
This is because peg solitaire is NP-complete (when played on \(n\times. Is there a general way to work out if a given setup is solvable? Can we write a computer program that can find the valid moves if they exist, and certify impossibility when they don’t? The answer is yes, but it might not work very well. But other setups - such as the French variant - are far more subtle. For example, if our starting and target configurations each consist of a single peg, but placed in different locations, the game is clearly impossible. Given particular starting and target configurations, a valid set of moves connecting them might not exist! For some setups, this will be obvious.
#EUROPEAN PEG SOLITAIRE SOLUTION HOW TO#
How to cheat at peg solitaire (using linear algebra)

All holes but the middle one are initially filled with pegs. One of the most common configurations is a cross-shaped board with 33 holes. If we count consecutive jumps made by a piece as a single move, this solution consists of 18 moves, which is the lowest possible. The goal is to remove all pegs but one by jumping pegs from one side of an occupied peg hole to an empty space, removing the peg which was jumped over. Finish with a single peg at the end to win. The solution in the animation is Ernest Bergholt’s optimal solution. It is believed that the game was invented by a French nobleman who first played it on the stone tiles of his prison cell in the Bastille. Play Peg Solitaire (European Board) Puzzle Game Online Peg Solitaire (European Board) Gameplay Jump one peg over another into an empty spot in the board and remove the peg jumped over from the board.

I recommend you give one a try if you haven’t played the game before.īut, be warned… Peg solitaire can be impossible!Ĭlassical peg solitaire, played on the English board. These days many apps are available for playing peg solitaire on your phone. The peg that is jumped over is then removed. Moves are made by jumping a peg either horizontally or vertically over a neighbouring peg, and into an empty square. In the classic English and French variants (which only differ in the shape of the board), the starting configuration has pegs in all but the central square, and target with a single peg in the central square. The aim of the game is to find a sequence of moves that will turn the starting configuration into a target configuration. Initially a set of pegs are placed in the squares in a starting configuration. Peg solitaire is played on a board built out of squares. In the European variant, it is not possible to finish with a peg in that. A bit too much for the video, so we’ll explore them here instead! How to play peg solitaire The objective in the English variant is to finish with a single peg in the center hole. There is no solution to the European board with the initial hole centrally located, if only. But hidden just below the surface are some connections with linear programming, Diophantine equations, and the mysteriously named Fredholm alternative. This is easily seen as follows, by an argument from Hans Zantema. Not least because when playing the infamous French variant, the game is impossible! This was the topic of my entry to #SoME2, where I animated a parity argument that can be used to prove this surprising fact.

Peg solitaire is as simple as it is infuriating.
