Toy or educational construction system including building instructions

Abstract

A toy or educational construction system comprising: a plurality of construction elements and a building instruction component, each of the plurality of construction elements comprising coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures constructable from the construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present, to a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, building instructions for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present the building instructions as a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

Description

[0001] Toy or educational construction system including building instructions

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates to a toy or educational construction system including building instructions, i.e. to a toy construction system or an educational construction system that includes building instructions. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toy or educational construction system that comprises a plurality of construction elements and a building instruction component, each of the plurality of construction elements comprising coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures constructable from the construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present building instructions, in particular graphical building instructions, for a building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Toy construction systems and associated building instructions are well known. Building instructions are often provided in the form of a graphical representation of a sequence of construction steps that result in a modular structure constructed from a plurality of construction elements.

[0006] Such building instructions have proven useful for guiding users of different age groups and level of proficiency through a building process.

[0007] In many situations it is desirable to facilitate a cooperative building process where a number of participants work together to construct one or more modular structures. Examples of such situations include recreational, social activities that involve toy construction systems as well as situations where construction systems are used in an educational context. Examples of recreational, social activities include board games or other multi-participant play activities based on a toy construction system where a group of players together construct a playing field or other play structure from toy construction elements. Examples of educational activities include classroom sessions where groups of students work together to perform educational projects, e.g. to explore physical concepts, such as velocity, acceleration, momentum, potential and kinetic energy, etc., or other topics, such as robotics, feedback control, etc. Such activities may utilize educational construction systems.

[0008] Educational projects in a classroom setting are often time-constrained, e.g. limited to a 45-minute or 1h period. It is therefore desirable that the group of students can construct a modular structure within a relatively short time in order to allow for sufficient time for subsequent experimentation with, or other educational uses of, the constructed modular structure. While time constraints are particularly pronounced in an educational context, recreational play experiences often also benefit from an efficient process for constructing the modular structures that are to be used in the remainder of a game or other play experience.

[0009] Moreover, it is generally desirable to provide toy or educational construction systems and associated building instructions that are usable for users of different backgrounds, e.g. in terms of age, language or reading skills, prior experience with toy or educational construction systems etc. Moreover, while the system may be used in teacher lessons or similar scenarios where a teacher, a facilitator or similar person assists the users before, during or after the building process, it is often helpful when the users can perform the actual building process based on the building instructions alone, even in situations where little or no additional guidance from e.g. a teacher, facilitator or the like is available.

[0010] SUMMARY

[0011] In view of the above, it remains desirable to provide a toy or educational construction system and associated building instructions that mitigate one or more of the disadvantages of other systems, or that have other advantages, or that at least can serve as an alternative to existing solutions.

[0012] According to one aspect, disclosed herein are embodiments of a toy or educational construction system. The system comprises a plurality of construction elements and a building instruction component. Each of the plurality of construction elements comprises coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures that are constructable from the construction elements of the system. The building instruction component is configured to present, to a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, building instructions, in particular graphical building instructions, for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements, in particular for constructing one or more modular structures of said plurality of modular structures that are constructable from the construction elements of the system. The building instruction component is configured to present the building instructions as a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

[0013] The present disclosure relates to different aspects including the toy or educational construction system described above and in the following, corresponding apparatus, systems, methods, and / or products, each yielding one or more of the benefits and advantages described in connection with one or more of the other aspects, and each having one or more embodiments corresponding to the embodiments described in connection with one or more of the other aspects and / or disclosed in the appended claims.

[0014] In particular, according to one aspect, disclosed herein are embodiments of a building instruction component configured to present, to a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, building instructions, in particular graphical building instructions, for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of a plurality of construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present the building instructions as a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

[0015] The provision of a sequence of views that includes views of a first type relating to individual tasks and that further includes views of a second type relating to cooperative tasks facilitate an efficient building process where all members of a group of participants contribute with individual tasks while ensuring the cooperative nature of the process. Moreover, the provision of the views in a sequence imposes a predetermined order of the individual tasks relative to the cooperative tasks, thereby ensuring an appropriate timing of the various building activities. The latter is particularly beneficial when constructing a larger modular structure with complex interdependencies of the various construction steps.

