Getting Started

Once you've downloaded the install package for latest version of KlotskiSolver, be sure to have a quick look at the Installation section of the KlotskiSolver User's Guide. Please post any problems you may encounter installing or using KlotskiSolver to the Help Forum. Have fun!

Origins

I got interested in Klotski puzzles recently while setting up a Vista PC to dual-boot Ubuntu Linux. It being my first look at Ubuntu, I felt compelled to try all the games a few times. I was doing pretty well with the Klotskies until I tried "Red Donkey".

My utter failure to solve that puzzle using just my brain combined with the fact that I was looking for a small application to write to test out some of the features of .NET 2.0 I'd been learning led to the beginnings of KlotskiSolver. While looking for solution hints, I came across several posts by programmers who had been similarly frustrated by Red Donkey and written programs to solve it. I found a number of posted solutions including YouTube videos, but I didn't run across any any source code posted (not at first, anyway), and since I've been wanting to set up a SourceForge project for a while anyway, this seemed like as good a time as any to start.

Since getting the program running, I've had a lot of fun testing it against the standard Klotskies and making up some new ones. In particular, my wife helped me design some pretty elegant puzzles that use three L-shaped pieces and a rectangular goal piece.

I even ended up making an actual wooden Klotski to play these off-line. This has the interesting feature that you can flip the L's around to make R's and so forth...

Ok, so maybe I have been goofing off a bit much lately... And yeah, I know, I shouldn't quit my day job to become a cabinet-maker.

Since putting KlotskiSolver up on SourceForge, I have run across several other open source programs for solving Klotski puzzles. See the 'Solvers & Algorithms' area in the sidebar.

Todo

I guess my main priority with the project at this point is to improve the drag-and-drop capability of the game pieces. There are lots of other possibilities, though. I've been thinking about these:

• Allow a non-rectangular outer border, internal fixed obstacles, etc. (done: V 1.2.6)
• Add the ability to print a document that shows the game board in a sequence of user-defined states. Possibly the Goal States list could be used for this.
• Add more game piece shapes and/or give the user the ability to create their own.
• Add the ability to print a summary of a game that would show the initial state of the game board and the moves required to reach the solution.
• Improve the documentation.
• Look into the possibility of a web application version.
• Look into rewriting the code for other operating systems such as OSX and Ubuntu Linux
• Add UI support for some other languages besides English

Feel free to post any ideas or thoughts on priorities to the Feature Requests Tracker page. Posts are always welcome at the Open Discussion Forum as well.