Abstract: A toy structure building apparatus includes a plurality of connector members attached to a plurality of structural members. Each connector member has a pin portion and a retention element located on an external surface of the pin portion. The apparatus further includes a plurality of connectors, each connector having an aperture for receiving the pin portion of a connector member and a detent member disposed within the aperture. The detent member is adapted to lockingly engage the retention element and includes a flexible elongated locking element extending in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis of the pin portion when the detent member is lockingly engaged to the retention element. The pin portion is selectively insertable into the aperture to couple and uncouple the structural members to each other to build a toy structure.

Abstract: A method of playing a board game, where the game comprises a play surface and multi-segmented playing pieces representing characters adapted to stand upright on the surface. Each character is comprised of a stack of segments. By progressively removing segments from the bottom of the stack upwardly, the character appears to be sinding deeper and deeper below the surface, as for example, quicksand or a body of water. As segments are added back to the bottom of the stack in the reverse order, the character appears to emerge upwardly again. Portions of adjacent segments interconnect to maintain the segments in the desired stacked condition and relative orientation to one another.