[0016] The individual tasks are tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants. In particular, each individual task is performed by a single participant or by a subgroup of participants, i.e. not by the entire group of participants. Different participants, or different sub-groups, of the group of participants perform different ones of the individual tasks presented on a view of the first type. In order to allow concurrent performance of the individual tasks by respective members of the group of participants, each individual task may be independent of an outcome or result of any of the other individual tasks presented on the same view of the first type. In particular, in some embodiments, none of the individual tasks presented on a first view of the first type uses any result, e.g. any part assembly, resulting from any of the other individual tasks presented on said first view of the first type. In some embodiments, none of the individual tasks presented on a first view of the first type uses any result, e.g. any part assembly, resulting from any previous view of the sequence of views, preceding the first view, or at least of any previous view of the second type of the sequence of views. An individual task may comprise one or more subtasks, e.g. one or more construction steps to be performed.

[0017] The cooperative tasks are cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants, i.e. by the entire group of participants as a whole. In some embodiments, the view of the second type may provide some indication as to how the cooperative task may be distributed among the participants of the group while, in other embodiments, the views of the second type do not provide any information as to how the cooperative task may be organized or distributed among the participants of the group, i.e. in such embodiments this is left to the participants of the group to decide. In some embodiments, each view of the second type only represents a cooperative task. In other embodiments, one or more of the views of the second type may represent one or more additional tasks, e.g. one or more individual tasks, in addition to the cooperative task. A cooperative task may comprise one or more subtasks, e.g. one or more construction steps to be performed.

[0018] In some embodiments, all views of the first type represent the same number of individual tasks, in particular such that the number of members of the group of participants corresponds to, in particular is equal to, the number of individual tasks presented on each view of the first task, thereby ensuring involvement of each member of the group of participants and ensuring an efficient building process. Accordingly, the plurality of participants of the cooperative building process comprises a predetermined number of participants or a predeterminant number of sub-groups of participants. For the purpose of the present description, unless specifically indicated otherwise, when referring to members of the group of participants, the term member is intended to refer to either an individual participant or to a sub-group of participants. The latter case may be useful, when the number of participants in a group is fewer than or exceeds the number of individual tasks represented on each view of the first type. In such a situation, the group of participants may be divided into a set of subgroups where each sub-group includes one or more participants. If the number of participants is equal to the number of individual tasks represented on each view of the first type, each member of the group may thus be an individual participant.

[0019] In some embodiments, each of the individual tasks presented by a first view of the first type results in a respective part assembly of one or more construction elements, and wherein the cooperative task represented by a second view of the one or more views of the second type of views uses all part-assemblies resulting from the individual tasks presented by said first view. In some embodiments, the cooperative task represented by the second view of the second type uses only the part assemblies resulting from the individual tasks presented by the first view while, in other embodiments, the cooperative task represented by the second view of the second type uses one or more construction elements in additional to the part assemblies resulting from the individual tasks represented by the first view. A part assembly may be a modular structure of two or more interconnected construction elements, or it may be a collection of two or more construction elements and / or modular structures that are not attached to each other. Accordingly, the individual tasks result in respective work-products that are all utilized in the subsequent cooperative task represented by the second view of the second type. For example, some or all of the respective subassemblies may be attached to each other so as to form one or more modular structures. Accordingly, an efficient building process is achieved where all members of the group of participants are involved and can contribute, while ensuring the cooperative nature of the building process.

[0020] In some embodiments, each of the first type of views presents a plurality of panes arranged next to each other, e.g. in the form of a grid or other regular pattern, each pane presenting one of the individual tasks. Each view of the first type may be presented as a sheet divided into a plurality of panes, i.e. a plurality of sections, in particular mutually non-overlapping sections, into which the sheet is divided into. Accordingly, the individual tasks are easily distinguishable from each other. All views of the first type may include respective panes that may be arranged in a uniform pattern, in particular uniform across alle views of the first type, e.g. in the same type of grid or the like. In one embodiment, all panes have the same shape and / or size. The panes of a view of the first type may be visually distinguishable from each other, where the visual distinction is in addition to, and independent from, the respective individual tasks represented by them. For example, the panes may be color-coded, e.g. such that each pane has a frame and / or background in a color different from the colors of the frames and / or backgrounds of the other panes of the view. Such coloring may be uniform across all views of the first type. In some embodiments, each view of the first type only represents a number of individual tasks. In other embodiments, one or more of the views of the first type may represent one or more additional tasks, e.g. a cooperative task, in addition to the individual tasks.

