The Triangle Puzzle

The Triangle Puzzle^TM
(PalmOS, WinCE, Win32, Java 1.1)

Introduction

The Triangle Puzzle is a fun, challenging, animated puzzle game with hints!

The Triangle Puzzle features fun, animated pegs and a hint mode! Versions are available for Windows (95/98/NT/2000), Windows CE, PalmOS and also Linux, etc. (Java version)!

The PalmOS and Windows (CE) versions

To play, you remove a starting peg from any hole, then repeatedly choose an arbitrary peg and then jump either horizontally or diagonally over an occupied hole into an empty hole, removing the peg you jumped over. You repeat this process until there are no moves left. The object of the game is to end up with exactly one peg.

example.gif (7735 bytes)
Examples of legal moves (Java version screenshot)

Source code will be available sometime soon. (We have contacted a publisher about a possible book on this subject.) A UNIX/Motif port is underway.

To play the Java version of the Triangle Puzzle on this website, you will need a browser which supports the new Java JDK 1.1 features, namely:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0™ or greater
Netscape Navigator™ 4.08 or greater
Opera 5.1 or greater (Java version)

Why I Wrote This

Technical Reasons

I wrote the Triangle Puzzle to show off my Palm OS^® C++ application framework which is lightweight while still providing:

an object-oriented framework for forms and databases
automatic support for program options
automatic support for reading Memo Pad records with configuration information
built-in, configurable About and Instruction boxes
layered event handling

Contact info@thisiscool.com for a whitepaper, more details and licensing information.

I also wanted illustrate several programming techniques (although most play the game for its own sake and couldn't care less about these techniques):

Applications can be written in such a way that they survive ports across languages and operating systems with a minimum of change (current supported languages: Delphi, C++, Java; operating systems: Win32, WinCE, Palm OS, and any OS with a decent Java implementation (which, unfortunately, excludes all versions of Mac OS for the time being)).
Java isn't the only way to achieve cross-platform results, even with a non-trivial user interface. The native C++ executables for Win32, WinCE and Palm OS share the same, sizeable codebase with only a slight amount of operating-system-specific code. What's more, the resultant executables are small and fast (the 8K solution cache increases their size somewhat).
Java, on the other hand, can be pretty cool when appropriately used. The Java implementation of the Triangle Puzzle runs beautifully on Win32, Personal Java for Windows CE, Linux and HP-UX. (Unfortunately, Mac OS 9 and X don't quite cut it, which is probably why companies like Borland don't have Mac OS ports of JBuilder, for example.)

Personal Reasons

I wrote the first incarnation of the Triangle Puzzle on a TRS-80 Model III when I was 14 years old. That summer, we had gone on a family vacation to Door County, Wisconsin and I found and bought the puzzle at a gift shop. I spent that entire vacation unsuccessfully trying to solve the puzzle myself. When I got home, I typed in the BASIC version (here's the listing!) and started it running. It was churning away when my mom called out "Mohan, the pancakes are ready!" and I had to tear myself away.

When I came back upstairs, I saw SOLUTION FOUND: on my screen with a bunch of moves. My first reaction was: "Yeah right," and half-heartedly started making the moves. To my shock, the program had found a solution!

The Program

To play the game,

single-click on the starting peg to remove
for each move, single-click on the peg to move, then single-click on the hole to jump to
click on the [Undo] and [Redo] buttons to undo/redo a move; you can also click on the undo/redo toolbar buttons
click on [Hint] to have the program suggest a move
click on the Solvable? checkbox to have the computer indicate whether a solution to the puzzle exists after each move you make
choose New Game (either from the menu or the toolbar button, depending on the implementation) to start a new game

Click here to play the Java version!

Note: The images in this program may not be used without prior consent.

Platform Downloads

In addition to the Java version, The Triangle Puzzle has native executables that run on PalmOS, Windows CE and Win32.

Download them from here. In all cases, download by first saving the file to a folder on your hard drive, then run the install program (Windows) or unzipping the file (Palm).

Palm OS

Windows 95/98/NT4.0/2000

Windows CE (HPC, Palm-Sized PC, Pocket PC, HPC/Pro)

Usage Terms and Conditions

The Triangle Puzzle^TM is written as a personal project by Mohan Embar. He has made this program available for download on this website under the following terms and conditions. Usage of this program indicates your acceptance of the following license conditions. If you do not agree with these terms, you may not use this program.

This program is PropagandaWare. If you continue using this program seven days after the first use, you agree to visit the following websites:

You are exempt from this agreement if:

you do not have Internet access
you are using this program to create or modify rules

Permission is granted to any individual or institution to copy or redistribute this software provided that:

it is not altered in any way
it is not sold for profit
this copyright notice is displayed
if made available for download on a non-FTP web page, that a link be made to http://www.thisiscool.com/ whenever possible

This program comes with no warranties, either express or implied. In no event will the copyright holder be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software.