of different colors.

19. A spatial game according toclaim 14 wherein the said pre defined structure is three dimensional.

20. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 14 wherein the said pre defined structure is two dimensional.

21. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 14 wherein the said pre defined structure is a cube.

22. An intellectual challenge game in which a first player: a) assembles basic building elements into composite building elements by using connecting pieces to interconnect two or more basic building elements, b) introduces connecting pieces into a number of receiving means on one or more of the outer faces of the composite building elements, thereby enabling a large variety of different composite building elements wherein the shapes of the said composite building elements and the positions of the said connecting pieces on the outer faces of the said composite building elements are designed by the first player such that they are mutually compatible in a manner that enables the player to assemble a pre defined structure using the said composite building elements, c) assembles the said pre defined structure from the said composite building elements, d) optionally creates a pattern on the outer face of the said pre defined structure by introducing connecting pieces into the receiving means on the outer surface of the said pre defined structure, e) presents a second player with the challenge of disassembling the said pre defined structure into its separate composite building elements and, without changing the positions of the connecting pieces on the said composite building elements, to reassemble the same structure with the same pattern from the same composite building elements that were used by the first player.

23. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said basic building element is a cube.

24. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said basic building element is a solid element designed to resemble a row of cubes.

25. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said connecting pieces are arranged in patterns of different colors.

26. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said basic building elements are arranged in patterns of different colors.

27. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said pre defined structure is three dimensional.

28. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said pre defined structure is two dimensional.

29. An intellectual challenge game according toclaim 22 wherein the said pre defined structure is a cube.

30. A method of playing an intellectual challenge game comprising:

a. assembling a plurality of basic building elements into a plurality of composite building elements by using a plurality of connecting pieces each of said pieces being adapted to interconnect two or more basic building elements;

b. introducing a plurality of connecting pieces into a plurality of receiving means on one or more of the outer faces of the composite building elements, thereby enabling a variety of different composite building elements; wherein the shapes of said composite building elements and the positions of said connecting pieces on the outer faces of said composite building elements are designed by a first player such that they are mutually compatible in a manner that enables the player to assemble a pre-defined structure using the said composite building elements;

c. assembling said pre-defined structure from said composite building elements;

d. optionally creating a pattern on the outer face of the said pre-defined structure by introducing a plurality of connecting pieces into the receiving means on the outer surface of said pre-defined structure; and,

presenting at least a second player with the challenge of disassembling said pre-defined structure into its separate composite building elements and, without changing the positions of the connecting pieces on the said composite building elements, to reassemble the same structure with the same pattern on the outer surface of said structure from the same composite building elements that were used by the first player.

31. A computerized spatial game comprising:

a. selecting a plurality of basic building elements being displayed as a cube or any other object having a plurality of outer faces, with a depression disposed on at least a portion of said faces and with a hole centrally disposed within at least a portion of the said depressions respectively;

b. selecting a plurality of connecting pieces, each of the said connecting pieces having a stem adapted to be tightly received in one of the said receiving means in a first basic building element and each of the said connecting pieces further having a head adapted to be tightly received in one of the said depressions in a second basic building element such that the said basic building elements may be interconnected by the said connecting pieces to create a composite building element;

c. selecting a number of connecting pieces adapted to be attached at selected positions on the outer faces of the said composite building elements; and

d. constructing at least one predefined structure in the manner that the said stems are tightly received in the said receiving means on the faces of the said composite building elements and the said heads are abutting from the said outer faces of the said composite building elements in a manner that may hinder or facilitate the assembly of the said composite building elements into a predefined structure whereby the said composite building elements must be arranged in a specific manner so as to enable the computerized enabled assembly of the said predefined structure.

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