[0021] In some embodiments, the sequence of views is an alternating sequence of views wherein the views of the first and second type are arranged in an alternating order, in particular such that each view of the first type is followed by a view of the second type. In some embodiments, the sequence of views has an initial view and a final view. The initial view may be a view of the first type. The final view may be a view of the second type, or another view illustrating a cooperative task, in particular a cooperative task that directly or indirectly uses the results of all cooperative tasks represented by the previous views of the second type, preceding the final view.

[0022] In some embodiments, the system comprises a plurality of physical tokens, the plurality of tokens being visually distinguishable from each other, and each view of the first type represents a graphical representation of a respective token in association with each of the individual tasks represented by said view of the first type, in particular such that each individual task illustrated by said view of the first type is associated with a different physical token. In particular, each view of the first type may represent graphical representations of a set of respective tokens, each token of the set being associated with a respective one of the individual tasks represented by said view of the first type, Each view of the first type may thus represent the physical tokens of the set such that respective tokens of the set are represented as aprt of the respective representations of the individual tasks. Accordingly, each member of the group of participants may select or otherwise obtain or be associated with one of the physical tokens, thereby defining a role of said member. The physical tokens may thus aid the members to efficiently identify the respective individual tasks to be performed by them from the individual tasks represented on a view of the first type. All views of the first type may represent graphical representations of the same set of tokens.

[0023] The physical tokens may be construction elements of the system, or they may be small modular structures constructed from two or more construction elements, or they may be physical tokens other than construction elements, e.g. physical tokens that do not include coupling members compatible with the toy or education construction system. All physical tokens may have a visual appearance that readily identifies them as tokens, i.e. the physical tokens may be distinguishable from the (other) construction elements of the system. At the same time, the physical tokens may be visually distinguishable from each other. For example, in some embodiments, all physical tokens may have a uniform shape and size identifying them as physical tokens. The physical tokens may have respective colors and / or insignia or the like to make them easily distinguishable from each other. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the physical tokens may have a uniform color but respective shapes and sizes, or otherwise. In the views of the first type, the representations of the tokens are represented distinguishable from, e.g. spaced apart or otherwise separate from, the representation of the respective individual task to be performed, i.e. such that the token is not confused as one of the construction elements to be used as a part of performing the represented individual task.

[0024] The respective colors and / or insignia and / or appearance of the physical tokens may be used to associate the individual tasks of the views of the first type with respective physical tokens and, hence, with respective members of the group of participants. For example, each pane representing an individual task may include a graphical representation of a respective physical token, and / or may be color-coded by the token-specific color and / or carry a visible token-specific-insignia. A combination of a graphical representation of the physical token in each pane and a pane-specific background color of the respective panes, where the background color corresponds to the color of the associated physical token has been found to be a particular efficient representation of the respective individual tasks.

[0025] Accordingly, all views of the first type may include representations of the same set of physical tokens. The number of mutually distinguishable physical tokens may correspond to the number of individual tasks represented on each view of the first type, and each view of the first type may represent an individual task associated with each of the visually distinguishable tokens.

[0026] In some embodiments, the panes of respective views of the first type are arranged in a uniform manner, in particular such that, on all views of the first type, a pane associated with a first physical token is located at the same position relative to the other panes on said view, e.g. at the same grid position, thereby allowing the participants to efficiently identify their respective individual tasks.

[0027] In some embodiments, the physical tokens have the shape of a figurine. It will be appreciated, however, that other forms of associating the different individual tasks with respective members of the group of participants may be used.

[0028] In some embodiments, the building instruction component is configured to concurrently present all individual tasks presented by one of the views of the first type, in particular such that an entire view of the first type is visible at the same time and can be viewed in its entirety by all participants.

