Toy and puzzle with reversible breakability

A reversibly disassemblable toy comprising:

• a plurality of elements, each element comprising a portion of a given geometrical shape and having a plurality of flat faces, the elements being configured so that upon their assembly into the geometrical shape each flat face opposes one other flat face, the elements being constructed of a resiliently deformable foam material, each element including a vertex defined by an intersection of the flat faces;
• and
• a magnet carried at each flat face, the magnets having positive and negative polarities configured such that, upon assembly, the geometrical shape is maintained by the magnets, each magnet being mounted at a distance from the vertex of a given flat face, the distance being minimized by locating the magnets as close as possible to the vertex without substantially interfering with magnetic fields from magnets mounted on another face with is not opposed to the given flat face.

A reversibly disassemblable toy comprising:

• a plurality of nestable elements which can be assembled into a toy having a desired geometrical shape, each element including at least one nesting surface adapted to be placed against a corresponding nesting surface of another element and at least one exposed face which defines a portion of an exterior surface of the geometrical shape, the element being constructed of a resilient, light-weight foam core and a smooth skin applied to the foam core and defining the surface and the face of the element;
• and at least one magnet for each nesting surface embedded in the foam material to be flush with the nesting surface, the magnets on the elements being positioned so that pairs of magnets on opposing nesting surfaces are in substantial alignment when the elements are assembled to form the geometrical shape, the opposing magnets being arranged so that they attract each other and thereby releasably secure the elements to each other, the magnets being sized and constructed so that when the toy is thrown against a solid surface, the retention force of the magnets is overcome and the elements separate from each other.

A toy ball comprising:

• a plurality of like shaped elements, each element having at least two angularly inclined flat surfaces defining between them a vertex and an outer face defining a portion of the ball so that the elements can be assembled into the ball by placing corresponding surfaces of the elements against each other, each element being constructed of a resilient, closed cell foam core and having a smooth surface finish at least on its face so that, upon assembly, the ball has a smooth exterior;
• and a magnet for each flat surface embedded in the foam core so that the magnet is substantially flush with the surface, the magnets on the surfaces being positioned so that there are opposing, substantially aligned magnets in each matching surface pair when the elements are assembled into the ball for retaining the elements in their assembled configuration with the force exerted by the magnets, the magnets being further selected so that their holding force is insufficient to maintain the elements in their assembled form when the ball is thrown against a surface.