THE TWELVE PENNIES.
(
Moving Counter Problem)
Here is a pretty little puzzle that only requires twelve pennies or
counters. Arrange them in a circle, as shown in the illustration. Now
take up one penny at a time and, passing it over two pennies, place it
on the third penny. Then take up another single penny and do the same
thing, and so on, until, in six such moves, you have the coins in six
pairs in the positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You can move in either
direction round the circle at every play, and it does not matter
whether the two jumped over are separate or a pair. This is quite easy
if you use just a little thought.
Answer:
Here is one of several solutions. Move 12 to 3, 7 to 4, 10 to 6, 8 to 1,
9 to 5, 11 to 2.
