SYNOPSIS: Move a peg by dragging it. A peg may be moved only by jumping over a single peg into an empty hole. Any peg jumped over is automatically removed. Jumps may only be made horizontally or diagonally. The object is to wind up with a single peg, and to do so in the fewest possible moves.
The Pascal's Pegs window contains a representation of a triangular board with fifteen holes, all but one of which are initially filled with pegs. Solid black circles represent pegs. Circles outlined in black and with white interiors are empty holes. Pegs are removed by jumping over them with other pegs. The object is to wind up with only one peg, and to do so in the least possible number of moves (see the MOVES section below).
Pegs can be moved only by jumping diagonally or horizontally (that is, in a direction parallel to one of the three sides of the triangle). A jump can only be made over a single peg into an empty hole; the peg which is jumped over is then removed.
I have called this puzzle Pascal's Pegs because the positions of the pegs remind one of the famous Pascal's Triangle. This puzzle originally became popular in the 1700's, at which time it was known by the name "Solitaire," a name we now reserve for certain card games.
MOVES:
A move is defined as a sequence of consecutive jumps by the same peg. In other words, as long as you keep making jumps with the same peg it counts only as one move. As stated previously, the object is, first of all, to be left with only one peg and, secondly, to accomplish that in the least possible number of moves. The "Moves Counter" in the box at the upper right of the Pascal's Pegs window keeps track of the number of moves you've made.
If you make a number of moves and succeed in having only one peg remaining, a message will appear to let you know whether you have in fact used the minimum number of moves. (I thought it might make it more interesting if I didn't just flat out tell you what the minimum number is.)
PLAYING PASCAL'S PEGS WITH YOUR MAC:
On the Mac, jumps are accomplished as follows: position the mouse pointer (the open hand) on the peg you wish to move, press the mouse button down (which makes the hand close), and keep the button down as you move the pointer to the desired location. A dotted outline of the peg will move along with the pointer. If you release the peg over an eligible hole, the peg will jump automatically to the new location, and the peg jumped over will be removed. If you release the peg anywhere else, i.e., over an ineligible hole or not over a hole, then the outline will jump back to its original location.
SPECIAL MENU COMMANDS:
FILE MENU:
Change Puzzles:
This will bring up a dialog box which will allow you to select the puzzle of your choice by clicking on its name (or on the button next to its name). Click on the "Start selected puzzle" button after you've made your selection. If you decide instead to go back to the puzzle you just left, click on the "Return to previous puzzle" button and you will get back to that puzzle in exactly the state you left it.
PUZZLE MENU:
Undo Jump:
This is the first command in the Puzzle menu. Choosing Undo Jump will return the peg you last moved to its previous location and will, if appropriate, revise the number of moves displayed in the Moves Counter. If you make a move and then choose Save Positions or Revert (see below), you will no longer be able to undo that particular jump.
Save Positions, Revert:
The second and third commands in the Puzzle menu are interconnected. If you choose Save Positions, the Mac will remember where all the pegs were at that point even though you continue to jump pegs. Choosing Revert returns all aspects of the puzzle to their status as of the moment when you last chose Save Positions. That is to say, the pegs are returned to the saved positions and the Moves Counter is revised to display the number of moves you had made at the point when you last chose Save Positions. Note in particular that when you make your next jump after choosing Revert you will not be charged with a new move if the peg you jump with is the peg you had last jumped with immediately prior to choosing Save Positions.
The positions saved will continue to be saved until Save Positions is chosen again (unless, of course, you choose New Start, or you quit or change to another puzzle).
New Start:
This is the fourth command in the Puzzle menu. As the name implies, all of the pegs will be returned to their original positions and the Moves Counter will be reset to zero. You can choose this command any time that the Pascal's Pegs window is the active window.
