Disc Towers
one disc at a time · never big on small

Play Disc Towers

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Tap a peg, then tap where to put the discKeys A · B · C

How to play Disc Towers

Three pegs and a stack of discs, biggest at the bottom. Move the whole stack to the right-hand peg — but you may only move one disc at a time, and a disc can never sit on a smaller one.

The secret is to think about the biggest disc first. To move it, every smaller disc has to be out of the way, stacked on the spare peg. So the job of moving five discs is really: move four out of the way, move the big one, then move the four back on top. That idea — solving a big problem with a smaller copy of itself — is called recursion.

Try the neighbours-only rules, where a disc can only move to the next peg, or a scrambled start where the discs begin spread across the pegs. The counter shows the fewest moves possible.

How to play Disc Towers

Move a stack of discs to the last peg, one at a time, never putting a bigger disc on a smaller one.

The rules

  1. There are three pegs, A, B and C. The discs start on the pegs, biggest at the bottom.
  2. Move one disc at a time: the top disc of one peg onto another peg.
  3. A disc may never be placed on a smaller disc.
  4. Get every disc onto peg C. In the neighbours-only rules, a disc may only move to the next peg along.

Playing here

  1. Choose how many discs (3 to 7) and the rules — classic, neighbours only, or a scrambled start — then press New Puzzle.
  2. Tap a peg to pick up its top disc, then tap another peg to put it down. Keys A, B and C work too.
  3. A disc may never sit on a smaller disc. Move the whole stack to peg C.
  4. Hint shows the best next move and explains the plan behind it.

Tips

The full guide, with a worked example and common mistakes: How to play Disc Towers.

Questions

What is the fewest number of moves?

For the classic start, 2ⁿ − 1 moves for n discs. The counter shows the fewest for your position.

What are the neighbours-only rules?

A disc can only move between neighbouring pegs (A↔B, B↔C), never straight from A to C. It takes many more moves.

Can I undo?

Yes — Undo and Redo work for every move.

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