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pymetrics Tower Game: Match the Target Towers in the Fewest Moves

Practise the pymetrics Tower game: 5 Tower of London puzzles with five coloured discs, a 2:00 timer each and a shortest solution for every puzzle.

Practice: 5 puzzles of 3 to 7 moves, 2:00 eachAlso called “pymetrics Tower game”Also called “Tower of London game”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Make your three towers match the target shown above them.
  2. 02Only the top disc of a peg can move. All discs are the same size, so any disc can sit on any other.
  3. 03Each puzzle has a 2:00 timer and shows the fewest moves it needs. Plan before your first move: your planning time and extra moves are both recorded.
  4. 04Moves you undo or clear still count. The review shows a shortest solution for every puzzle.

Controls

  • Tap or click a peg to pick up its top disc, then tap another peg to drop it
  • Keys 1–3 pick up and drop; Esc puts the disc back
  • Undo move (or U) takes back your last move
  • Clear all puts the puzzle back to its start

Included in 1 Game Platform Prep (when you choose Harver), All Games Platforms Prep and Full Access. See plans

Task
Copy a target arrangement of five coloured discs on three pegs (official: pymetrics patent)
What it measures
Planning: number of moves and thinking time before the first move (official: pymetrics patent)
Screen
Target towers above yours, with Undo and Clear buttons and a 2:00 timer (prep site simulation)
Rules
Only the top disc moves; discs are all one size, so there is no Tower of Hanoi size rule (patent and prep sites)
Number of puzzles
Not public
Practice version
5 puzzles needing 3 to 7 moves, 2:00 each, with planning time, extra moves and a shortest solution (Candidate Falcon practice)

What the pymetrics Tower game looks at

The pymetrics Tower game is a version of the Tower of London, a planning task from neuropsychology. pymetrics’ patent describes three pegs and five coloured discs: you rearrange the discs until your towers match a target, within a time limit and in as few moves as possible. The patent says the game records how many moves you make and how long you think before your first move.

Prep sites often call it the Hanoi game, but the rules differ from the Tower of Hanoi. The discs are all the same size, so any disc can sit on any other; the only rule is that you move the top disc of a peg. Prep-site simulations show the target towers above your own, an Undo button, a Clear button and a 2:00 timer. Whether the real game has one puzzle or several is not public.

Candidate Falcon’s practice generates 5 puzzles from a seed, needing 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 moves at the fewest. A search over every possible arrangement checks each minimum, so the number shown is exact. The results show your planning time, the moves you used against the fewest possible, and a shortest solution for every puzzle.

How the Tower practice works

  1. Study the target towers above your own before you touch anything.
  2. Tap a peg to pick up its top disc, then tap the peg you want to drop it on. On a keyboard, press 1, 2 or 3 to pick up and again to drop.
  3. Tap the same peg again, or press Esc, to put the disc back without moving it.
  4. Undo move takes back your last move and Clear all returns the puzzle to its start, but every move you made still counts.
  5. Each puzzle ends when your towers match the target or the 2:00 timer runs out.

Tower tips

  • Work from the bottom up: find which disc must end at the bottom of each target peg, and clear the way for it first.
  • Look for discs already in their final place and leave them alone.
  • Use the emptiest peg as a parking space for discs that are in the way.
  • Plan the whole sequence before your first move. A few seconds of planning usually saves more moves than it costs.
  • Count your planned moves against the fewest possible shown on screen. If your plan is longer, look for a disc you are moving twice.

Common Tower mistakes

  • Applying the Tower of Hanoi rule and refusing to put a larger disc on a smaller one: all discs are the same size here.
  • Moving straight away without a plan, then undoing and redoing moves that all count.
  • Burying a disc you need soon under one you parked.
  • Using Clear all as a fresh start: the moves before it still count.

A short Tower practice routine

  1. Run the 5 puzzles once without stopping and note your planning time and extra moves.
  2. Replay each shortest solution from the review and find where your route went longer.
  3. Run the practice again and try to spend a little longer before your first move.
  4. Aim to solve every puzzle in the fewest moves before moving on to faster planning.

Tower FAQ

Is the pymetrics Tower game the Tower of Hanoi?

No. It is a Tower of London task. The discs are all the same size, so there is no rule against putting one disc on another. You only move the top disc of a peg, and the goal is to copy a target arrangement.

What does the pymetrics Tower game measure?

pymetrics’ patent says it records the number of moves and the thinking time before the first move, which relate to planning. pymetrics does not publish how it scores them or what counts as a good result.

How many puzzles are in the real Tower game?

That is not public. Prep-site simulations show a 2:00 timer, and the practice gives you 5 puzzles of increasing length so you can build the habit of planning first.

Do undone moves count?

In Candidate Falcon’s practice they do: every disc you move counts, even if you undo it later. pymetrics does not say how it counts undone moves, so planning before you move is the safe habit.

Practise other pymetrics games

Independent practice by Candidate Falcon, based on pymetrics’ public patents and research and on prep-site descriptions. Not affiliated with pymetrics or Harver, and not their scoring. The game, its art and its wording are original, and practice results are not pymetrics scores. For all 12 games, timing, results and retakes, read the free pymetrics test guide.