This is a simulation of a game of logic that originated in the middle East. It is sometimes called Pharaoh's Needles, but its most common name is the Towers of Hanoi.
Legend has it that a secret society of monks live beneath the city of Hanoi. They possess three large towers or needles on which different size gold disks may be placed. Moving one at a time and never placing a large on a smaller disk, the monks endeavor to move the tower of disks from the left needle to the right needle. Legend says when they have finished moving this 64-disk tower, the world will end. How many moves will they have to make to accomplish this? If they can move 1 disk per minute and work 24 hours per day, how many years will it take?
In the computer puzzle you are faced with three upright needles. On the leftmost needle are placed from two to seven graduated disks, the largest being on bottom and smallest on top. Your object is to move the entire stack of disks to the rightmost needle. However, you many only move one disk at a time and you may never place a larger disk on top of a smaller one.
In this computer game, the disks are referred to by their size — i.e., the smallest is 3, next 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15. If you play with fewer than 7 disks always use the largest, i.e. with 2 disks you would use nos. 13 and 15. The program instructions are self-explanatory. Good luck!
Charles Lund wrote this program while at the American School in the Hague, Netherlands.
As published in Basic Computer Games (1978):
Downloaded from Vintage Basic at http://www.vintage-basic.net/games.html
(please note any difficulties or challenges in porting here)