The kangaroo puzzle

Puzzle

Being an old sailor with a penchant for spinning yarns that require con- siderable saline seasoning, I do not mind telling you in strict confidence that I pirated the idea of this puzzle from the taffrail of a Dutch jigger which I saw riding at anchor in the bay during my last trip to Australia. I jotted down in my notebook at the time the suggestion that there was a possibility of every word having a mechanical peculiarity of its own, susceptible of being illustrated in puzzle form. As a proper souvenir of the occasion I present the following sketch of the taffrail of that boat. The name was painted in the twelve Here is an elementary study in arithmetic wherein you write down the names of all the articles, and upper rings, and I suggested to my companion that it would make a pretty puzzle to find in how few moves the name could be moved down to the lower row. Astonishing as it may appear, it is safe to say that all of our puzzlists will know the name of that Dutch jigger when they have solved the puzzle.

Select a word of twelve letters, and place the letters in their proper order in the upper row of the rings, one letter in each ring. Then move them down one step at a time, or jump one letter over another when possible, so as to spell the same word correctly in the lower row of rings, in the fewest possible moves. I think it was the jumping feature that suggested the name, or I might have described it as a Shakespearian puzzle, for though you may ask, "What's in a name?" you will find, as Hamlet says, "The play's the thing" wherein "to suit the action to the word and the word to the action," if you wish to perform the feat expeditiously.

Solution

References

• Loyd, Sam [1914]. in Loyd, Sam, Jr.: Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles Tricks and Conundrums (in English). New York: Lamb Publishing company, page 59.