Tower Transfer is an ordered-disk puzzle in the Tower of Hanoi family. Every legal move is simple; the challenge is arranging those moves so that the smaller disks repeatedly clear a path for the larger ones.
How to play Tower Transfer
Select a peg to lift its top disk, then select a different peg as the destination. The move is legal only when the destination is empty or its top disk is larger. Build one complete ordered stack on the peg marked Goal before time runs out.
The disks are numbered by size: disk 1 is the smallest. You may use the pointer, press 1–3 to choose pegs directly, or move between them with the arrow keys and press Enter or Space.
A larger disk is usually blocked by several smaller ones. Before moving it, decide where those smaller disks must gather—and which peg must remain free for the large disk.
A reliable transfer strategy
- Find the next large disk that belongs on the goal. Its destination must be clear, and every smaller disk above it must move elsewhere first.
- Reserve the large disk’s destination. Do not leave a small disk on the peg you need for the next important transfer.
- Treat smaller disks as a temporary tower. To clear disk n, move the disks above it onto the remaining peg in correct order.
- Make the large move. Once the route is open, transfer the exposed large disk immediately so later moves build on the progress.
- Repeat from the new state. Split starts need observation as well as the familiar recursive pattern; work from the current top disks, not from a memorised opening.
Working backwards also helps. Ask what the board must look like immediately before the largest unsettled disk can reach its final position. That requirement usually identifies both the next sub-goal and the peg you must keep available.
What the difficulty levels change
Easy is the classic three-disk puzzle: one complete tower starts away from the goal and the exact minimum is seven moves. Standard uses four disks in a seeded legal split layout with a verified optimum from 10 to 15 moves. Hard uses five disks and deeper split starts whose shortest routes are 22 to 31 moves.
| Level | Disks | Start | Exact par | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3 | Complete stack | 7 moves | 1:15 |
| Standard | 4 | Split layout | 10–15 moves | 3:00 |
| Hard | 5 | Split layout | 22–31 moves | 5:00 |
How the Tower Transfer score works
Reaching the goal supplies 70% of the base score. Move efficiency against the exact minimum supplies 25%, and pace supplies the final 5%. An efficient completed route therefore matters much more than rushing.
An unfinished attempt earns only a small amount of completion credit for correctly settled disks; it receives no move-efficiency or pace credit. Undo performs a real reverse transfer and counts as another move. Reset restores the starting layout but deliberately keeps the moves already used, so neither control can hide detours from the result.
How every route is verified
Each legal position can be recorded by the peg holding each disk. With three pegs and n disks there are at most 3n positions—only 243 for the five-disk Hard game. The generator explores that complete state graph with breadth-first search, checking legal moves in layers until it reaches the goal.
The first route found this way is mathematically shortest. The same independent solver validates the displayed start, exact par and stored route before play. Standard and Hard are selected only from split layouts inside their published route-depth ranges.
For a classic complete stack of n disks, the minimum is 2n − 1 moves: seven for three disks, 15 for four and 31 for five. Split starts can be shorter, which is why their par is solved from the actual displayed state rather than guessed from that formula.
Common Tower Transfer mistakes
Clearing the right disk onto the wrong peg
You may expose a large disk yet leave its destination occupied. Decide where the smaller temporary tower belongs before beginning the clearance.
Moving a useful large disk twice
A legal large-disk move can still be a detour. Prefer transfers that place the disk on its final peg or create a clearly necessary intermediate state.
Judging only the number of settled disks
A temporarily empty goal peg can still be part of the optimal route. Preserve the order and future access instead of forcing every move toward the marked peg.
Tower Transfer questions
Is this the same as Tower of Hanoi?
Easy uses the classic three-peg, full-stack setup. Standard and Hard keep the same legal-move rule but begin from validated split layouts, so their openings cannot be solved by repeating one memorised routine.
Can a generated puzzle be impossible?
No. Every legal three-peg state is connected to every other through legal transfers, and the game independently solves each selected start to its goal before displaying it.
Can I use a keyboard?
Yes. Press 1, 2 or 3 to select a source or destination directly. Arrow keys move between peg buttons, and Enter or Space chooses the focused peg.
Is Tower Transfer in the Daily Brain Workout?
Not currently. It is a standalone Planning game while its timing and fit inside a complete five-station circuit are evaluated separately. Toggle Grid remains the current Daily Planning exercise.