This is a wonderful puzzle which requires a person to think in three dimensions. Most people seem to find it easier (and more fun) to start by working with physical pieces on a grid.  I’ve introduced it to classes as young as grade 5, and to individual students younger than that.

Here are:

• A description of pieces and a template for the grid
• The process I use to introduce Towers to a group, which you might also use to help you figure it out for yourself
• The step-by-step solution for the example in the introduction
• A set of Easy 4x4 puzzles which can be solved using the blocks
• A set of Medium 4x4 puzzles , which can also be solved using the blocks
• A set of Hard 4x4 puzzles , for which you might want to get out a pencil and eraser, although they can be solved using the blocks
• A set of Easy 5x5 puzzles

I’ll post more 5x5 puzzles soon!

You will find many puzzles of varying sizes and degrees of difficulty at Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzles and at BrainBashers There is also a commercial version called “Utopia”.

• puzzles