Klotski
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Klotski (from Polish klocki -- wooden blocks) is a sliding block puzzle.
History
- L. W. Hardy obtained copyright for a game named Pennant Puzzle in 1909, and it is manufactured by OK Novelty Co., Chicago. The aim of this puzzle is completely identical to Klotski, just that default blocks and arrangement are different. (see below)
- J. H. Flemming named it as Dad's Puzzler, and obtained patent in 1932 in England.
- According to this article (in Chinese), children are seen in Chinese villages to play Klotski with pieces of paper on 1938. (Chinese name: 華容道)
- It is known in France as L'âne rouge (red donkey) at that time (probably earlier).
- It also traces back to a certain Thai genre of games. (unverified)
It is still unknown which one is the origin, or (in turn) is evolved from some other sliding block puzzle, say, the 15 puzzle which enjoyed immense popularity during late 19th century.
Gameplay
In the Klotski game layout, you have an invisible grid layout that is generally limited by both an inner box and the outer 'wall' of the monitor. Within this grid are several different sized block pieces, some of which may have different or unusual properties, and generally a single red block which you must move to a special area designated by obviously marked indentations in the ground in the same size as the red block. The fewer moves you take to move the red block over the special area, the more points you get.
Variation
There are several variations of this game, some with names specific to the culture of certain countries, some with different arrangement of blocks.
It is still unknown whether these variations affected each other and how.
Block name variation
- Hua Rong Dao (alternatively named Hua Rong Path, Chinese name: 華容道) is the Chinese variation, featuring an old legendry during Chi Bi Battle in the 13th year of Jian An in the East Han Dynasty -- a well-known battle in Chinese history. The legendry: Cao Cao was defeated in this battle, and escaped to Hua Rong Dao, in which he encountered Guan Yu. Because Guan Yu remembered Cao Cao treated him well during old days despite he was a general of enemy of Cao Cao, Guan Yu spared Cao Cao's life. The largest block is named Cao Cao.
- The daughter in the box (Japanese name: 箱入り娘) wood puzzle depicts an "innocent young girl, who knows nothing of the world" trapped in a building. The largest piece is named "daughter", and other blocks are given names of other family members (like father, mother and so on). It became very popular in Japan during World War II.
- Yet another variation in Japan uses name of pieces from Shogi.
- In France it is known as L'âne rouge for a long time. It features a red donkey (largest piece) trying to escape a maze of fences and pens to get to its carrots.
Block arrangement variation
In this context, the "basic" arrangement is assumed to be the one on top of this page, which is used globally as the "basic" game of Klotski.
Pennant Puzzle
- It is first seen in 1909. Alternatively named Dad's Puzzle or Dad's Puzzler, its arrangement is different:
- The largest square block is in upper left corner
- It is in 4x5 area, with one 2x2, two 1x2, four 2x1, two 1x1 pieces
- The default location of all blocks are different from Klotski
- The exit of block is not at the bottom middle, but bottom left
The mininum number of moves currently known is 59.
Ma's Puzzle
TODO: add diagram
Ma's Puzzle first occurred at 1927. Probably competing with Dad's Puzzle name, it is the first sliding puzzle to use non-rectangular shape. Its goal is to join its 2 L-shaped pieces together, either anywhere or top right corner of the board.
Minoru Abe series
Line Up the Quinties Puzzle
Computerized version
For computer versions, the first one seen is in a Microsoft Windows 3.1 Game Pack.
Several clones of Klotski are floating around the web now, and many of them are freeware or have limited licenses.
Bricks
One of the most popular is a game called Bricks, which includes several special elements which have different properties, like magnets (which stick to each other) and holes (which you can dump pieces in to free up space). There are five progressively harder sets of 48 levels, Bricks I-V, bi-monthly competitions, and other level sets. The first 24 levels are adopted from Microsoft version with minor changes, while the last 24 levels are its own addition, featuring the new blocks. Bricks is available in nine languages.