Puzzle

Abstract

The disclosed puzzle includes a first block having a plurality of faces, with at least one primary image defined on at least one of the faces. Also included is a plurality of second blocks smaller than the first block. The second blocks are arranged in a base configuration to form the first block, and include a plurality of sub-faces having a first set of image segments defined thereon. The primary images are formed by a plurality of the image segments.

1 . A puzzle comprising a first block having a plurality of faces, at least one primary image defined on at least one of the faces, and a plurality of second blocks smaller than the first block, the second blocks arranged in a base configuration to form the first block and having plurality of sub-faces with a first set of image segments defined thereon;
 wherein the at least one primary image is formed by a plurality of the image segments.   
   
   
       2 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein the second blocks are cubes. 
   
   
       3 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein the first block is a cube. 
   
   
       4 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein the sub-faces comprise external sub-faces disposed externally on the first block and forming the faces, and internal sub-faces that are disposed internally with respect to the first block. 
   
   
       5 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein the second blocks can be rearranged to form one or more secondary images by an alternate arrangement of the first set of image segments. 
   
   
       6 . The puzzle of  claim 5 , wherein the second blocks can be rearranged to form different secondary images. 
   
   
       7 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the sub-faces comprise a second set of image segments and wherein rearrangement of the second blocks forms one or more secondary images from the second set of image segments. 
   
   
       8 . The puzzle of  claim 7 , wherein the second blocks can be rearranged to form different secondary images. 
   
   
       9 . The puzzle of  claim 7 , wherein all of the sub-faces comprise at least one image segment of at least one of the first set or second set. 
   
   
       10 . The puzzle of  claim 7 , wherein at least some of the image segments belong to both the first set and second set. 
   
   
       11 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the sub-faces do not comprise image segments. 
   
   
       12 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , further comprising a mat on which the second blocks are arranged. 
   
   
       13 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , further comprising a key that identifies a location of each of the second blocks. 
   
   
       14 . The puzzle of  claim 13 , wherein the key identifies the location of each of the second blocks in terms of coordinates located along axes extending along at least one of a height, width, or length of the first block. 
   
   
       15 . The puzzle of  claim 14 , wherein the key is in the form of a matrix. 
   
   
       16 . The puzzle of  claim 13 , wherein the key further identifies an orientation of each of the second blocks. 
   
   
       17 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the image segments of the first set comprise subsets that are identical to each other. 
   
   
       18 . The puzzle of  claim 17  further comprising a face identifier that indicates a quantity of each image segment of each subset. 
   
   
       19 . The puzzle of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the second blocks include interior openings with objects disposed therein. 
   
   
       20 . A method of solving a puzzle, comprising:
 providing the puzzle comprising a plurality of second blocks including a plurality of sub-faces having a first set of image segments defined thereon; and   arranging the second blocks in a base configuration to form a first block having a plurality of faces comprising at least one primary image formed by a first arrangement of the first set of image segments.   
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein at least some of the sub-faces comprise a second set of image segments defined thereon, the method further comprising disassembling the second blocks from the base configuration, and rearranging at least some of the second blocks in a second arrangement to form a secondary image from a plurality of the image segments from the first set, second set, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the method is performed by an individual. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the method is performed by a group of individuals as a cooperative effort. 
   
   
       24 . A method of conducting a competition, comprising:
 providing a plurality of teams, each team having at least one individual;   providing each team with second blocks of a puzzle, the puzzle comprising a first block having a plurality of faces and at least one primary image defined on at least one of the faces, wherein the second blocks are smaller than the first block and capable of being arranged in a base configuration to form the first block, the second blocks having a plurality of sub-faces, and one or more of the sub-faces having image segments defined thereon; and   directing each team to arrange the second blocks to form a first image or a set of images from the image segments.   
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising calculating a time it takes for each of the teams to arrange the second blocks to form the first image or set of images. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising directing each team to rearrange the second blocks to form second images or a second set of images from the image segments, after forming the first image or set of images from the image segments.