Polygonal puzzle kit capable of three-dimensional construction, such as toy construction

A puzzle construction kit for building three-dimensional structures comprising:

• a plurality of releasably coupleable construction elements, each element including
• a central, generally planar panel in the shape of a regular polygon defined by a plurality of sides, each of said sides of each of said elements in the construction kit having the same length;
• at least one slot extending adjacent and partially along one of said sides of the panel;
• and
• at least one slot-engageable tab projecting in a hinged fashion from another of said sides in the panel, and connected thereto by a plastics hinge which is set back from said another of said sides in the plane of the panel,
• said slot-engageable tab nominally lying in the plane of the panel, and constructed to be slidably, reversibly, snap-engageable with one of said slots of another one of said plurality of construction elements in the construction kit, thereby joining said construction elements in close adjacency and for relative, bidirectional hinging motion at an elongate joint defined by the plastics hinge,
• said plurality of construction elements configured such that the joinder of any three or more of said elements lies selectively either in coplanarity, mirror-image, or non-coplanar cupped conditions.

A puzzle/construction kit comprising:

• a plurality of modular, generally planar construction elements including rectilinear central panels in the shape of regular polygons defined by edges and opposed faces and with edge-joined connector structures defined by interconnectable tabs and slots formed on said edges of said central panel,
• wherein each element has at least one of said tabs, said tabs being joined to said central panels adjacent the edges with plastics hinges, said plastics hinges being set back from their respective edges, and wherein each element has at least one of said slots, each of said slots being formed at a protruding portion of one of the edges,
• the configuration of the tabs and slots such that, when one of said tabs of a first one of said construction elements is fitted into one of said slots of a second adjacent one of said construction elements, the protruding portion of said second adjacent one of said construction elements overlaps the edge of said first one of said construction elements,
• each of said construction elements being configured to be releasably and generally coplanarly connected, adjacent one of said edges, to form an assembly with other of said construction elements by inserting said tabs of said construction elements, into said slots formed in either of said opposed faces of other of said construction elements, said construction elements thereby capable of reversibly joining other of said construction elements, and configured to form a three-dimensional puzzle which can be assembled with substantially all sides of substantially all elements joined to a side of a contiguous element to form a continuous surface.