SNAP Mathfairs
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    • Level 1 Puzzles >
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    • Level 2 Puzzles >
      • Neighbourhood Sums
      • Eight Squares
      • Soko Puzzle I
      • Soko Puzzle II
      • Abdication
      • Regime Change
      • Stairways to Heaven
      • Catacombs
      • About the Solutions
    • River Crossing Puzzles >
      • The fox, the goose, and the grain
      • The fox, the goose, and the grain, and the dog
      • The mouse, the elephant, the dog, and the cat
      • Soldiers and children
      • Animal Crossing
      • The Three Thieves
      • The Missionaries and the Cannibals
      • Quarrelsome Boys
      • Jealous husbands
      • A Handful for the Farmer
      • The farmer, his children, and their pets
      • About the Solutions
    • Sudoku-Type Puzzles >
      • Cats, Cows, and Pigs
      • Latin Squares
      • Apple and Bananas I
      • Apple and Bananas II
      • Apple, Bananas, and Cherries
      • Four Skyscraper Puzzles
      • Colourful Cats and Pigs I
      • Colourful Cats and Pigs II
      • The Wizard's Hats
      • Four Colours
      • About the Solutions
    • Other Puzzles >
      • Catch the Thief
      • Cherry Glasses
      • Coin Jumping I
      • Coin Jumping II
      • Evensies
      • The 22 Game
      • Switch Positions
      • Spellbound Frogs
      • The Die Hard Jugs
      • About the Solutions
    • About the Solutions
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    • Some History
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Abdication

A solitaire game is played on a 3 × 3 board, representing the Capital of a Banana Republic with a 3 × 2 green palace. The king starts on the space I. Five guards, labelled A through E occupy the remaining spaces in the palace. The space O is initially vacant, and the remaining spaces on the board are occupied by two peasants, P and Q.

The King has had enough of it, and plans to quit in the following way.

In each move, if a person is next to an empty space on the board, along a row or a column, then he or she may move into the empty space. The abdication is complete when the King is in space O, with the space I vacant and each guard having returned to his or her starting space. The peasants may switch their positions. Show how this can be done in eighteen moves.

Picture
From A. Filipiak's One Hundred Puzzles.