In addition to being fun to make and play with, Zome spinning tops are an exercise in balance. The main thing to keep in mind when making tops is symmetry. Everything you do to one side must be mirrored on the other side, or the top will lose its balance. This is pretty easy to do; just make sure that the angles of the struts on the balls are exactly the same. I found that tops that are wider compared to their height tend to be more balanced. Also, tops that use the minimum amount of struts for their frame (i.e. no unnecessary bridging struts) spin faster and longer. All of the tops are based on polygonal shapes--most use a square for a base, creating a pyramid shape with the rest of the top.