Around here we love math and logic brain teasers because they stretch those all important problem solving muscles. After the success of the cubic puzzler and the harder-than-it-looks T puzzle, I was on the hunt for more classic math games stumbled across The Tower of Hanoi.
Sounds sort of like some mysterious and legendary monument, doesn't it? The history and background will reveal a bit of why that is! (see end of post for the background)
The Tower of Hanoi puzzle is traditionally composed of a stack of wooden discs that fit onto rods. Fortunately, the rods aren't necessary and the basic puzzle is easy to make yourself. Your kids will want to put down their screens to solve this hands-on logic game.
I was quite surprised at how much my 6-year-old enjoyed playing this game. Usually it is my older son who jumps at logic puzzles. Once my youngest son had completed the 4 disc puzzle, he insisted on using as many discs as he could, and was determined to solve it!
Table of contents
Make Your Own Tower of Hanoi
Materials:
- At least 3 wooden or cardboard discs, all in different sizes
- One sheet of paper divided into three sections
Set up:
You'll need a stack of 3 or more discs in ascending size. The exact size and proportions are not important. I made our discs from inexpensive package of craft supply wooden circles, and some from cardboard.
Designate three separate areas for stacking. We used a piece of paper divided into three sections for guidance (I'll call these sections A, B and C.)
Stack the discs in order according to size with the smallest disc on top. and place on the far left section of your paper.
Objective and Rules
The objective is to move the stack of discs from section A to section C while observing the following rules:
- The discs can only be moved one at a time.
- A disc can only be placed on an empty space, or on a larger disc.
Solution
The solution involves a mathematical pattern. You can read about the complexities of that pattern here, but I warn you, your eyes may glaze over, as mine did.
The easiest way for kids to discover the pattern is to first play with only three discs, and then with only four discs. While the Tower of Hanoi can be played with any number of discs, the sequences of moves remains the same 1) for an even number of discs; and 2) for an odd number.
Watch our video to see how it's done. Near the end, I show you the Tower of Hanoi solution and basic patterns, in case you get stuck.
History
The puzzle was invented in 1883 by French mathematician Edouard Lucas. It was inspired by a legend that in an ancient Eastern temple, priests were moving a stack of 64 golden discs. The game is sometimes called, the problem of Benares Temple.
Legend said that the when the last move was made, the world would end. Fortunately for us, even if they made one move per second, would take a minimum of 5oo billion years to move the stack. I hope it does not take your kids that long to move a stack of 4 discs, but good luck!
Jeanette Nyberg says
It's a good thing I'll be at a craft store in mere minutes to try to find some of these discs. I'm a little excited to try this.
Anu Ganesh says
Awesome. Love this!
Not sure if my almost 6 years old would be able to solve. But will try 🙂
Nuzhat says
Excellent
johnhenry says
Here is an online implementation of Towers of Hanoi. I hope you enjoy it!
https://www.mathsisfun.com/games/towerofhanoi.html
Erica says
Thanks.
Kathleen Reid says
Watched it several times and still don't get the solution. Your "slow motion" isn't slow enough for me and your instructions of "1) for an even number of discs; and 2) for an odd number." is cryptic. What does that mean?
Erica says
For an odd number of discs (e.g. 3, 5, 7 etc) or for an even number of discs (4, 6, 8, etc.) the pattern of how you move the discs to get to the solution is different. You can play the video at a slower speed to see the pattern if you are having trouble. Here it is on youtube if that's easier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1T9s1G1B4M However the absolute best way to determine the solution is to try it out with the discs yourself.