Smarts Pyramid

Copyright 2003 & Design Patent 2006 by Use Your Head Unlimited.
(plastic, base + top + 10 pairs of 1" diameter balls)

There are 10 pairs of colored balls, one pair for each of the possible pairs of the five colors white, yellow, orange, pink, and blue:



These pairs must be placed to form a pyramid so that no two balls of the same color are touching. The directions say that you should also not allow the same colors to touch as you are building, even for places that are not visible when the puzzle is completed. This is a relatively easy puzzle that is fun for children. It has more than one solution. The puzzle pictured here is the golf version; the same puzzle has also been advertised / sold with other sports themes (soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, football).

The manufacturer has filed a number of design patents relating to this puzzle and its junior version. P. Roberts and A. Kuwagaki & S. Takenaka have 1970's patents on pyramids using pieces formed from more complicated arrangements of balls.

Further reading:
Thompson Design Patent, from: www.uspto.gov - patent no. D524,381
Roberts Patent, from: www.uspto.gov - patent no. 3,945,645
Kuwagaki Patent, from: www.uspto.gov - patent no. 3,837,652