Tumbler Puzzle Tumbler Puzzle Solution

Contents

  1. Starting Position
  2. Completing Row 5
  3. Completing Row 2
  4. Completing the Last Two Rows
  5. Interpreting the Move Descriptions
  6. Interpreting the Diagrams
  7. Background Information

Feedback

I'd like to know if you've found this information useful.

  • Did you manage to solve your puzzle ?
  • Are the instructions clear and easy to understand ?
  • Have you got a related site ?

Introduction

Phil Seeley and myself wrote a program to solve this puzzle from Nintendo (yes, the games console people).  This puzzle is also known as Tenbirion as it apparently has ten billion combinations, you can read more about it on Wikipedia.

The first four sections guide you through completing the puzzle. 'Interpreting the Move Descriptions' is a reference page that you will need to refer to as you carry out the moves to complete the tumbler puzzle, although you will soon become familiar with the descriptions. 'Interpreting the Diagrams' gives some additional information if you are finding it difficult to relate my diagrams to the Tumbler Puzzle. 'Background Information' explains how we derived the solution and is some further reading for those interested.

If you are accessing the Internet via a dial-up connection you may wish to visit each page in turn and allow it to be downloaded to your browser so that the pages are in your cache, at which point you can hang-up.

Starting Position | Background Information | Steve Martin's Home Page
Solution © Phil Seeley, Steve Martin 1994
Web Page design © Steve Martin, 1999