Tour puzzle
Encyclopedia
In tour puzzles the player
of the puzzle
makes a trip around a board
(usually but not necessarily two-dimensional
) using a token which represents a traveller.
Sometimes (as in maze
s) the player him/herself makes the trip. Sometimes the player has more than one token with which to travel. Sometimes certain objects have to be found and/or retrieved on the way.
Often there is a given start and finish position for the player's token. Some tour puzzles demand that certain points on the board have to be visited on the way. Maze puzzles are often of this type.
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
of the puzzle
Puzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
makes a trip around a board
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
(usually but not necessarily two-dimensional
2D geometric model
A 2D geometric model is a geometric model of an object as two-dimensional figure, usually on the Euclidean or Cartesian plane.Even though all material objects are three-dimensional, a 2D geometric model is often adequate for certain flat objects, such as paper cut-outs and machine parts made of...
) using a token which represents a traveller.
Sometimes (as in maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
s) the player him/herself makes the trip. Sometimes the player has more than one token with which to travel. Sometimes certain objects have to be found and/or retrieved on the way.
Often there is a given start and finish position for the player's token. Some tour puzzles demand that certain points on the board have to be visited on the way. Maze puzzles are often of this type.
Examples of tour puzzles
- knight's tourKnight's tourThe knight's tour is a mathematical problem involving a knight on a chessboard. The knight is placed on the empty board and, moving according to the rules of chess, must visit each square exactly once. A knight's tour is called a closed tour if the knight ends on a square attacking the square from...
- mazeMazeA maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
s and labyrinthLabyrinthIn Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
s - mizmazeMizmazeMizmaze is the name given to two of England's eight surviving historic turf mazes, and also to a third, presumably once similar site that is now merely a relic...
s - logic mazeLogic mazeLogic mazes, sometimes called 'mazes with rules', are logic puzzles with all the aspects of a tour puzzle that fall outside of the scope of a typical maze. These mazes have special rules, sometimes including multiple states of the maze or navigator...
s