19-point skip-7 4-color 37-piece Stargram
I continue to make puzzles based on n-pointed skip-m stars. I've needed to revise the cutting pattern many times after discovering that the puzzle was not sufficiently interlocking. In addition, I had some trouble with the colors but finally made the above 19-point skip-7 4-color 37-piece interlocking "stargram." It will be given to a young boy who has assembled a 13-point skip-4 4-color 17-piece "stargram."
Have you ever heard of the famous Four Color Map Theorem? This theorem states that 4 colors are sufficient to color a "map" so that all neighboring "states" ("countries," "pieces" etc.) have different colors. 3 is too few and 5 is more than you need. This interesting theorem was proved by using a computer program which exhaustively considered all the different possibilities. I don't pretend to understand this proof but I will tell you I had to spend a fair amount of time figuring out how to paint the above!