My grandson has a Melissa & Doug puzzle that consists of 5 reversible boards in which you must place certain geometric shapes to
complete the picture.
Here are the front sides of the five puzzles: 
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Here are the corresponding reverse sides of the five puzzles: 
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What is the minimum number of each of the five shapes (square, circle, ellipse, triangle, and rectangle) that is needed so that the child can make either side of all five puzzles?
Solution to the Problem:
The answer is 4 squares, 7 circles, 3 ellipses, 13 triangles, and 3 rectangles.You must determine the greatest number of each shape on the corresponding sides of each puzzle.
Then add up those numbers to get your answer.
Here is a table showing how many of each shape is needed for the 10 puzzles above.
I shaded in the larger of the two numbers for each shape for each puzzle.
| Square | Circle | Ellipse | Triangle | rectangle | Puzzle | Square | Circle | Ellipse | Triangle | rectangle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | I | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | II | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | III | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 1 | 3 | 1 | IV | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 1 | V | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Correctly solved by:
| 1. James Alarie | Flint, Michigan |