[0029] The building instructions may be graphical building instructions, i.e. pictorial or symbolic rather than verbal instructions. The views may be provided as pictorial representations, such as diagrams, photos, or other graphical representations that represent the respective tasks. Generally graphical representations refer to pictorial or symbolic rather than verbal representations. The views may be provided by a physical medium or a digital views. Examples of a physical medium include sheets of paper, cardboard or another suitable carrier material. The physical medium may be provided as a collection if individual sheets, e.g. as separate sheets or as sheets bound in the form of a book or otherwise such that the sheets are connected to each other in a sequence. Alternatively or additionally, multiple views may be combined into a poster or larger page or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the building instruction component includes a plurality of physical sheets each presenting one or more views of the sequence of views. The physical sheets may be mutually connected in a sequence of sheets, in particular a book comprising the physical sheets as pages of the book, thereby providing an efficient manner of imposing a predetermined sequence of views and allowing the building instructions to be presented without requiring digital equipment.

[0030] Digital views may be represented on a suitable display, e.g. a tablet, computer display or the like, e.g. such that an entire view is displayed concurrently on the display. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the building instruction component includes a digital representation of the sequence of views. For example, the building instruction component may comprise a data carrier comprising a digital representation of the building instructions configured to be displayed by a data processing system. The building instruction component may comprise a computer program comprising executable program code configured to cause a data processing system to display the sequence of views, when the computer program code is executed by the data processing system. In some embodiments, the building instruction component may comprise a data processing system suitably programed or otherwise configured to display the sequence of views.

[0031] Accordingly, according to yet another aspect, disclosed herein is a data processing system, e.g. a portable processing device, configured to present building instructions disclosed herein. The data processing system may comprise a suitably programmed computer such as a portable computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a PDA or another programmable computing device, e.g. a device having a graphical user-interface.

[0032] According to yet another aspect, disclosed herein is a computer program which may be encoded on a computer readable medium, such as a disk drive or other memory device. The computer program comprises program code adapted to cause, when executed by a data processing system, the data processing system to display building instructions as described herein. The computer program may be embodied as a computer-readable medium, such as a CD-ROM, DVD, optical disc, memory card, flash memory, magnetic storage device, floppy disk, hard disk, etc. having stored thereon the computer program. In other embodiments, a computer program product may be provided as a downloadable software package, e.g. on a web server for download over the internet or other computer or communication network, or as an application for download to a mobile device from an App store. According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium has stored thereon instructions which, when executed by one or more processing units, cause the processing unit to perform an embodiment of the process described herein. In other embodiments, a computer program product may be provided as a webservice executable by a remote server computer and accessible via a user device.

[0033] The building instruction component may present the individual and cooperative tasks on the respective views in a variety of ways. The representation of each individual task and / or of each cooperative task may be in the form of a graphical representation of a sequence of one or more assembly steps that result in a modular structure constructed from a plurality of construction elements or otherwise result in an assembly of construction elements. For example, an individual task may be represented by depicting the part assembly resulting from the individual task, optionally supplemented by one or more graphical symbols, such as arrows or the like, that illustrate how the construction elements are to be assembled. In some examples an individual task may include a single assembly step while, in other examples, an individual task may include more than one assembly step. In the latter case, the individual task may be represented as a sequence of part assemblies or otherwise as a representation of the more than one steps of the individual task. Similarly, a cooperative task may be represented by a modular structure or part assembly to be assembled from the part assemblies, resulting from a previous set of individual tasks, optionally supplemented by one or more graphical symbols, such as arrows or the like, that illustrate how the part assemblies are to be assembled with each other. In some examples a cooperative task may include a single assembly step while, in other examples, a cooperative task may include more than one assembly step. In the latter case, the cooperative task may be represented as a sequence of part assemblies or otherwise as a representation of the more than one steps of the cooperative task.

[0034] In some embodiments, the sequence of views includes one or more views of a third type, different from the first and second types. For example, in some embodiments, a view of the third type may comprise instructions, guidance or inspiration for one or more individual or cooperative tasks that involve the one or more modular structures resulting from preceding cooperative building process or from a preceding part of the cooperative building process. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the building instruction component may be configured to present the view of the third type as a final view or otherwise as a view following the sequence of views of the first and second types. Alternatively or additionally, a view of the third type may comprise instructions, guidance or inspiration for one or more individual or cooperative tasks that involve the one or more part assemblies that result from a preceding individual or cooperative tasks represented by a preceding view of the first or second type. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the building instruction component may be configured to present a view of the third type as an intermediate view, i.e. between views of the first and second types of the sequence of views. Other examples of views of the third type include views that present individual tasks as well as one or more cooperative tasks. For example, in some embodiments, each view of the first type only represents individual tasks, each view of the second type only represents one or more cooperative tasks, and one or more views of the third type represents a combination of individual and cooperative tasks.

