Tommy Fox kept a sharp look-out to see what he could capture to eat. But he could discover nothing at all. To be sure, there were birds in the trees, and birds' nests too, and Tommy was very fond of birds' eggs. But he couldn't climb trees. T... Read more of TOMMY FOX IS HUNGRY at Children Stories.caInformational Site Network Informational
Privacy
Home Top Rated Puzzles Most Viewed Puzzles All Puzzle Questions Random Puzzle Question Search


Foxes And Geese





(MISCELLANEOUS PUZZLES)

Here is a little puzzle of the moving counters class that my readers will probably find entertaining. Make a diagram of any convenient size similar to that shown in our illustration, and provide six counters—three marked to represent foxes and three to represent geese. Place the geese on the discs 1, 2, and 3, and the foxes on the discs numbered 10, 11, and 12



Now the puzzle is this. By moving one at a time, fox and goose alternately, along a straight line from one disc to the next one, try to get the foxes on 1, 2, and 3, and the geese on 10, 11, and 12—that is, make them exchange places—in the fewest possible moves.





But you must be careful never to let a fox and goose get within reach of each other, or there will be trouble. This rule, you will find, prevents you moving the fox from 11 on the first move, as on either 4 or 6 he would be within reach of a goose. It also prevents your moving a fox from 10 to 9, or from 12 to 7. If you play 10 to 5, then your next move may be 2 to 9 with a goose, which you could not have played if the fox had not previously gone from 10. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that only one fox or one goose can be on a disc at the same time. Now, what is the smallest number of moves necessary to make the foxes and geese change places?







Read Answer





Next: Robinson Crusoe's Table

Previous: The Number Blocks



Add to Informational Site Network
Report
Privacy
ADD TO EBOOK




Random Questions

The Educated Frogs.
Moving Counter Problem
A Puzzle For Card-players.
Combination and Group Problems
The Cardboard Box.
Patchwork Puzzles
The Two Errand Boys
MISCELLANEOUS PUZZLES
The Three Clocks.
Money Puzzles
The Riddle Of The Crusaders
THE MERRY MONKS OF RIDDLEWELL
The Garden Walls.
Patchwork Puzzles
The Three Railway Stations.
Patchwork Puzzles
The Languishing Maiden.
The Guarded Chessboard
The Card Frame Puzzle.
Problems Concerning Games.
The Honest Dairyman.
Measuring, Weight, and Packing Puzzles.
Captain Longbow And The Bears
MISCELLANEOUS PUZZLES
The Two Pawns.
The Guarded Chessboard
Such A Getting Upstairs.
Unclassified Problems.
Thirty-six Mates.
The Guarded Chessboard