Games for Smart People
Smart Games
SOLVING PEG SOLITAIRE
The standard puzzle, as see at Cracker Barrel and the like, is the one on the left where all the positions are filled except for the top (number 1).
Placing this position in the Analysis tab of Peg Pals and tapping on the Study button at the top right, will tell you all the possible solutions from that position.
So, as you can see, there are 29,760 possible solutions to this puzzle.
6,816 solutions end at peg position 1
3,408 solutions end at peg position 7
3,408 solutions end at peg position 10
16,128 solutions end at peg position 13.
So, it is much easier to find a solution that ends at peg position 13 than one that ends at position 1. And it's hardest to find a solution that ends at position 7 (or at position 10).
It's interesting that many people think there is just one (or very few) solutions when, in fact, there are many thousands of solutions. Of course there are many millions of possible ways to "try" and solve such a puzzle, so finding one of these is not always easy.
To see a solution to this (or any other triangle peg puzzle), you need only set up that position in the main tab (you do this by first setting to position in the Analysis tab and using the Import button on the Puzzle table.
Then if you repeatedly tap on the Hint button, Peg Pals will walk you through a solution.
You can do this over and over to see as many of the solutions as you like.
If you only want to see solutions that end at a particular location, then drag the Red Circle in the Analysis tab to that location before doing the Import.