[0035] For the purpose of the present description, a modular structure, sometimes also referred to as a construction model or as a toy or educational construction model, is a coherent structure constructed from two or more construction elements that are mutually attached to each other. A construction element is a single coherent element that cannot be disassembled in a nondestructive manner into smaller construction elements of the toy or educational construction system. A modular structure or a construction element may be part of a larger modular structure, while still being individually recognizable.

[0036] Generally, each of the construction elements comprises one or more coupling members configured for detachably attaching the construction element to one or more other construction elements of the toy or educational construction system, i.e. such that the construction elements may be repeatedly attached to each other and detached from each other. To this end, the construction elements may comprise mating coupling members configured for mechanical and detachable interconnection with the coupling members of other construction elements of the system, e.g. in frictional and / or interlocking engagement, via magnetic coupling or in another manner. Magnetic coupling may be provided by cooperating coupling members that rely on an attractive magnetic force. Some examples of coupling members use friction engagement, snap-fit engagement, or a combination of both, in order to support a detachable connection between the construction elements. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, detachable mechanical connections may also be formed between construction elements using coupling members providing a detachable form-locking positive connection.

[0037] The present disclosure further relates to a toy or educational construction set comprising a plurality of construction elements and a building instruction component, and / or instructions to obtain a computer program code and / or digital representation of the building instructions as described herein. The computer program may be configured to cause a processing device to present building instructions as described herein, when the computer program code is executed by the processing device. For example, the instructions may be provided in the form of an internet address, a reference to an App store, or the like. The instructions may be provided in machine readable form, e.g. as a QR code or the like. The toy or educational construction set may even comprise a computer-readable medium having stored thereon the computer program code or the digital representation of the building instructions.

[0038] The present disclosure further relates to a method of constructing a modular structure from a plurality of construction elements by a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, each of the plurality of construction elements comprising coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures constructable from the construction elements, the method comprising: presenting, to said group of two or more participants, building instructions, in particular graphical building instructions, for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements, wherein presenting the building instructions comprises presenting a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants. The method may further comprise performing the individual and cooperative tasks in an order represented by the sequence of views, in particular such that the individual tasks represented by a view of the first type are concurrently performed by respective members of the group of participants and such that the one or more cooperative tasks represented by a view of the second type are performed by the group of participants in a cooperative manner, e.g. such that all members of the group of participants contribute to the completion of the cooperative task.

[0039] Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail in connection with the appended drawings, where

[0041] FIGs. 1-2 schematically illustrate examples of toy or educational construction sets of a toy or educational construction system described herein.

[0042] FIGs. 3A-C schematically illustrate an example of a building instruction component. FIGs. 4A-C schematically illustrate examples of views of the first type.

[0043] FIGs. 5A-B schematically illustrate another example of a building instruction component.

[0044] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Embodiments of the system and the building instruction component disclosed herein may be used in connection with a variety of toy or educational construction systems, in particular with toy or educational construction systems that use modular construction elements based on various connection mechanisms for mutually attaching the construction elements with each other, e.g. using magnets, studs, notches, sleeves, with or without interlocking connection etc. Examples of these systems include, but are not limited to, the toy constructions system available under the tradename LEGO®, which is also suitable as an educational construction system. For example, US3005282 and USD253711S disclose one such interlocking toy construction system and toy figures, respectively.

[0046] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a toy or educational construction set of a toy or educational construction system described herein. The toy or educational construction set may be obtained in a box or other form of packaging. The toy or educational construction set comprises a plurality of construction elements 2, from which one or more modular structures can be constructed. In some embodiments, the toy or educational construction elements 2 may be toy or educational construction elements known as such in the art. The toy or educational construction set further comprises a building instruction component 1 , e.g. in a form of a pamphlet, booklet or other form of book, in the form of a collection of cards, pages or other physical medium for presenting a sequence of views, e.g. in the form of a sequence of physical sheets, or otherwise. In other embodiments the building instruction component 1 may be operable to present a digital representation of building instructions, e.g. in the form of a sequence of virtual views.

