Instant to start
Open the page and a puzzle is already set up. No account wall, no download, no splash video — the disks are on the pegs before you finish reading this sentence.
About Us
About playtowerofhanoi.com
We publish a free, modern browser version of the Tower of Hanoi — the classic three-peg disk puzzle — with 3 to 8 disks, tap and drag controls, unlimited undo, an optimal-move hint, and a layout that works on any screen.
Our craft
One rule. Total order.
Shuttle sub-towers between three pegs until the whole stack is home. That loop is everything we design around.
- Pegs
- 3
- Disks
- 3–8
- Undo
- ∞
Pegs
Disks
Undo
What we make
A free Tower of Hanoi that stays in the browser
playtowerofhanoi.com is the site behind our version of the Tower of Hanoi. The product is a single-player logic puzzle: three pegs, a stack of graduated disks, and one rule — never a larger disk on a smaller one. Move the whole stack from the left peg to the right to win.
We are not an app-store publisher and there is nothing to download. The puzzle is the website. That keeps load times short, works on phones and desktops alike, and avoids an account wall. Fewest moves, fastest times, and perfect solves live in local browser storage on your device.
If you are comparing this to another Tower of Hanoi site, this page only speaks for playtowerofhanoi.com. The rules, the optimal-move formula, and the controls described in our how-to-play guide and FAQ match this exact build.
Our story
From an 1883 toy to your browser tab
The Tower of Hanoi is one of the most-taught puzzles in mathematics. We treat that as a responsibility to get the rules exactly right and the friction as close to zero as we can.
- 01
A toy with a legend
The French mathematician Édouard Lucas published the Tower of Hanoi as a physical toy in 1883, under the anagram pen name "N. Claus de Siam". It shipped with a myth about priests in a temple at Benares moving 64 golden disks between three diamond needles, the world ending on their final move.
- 02
A mathematics staple
The legend is a footnote; the structure is why it lasted. The shortest solution for n disks is exactly 2ⁿ − 1 moves, and the solution is defined in terms of itself — solve n − 1, move one, solve n − 1 again. That makes it the standard first example of recursion in nearly every computer science course.
- 03
This build
playtowerofhanoi.com is an independent, modern implementation of that puzzle. The rules are unchanged; what is new is a rendering that is smooth on a phone, tap-to-move and drag controls, a hint computed from the optimal solution for your exact position, synthesized sound with a real mute, and a layout that keeps all three pegs on one screen.
What we stand for
Principles behind every move
Honest defaults
3 to 8 disks, unlimited undo, a live move counter against the 2ⁿ − 1 optimum. Nothing is gated behind a "pro" toggle and nothing nags you to install an app.
Yours to keep
Fewest moves, fastest time, and perfect solves per disk count live on your device. We do not hold your record hostage behind a login, because there is no login.
Free, for real
The whole puzzle is free forever. No energy meters, no interstitial video ads between attempts, no surprise paywall on the hint button.
Who it is for
Players who want a clean logic puzzle
playtowerofhanoi.com is a family-friendly, single-player puzzle with no chat and no store. A poor fit if you want multiplayer or live events; a good fit if you want the real Tower of Hanoi, exactly as it has been posed for over a century, on whatever screen is nearby.
Short sessions
Three disks solve in under a minute; eight disks are a focused ten. The Tower of Hanoi fits a phone on the couch or a browser tab between tasks.
Planning, not reflexes
There is no clock forcing a move and nothing to react to. The entire challenge is the order you choose to move disks in.
Play without an account
Your record stays on the device you played on. That is a deliberate trade: instant play and real privacy, with no cloud restore.
Why this site
How playtowerofhanoi.com is different
The Tower of Hanoi has thousands of implementations online. This one exists to ship a single honest, fast version — correct rules, a genuinely useful hint, and no clutter.
A hint that actually helps
The hint is computed from the optimal solution for your current position — not a canned opening line. Follow it from anywhere and you finish in the minimum number of moves.
Optimal play is visible
The move counter always shows your moves against 2ⁿ − 1, and a solve in exactly that many moves with no hint is recorded as a perfect solve, per disk count.
No clutter
No auto-playing video, no fake "download our app" banners, no dark patterns around the settings. The how-to-play guide and FAQ describe this exact build.
How we build
Designed for the browser you already have
The puzzle runs entirely on the web: fast loads, tap / drag / keyboard controls, and progress that stays local unless you clear your browser data. We use lightweight analytics to see what helps players — never to gate the puzzle behind a profile. The board on the home page is the one described on our rules pages, so search results and the live puzzle never drift apart.
Play anywhere
Phone, tablet, and desktop share one board. Tap a peg to lift and drop, drag a disk with the mouse, or use the number keys with U for undo and H for a hint.
Progress on your device
Fewest moves, fastest time, and perfect solves per disk count are stored locally. You own the continuity of your record without signing up.
Quiet improvement
We watch aggregate usage through Google Analytics to improve pacing and polish. Details are in our Privacy Policy — never as a sales pitch.
Contact
Stay in the loop
Feedback on the controls, a bug report, partnership ideas, or a simple hello — we read every message. Hit the button and we will get back to you.
Stay in TouchPrefer the fine print first? Our legal pages cover how the site works and how we handle analytics.