THE NINE ALMONDS.
(
Moving Counter Problem)
"Here is a little puzzle," said a Parson, "that I have found peculiarly
fascinating. It is so simple, and yet it keeps you interested
indefinitely."
The reverend gentleman took a sheet of paper and divided it off into
twenty-five squares, like a square portion of a chessboard. Then he
placed nine almonds on the central squares, as shown in the
illustration, where we have represented numbered counters for
convenience in giving the solution.
"Now, the puzzle is," continued the Parson, "to remove eight of the
almonds and leave the ninth in the central square. You make the removals
by jumping one almond over another to the vacant square beyond and
taking off the one jumped over--just as in draughts, only here you can
jump in any direction, and not diagonally only. The point is to do the
thing in the fewest possible moves."
The following specimen attempt will make everything clear. Jump 4 over
1, 5 over 9, 3 over 6, 5 over 3, 7 over 5 and 2, 4 over 7, 8 over 4. But
8 is not left in the central square, as it should be. Remember to remove
those you jump over. Any number of jumps in succession with the same
almond count as one move.
Answer:
This puzzle may be solved in as few as four moves, in the following
manner: Move 5 over 8, 9, 3, 1. Move 7 over 4. Move 6 over 2 and 7. Move
5 over 6, and all the counters are removed except 5, which is left in
the central square that it originally occupied.