[0047] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates another example of a toy or educational construction set, similar to the set of FIG. 1 . The toy or educational construction set of FIG. 2 includes a plurality of construction elements 2 and a building instruction component 1 , all as described in connection with FIG. 1. The toy or educational construction set of the example of FIG. 2 differs from the example of FIG. 1 in that the toy or educational construction set of FIG. 2 further comprises a number of physical tokens 3. In the present example, the toy or educational construction set comprises four physical tokens. However other embodiments may include a different number of tokens. In the present embodiment, the physical tokens 3 are figurines that are compatible with the toy or educational construction system. However, other embodiments may include other forms of physical tokens. In the present example, the physical tokens 3 all have the same shape and size, but different colors. In other embodiments, the physical tokens may be otherwise visually distinguishable from each other and, in some embodiments, visually distinguishable from the construction elements 2 of the toy or educational construction set.

[0048] It will be appreciated that various examples of toy or educational construction sets may include a variety of construction elements. While the examples of FIGs. 1 and 2 illustrate a particular example of such a set of construction elements, it will be appreciated that other examples may include different types of construction elements and / or a different number of construction elements. In some embodiments, the toy or educational construction set may include functional construction elements, e.g. as described in WO 2015 / 137246 or otherwise.

[0049] FIGs. 3A-C schematically illustrate an example of a building instruction component. In the present example the building instruction component is embodied as a book 1 , including sheets in the form of pages of the book. Each sheet represents a view of a sequence of views. Each of FIGs. 3A-C illustrates the book 1 when opened on a different page. Accordingly, each of FIGs. 3A-C shows two pages of the open book 1 , namely a left and a right page. The pages are bound at the center as illustrated by a dotted line 15. FIGs. 3A-C illustrate an example of building instructions for a cooperative building process performed by four participants. To this end, the book 1 is configured to present graphical building instructions for said cooperative building process to a group of participants of the cooperative building process. In the present example, the cooperative building process has four participants. However, it will be appreciated that other examples building instruction components may be configured for presenting graphical building instructions for a cooperative building process having a different number of participants, such as 2, 3, 5, 6 or more participants. The cooperative building process is a process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of a plurality of construction element. In the present example, the cooperative building instructions results in an assembly of five modular structures. However, it will be appreciated that other examples of building instruction components may be configured for presenting graphical building instructions for a cooperative building process for constructing a different number of modular structures, such as a single modular structure or 2, 3, 4, 6, or more modular structures.

[0050] The book 1 is configured to present the graphical building instructions as a sequence of views 11 , 12, and 13, each view being depicted on a respective one of the pages of the book 1 . The sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type 11 , one or more views of a second type 12 and a final view 13. Each view of the first type presents a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants. The views of the second type and the final view present respective cooperative tasks to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

[0051] To this end, each page of the book 1 corresponds to a view, i.e. when opening the book on any given page, the participants can view at least one view in its entirety. FIG. 3A illustrates the book 1 opened such that the left page, to the left of the center binding 15, shows the initial view 11 of the sequence of views while the right page shows the immediately following view 12. The initial view 11 is a view of the first type. It represents individual tasks to be performed by respective ones of the four members of the group of participants. To this end, the initial view 11 depicts four separate panes 110, 120, 130, and 140, each depicting one of the individual tasks, corresponding to the number of members of the group of participants, which in the present example is four. The panes in this example are arranged in two rows and two columns, i.e. in a regular rectangular grid. However, it will be appreciated that the panes may alternatively be arranged in a different fashion, e.g. depending on factors such as how many members the group of participants of the cooperative building process has.

