+----+
|  1 |
+----+----+
|  2 |  3 |
+----+----+----+
|  4 |  5 |  6 |
+----+----+----+----+
|  7 |  8 |  9 | 10 |
+----+----+----+----+----+
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
+----+----+----+----+----+

The board is a fifteen cell right triangular arrangement as shown. All cells except #15 have a token. A move is a jump over a vertically, horizontally or diagonally adjacent token to an empty cell; the jumped token is removed.

The object of the game is to leave just one piece on the board. Provide a solution sequence as to how you solved the puzzle; eg 6-15, 8-10, etc.

I can get a solution set of 13 moves (in the middle game the order of sequence may differ from the solution which I have recorded.

To play this game, already constructed, go here
Note: they do not offer a solution!

Before this was posted a Journeyman had indicated to me that a certain franchised chain of restaurants offered this as a pastime using golf tees as the tokens.

If you are booked into one of these restaurants, and you want to impress whilst waiting for your meal, learn my solution, or that of reges, or be a hero and learn all of Charlie's offerings.

Enjoy your meal.

Note:
While I would personally like to see people approach problems using only an algorithm driven by the circuitry of their brain cells, this does offer a natural challenge to those who have such skills.

To give credit where credit is due, people like Charlie and Penny, with their programs actually do problem solving a great service.

In one of the Forums it was pointed out (possibly not as succintly as this) that such persons actually address all of the variables in the problem, and their relationships, before writing the program.  Should they miss a variable or an operation then their offering is worthless.

The point that I have not properly addressed is:
    1. Our 'unique' solution may not be so "unique".
    2. There are lessons of patience and foresight in identifying             elements and their relationships which many of us might             take on board.
    3. To deny a computer solution (even if we do not want to see         one) takes us to a pre-renaissance time.

Edited on August 3, 2005, 10:26 am

Posted by brianjn on 2005-08-03 09:51:27