[0052] FIGs. 4A-C show alternative examples of arrangements of panes on a view of the first type, where each pane illustrates an individual task. In FIGs. 4A-C the panes are illustrated by dotted lines and the representation of the actual individual tasks has been omitted for the sake of simplicity of illustration. In the example of FIG. 4A the view 11 of the first type includes four triangular panes 110, 120, 130 and 140 arranged with one of their edges aligned with respective edges of the page that depicts the view 11 and with one of their corners positioned at the center of the page. FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a view 11 of the first type that includes three panes 110, 120 and130 arranged as respective circle segments of a circle. FIG. 4G illustrates an example of a view 11 of the first type that includes five hexagonal panes 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 arranged on a hexagonal grid. It will be appreciated that other examples of views of the first type may include other types of arrangements of panes and / or arrangements of different numbers of panes.

[0053] Again referring to FIGs. 3A-C, the panes of the view 11 of the first type are visually distinguishable from each other. In this example, each pane has a different background color: Pane 110 has a blue background color, pane 120 has a red background color, pane 130 has a green background color, and pane 140 has a yellow background color. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may use other colors and / or other ways of visually distinguishing the panes, e.g. by providing differently colored frames around the panes, by using background patterns and / or the like.

[0054] Each pane illustrates an individual task that results in a part assembly of construction elements. In the present example, each task is illustrated by showing the construction elements to be assembled in a partly assembled state and partly in exploded view with arrows illustrating the required assembly steps to be performed for attaching the constructing elements with each other.

[0055] Each pane further illustrates a graphical representation of a respective physical token 111 , 121 , 131 and 141 , respectively, in this example of the physical tokens in the form of differently colored figurines of the toy or educational construction set of FIG. 2. The colors of the figurines match the respective background colors of the respective panes.

[0056] Specifically referring to FIG. 3A, the right page represents a view of the second type 12 representing a cooperative task immediately following, and using the part assemblies resulting from, the individual tasks illustrated in the panes 110, 120, 130 and 140 of the view of the first type 11 shown on the left page of the open book 1 of FIG. 3A. The cooperative task represented by view 12 is illustrated in a similar manner as the individual tasks, namely by showing the part assemblies to be assembled with each other in a partly assembled state and partly in exploded view with arrows illustrating the required assembly steps to be performed. In the example of FIG. 3A, the cooperative task illustrated by view 12 includes multiple steps, which are individually shown and enumerated in consecutive order.

[0057] FIG. 3B shows the book 1 when opened on the two pages following the pages shown in FIG. 3A. As was described in connection with FIG. 3A, the left page represents a view of the first type 11 while the right page illustrates a view of the second type 12, all as described in connection with FIG. 3A, except that the view of the first type 11 of FIG. 3B shows individual tasks different from the ones shown in FIG. 3A and resulting in different part assemblies. Accordingly, the view of the second type 12 of FIG. 3B illustrates a subsequent cooperative task that utilises the part assemblies resulting from the individual tasks illustrated on view 11 of FIG. 3B. As will be apparent when comparing the views 11 of FIGs. 3A and 3B, respectively, the panes corresponding to the respective members of the group of participants, as represented by the associated physical token assigned to said member, are arranged in a uniform manner. In particular, the individual task to be performed by a given member, e.g. the member associated with token 111 , is located at the same position on each view of the first type 11. Also, all views of the first type have a uniform arrangement of panes throughout the building instructions for a given cooperative building process.

[0058] Finally, FIG. 30 shows a final view 13 representing a final cooperative task of the cooperative building process, where the results of the cooperative tasks illustrated by the views of the second type 12 of the previous pages (and illustrated in previous FIGs. 3A-B) are brought together and assembled to obtain the final assembly of modular structures. Other examples of building instructions may include alternative or additional final views, and / or they may include additional types of views other than as a final view. For example, in some embodiments, the building instruction components may present one or more views of a third type, which may include a combination of individual and cooperative tasks. In some embodiments, the building instruction component may include one or more view presenting guidance or insoira- tion for further tasks, e.g. tasks using the constructed modular structure, or otherwise.

[0059] The example of FIGs. 3A-3C thus illustrates an example of a building instruction component that represents an alternating sequence of views of the first and second type corresponding to a cooperative building process where individual tasks and cooperative building tasks alternate with each other. In the present example, the cooperative building process includes two rounds of individual and cooperative tasks. It will be appreciated that other embodiments may include a different number of alternating rounds of individual and cooperative tasks, or otherwise.

[0060] FIGs. 5A-B schematically illustrate another example of a building instruction component. As in the example of FIGs 3A-C, the building instruction component is embodied as a book 1 , including views depicted on the pages of the book. Each of FIGs. 5A-B illustrates the book 1 when opened on a different page. Accordingly, each of FIGs. 5A-B shows two consecutive pages of the open book 1 , namely a left and a right page. The pages are bound at the center as illustrated by a dotted line 15.

[0061] The example of FIGs. 5A-B is similar to the example of FIGs. 3A-C in that the book 1 illustrates at least one view of the first type 11 , which illustrates panes 110, 120, 130 and 140 representing individual tasks, and at least one view of the second type 12, which illustrates a cooperative task. The sequence of views also includes a final view 13 representing a final cooperative task that completes the cooperative building process. The panes 110, 120, 130 and 140 are arranged in a regular pattern across the view. The panes have a different visual appearance, in particular respective background colors, and they each depict a respective physical token 111 , 121 , 131 , and 141 , all as described in connection with FIGs. 3A-C. The example of FIGs. 5A-B differs from the example of FIGs. 3A-C in that the cooperative building process only includes a single round of individual and cooperative tasks and in that the view of the first type 11 extends over two consecutive pages rather than only a single page of the book 1. In particular, the view 11 of the first type extends across the left and right page that are concurrently visible when opening the book at said pair of pages. Thereby more complex tasks, in particular more complex individual tasks, can be depicted in an easy-to-follow manner.

[0062] While FIGs. 3A-C and FIGs. 5A-B illustrate building instruction components in the form of a book, it will be appreciated that the views described in respect of these figures may also be provided in a different physical or digital form.

[0063] Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in claims appended hereto.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A toy or educational construction system comprising: a plurality of construction elements and a building instruction component, each of the plurality of construction elements comprising coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures constructable from the construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present, to a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, building instructions for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present the building instructions as a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the individual tasks presented by a first view of the first type results in a respective part assembly of one or more construction elements, and wherein the cooperative task presented by a second view of the one or more views of the second type of views uses all part-assemblies resulting from the individual tasks presented by said first view.

3. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the first type of views presents a plurality of panes arranged next to each other, each pane presenting one of the individual tasks.

4. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sequence of views is an alternating sequence of views wherein the views of the first and second type are arranged in an alternating order, in particular such that each view of the first type is followed by a view of the second type.

5. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of physical tokens, the plurality of physical tokens being visually distinguishable from each other, and wherein each view of the first type represents a graphical representation of a respective physical token in association with each of the individual tasks represented by said view of the first type, in particular such that each individual task is associated by a different physical token.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the views of the first type include representations of the same set of physical tokens.

7. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the building instruction component is configured to concurrently present all individual tasks presented by one of the views of the first type.

8. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the building instruction component includes a plurality of physical sheets, in particular a book comprising the physical sheets as pages of the book, each sheet presenting one or more views of the sequence of views.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 through 8, wherein the building instruction component includes a digital representation of the sequence of views.

10. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a third type, different from the first and second types.

11. A building instruction component configured to present, to a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, building instructions for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of a plurality of construction elements, wherein the building instruction component is configured to present the building instructions as a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respectivemembers of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

12. A method of constructing a modular structure from a plurality of construction elements by a group of two or more participants of a cooperative building process, each of the plurality of construction elements comprising coupling members for detachably connecting the construction elements with each other so as to selectively construct one or more modular structures from a plurality of modular structures constructable from the construction elements, the method comprising: presenting to said group of two or more participants building instructions for said cooperative building process for constructing one or more modular structures from construction elements of the plurality of construction elements, wherein presenting the building instructions comprises presenting a sequence of views, wherein the sequence of views includes one or more views of a first type and one or more views of a second type, each view of the first type presenting a plurality of individual tasks to be individually performed by respective members of the group of participants, and each view of the second type of views presenting a cooperative task to be cooperatively performed by the plurality of participants.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising performing the individual and cooperative tasks in an order represented by the sequence of views.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein performing the individual and cooperative tasks comprises:- individually and concurrently performing, by respective members of the group of participants, the individual tasks represented by a view of the first type, and- cooperatively performing, by the group of participants, the one or more cooperative tasks represented by a view of the second type.

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