Tower of Hanoi
- Is Tower of Hanoi free?
- Yes — 100% free, no payment.
- Download needed?
- No — it plays in your browser.
- Works on mobile?
- Yes — phones & tablets, full touch.
- Session length?
- About 5–20 minutes.
- Players?
- Single player.
The timeless disk-stacking puzzle, reimagined with smooth animations and a glowing violet-to-teal disk palette. Move the whole tower one disk at a time, never stacking a bigger disk on a smaller one. Pick 3 to 8 disks, race the move counter against the mathematical optimum, and beat your own best.
About Tower of Hanoi
Tower of Hanoi is a classic mathematical puzzle invented in the 19th century. You start with a stack of graduated disks on the left peg, largest at the bottom, and must rebuild the entire stack on another peg. The only rules: move one disk at a time, and never set a larger disk atop a smaller one. The minimum number of moves needed is exactly 2^N - 1, so a 3-disk tower takes 7 moves while an 8-disk tower demands a disciplined 255. This build adds satisfying lift-and-drop animations, a live timer, an optimal-move target, persistent best scores for every disk count, and a watchable auto-solver that plays the perfect solution.
Where Tower of Hanoi comes from
The Tower of Hanoi was invented by the French mathematician Edouard Lucas and first sold in 1883, packaged with a legend about temple priests at Benares moving a tower of 64 golden disks, one at a time, until the world ends. A tower of n disks needs a minimum of 2^n - 1 moves, so the legendary 64-disk tower would take about 585 billion years at one move per second. This version is 360 PlayZone's own take on the classic. Source.
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How to play Tower of Hanoi
Choose how many disks you want (3 to 8) using the selector. The full stack begins on the left peg. Drag the top disk of any peg and drop it onto another peg, or use the keyboard to lift and place. A disk can only land on an empty peg or on top of a larger disk. Keep going until the entire tower is rebuilt on either of the two right-hand pegs. Your move count is shown alongside the optimal target (2^N - 1); finish in exactly that many moves for a perfect run. Use Undo to take back a slip, New game to restart, and Auto-solve to watch the optimal sequence demonstrated.
Controls
Mouse / touch: drag the top disk of a peg and drop it onto another peg. Keyboard: Left/Right arrows (or A/D) select the source peg; Up (or W) lifts the top disk; while lifted, Left/Right aim at a target peg; Down or Enter drops it (aiming back at the source cancels the lift); Esc cancels a lift. Shortcuts: R new game, U undo, S auto-solve, M mute.
Tips & tricks
- The smallest disk always moves in the same rotational direction every other turn - pick a direction and stick to it for a clean optimal run.
- On odd turns move the smallest disk; on even turns make the only other legal move available. This rhythm produces the perfect solution automatically.
- Where the smallest disk ends up depends on whether your disk count is odd or even, so glance at the parity before you start aiming for the target peg.
- Start small: master 3 and 4 disks until the pattern feels automatic, then scale up. The strategy is identical, just longer.
- Stuck or curious? Hit Auto-solve to watch the optimal sequence, then try to reproduce that rhythm yourself.
Game features
- 100% free to play — no payment, ever
- Plays instantly in your browser — no download or install
- Works on desktop, phone and tablet
- No sign-up and no email required
- Built with HTML5 — runs on any modern browser
- Single-player — play at your own pace
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Tower of Hanoi?
Choose how many disks you want (3 to 8) using the selector. The full stack begins on the left peg. Drag the top disk of any peg and drop it onto another peg, or use the keyboard to lift and place. A disk can only land on an empty peg or on top of a larger disk. Keep going until the entire tower is rebuilt on either of the two right-hand pegs. Your move count is shown alongside the optimal target (2^N - 1); finish in exactly that many moves for a perfect run. Use Undo to take back a slip, New game to restart, and Auto-solve to watch the optimal sequence demonstrated.
What are the controls for Tower of Hanoi?
Mouse / touch: drag the top disk of a peg and drop it onto another peg. Keyboard: Left/Right arrows (or A/D) select the source peg; Up (or W) lifts the top disk; while lifted, Left/Right aim at a target peg; Down or Enter drops it (aiming back at the source cancels the lift); Esc cancels a lift. Shortcuts: R new game, U undo, S auto-solve, M mute.
How do you get better at Tower of Hanoi?
The smallest disk always moves in the same rotational direction every other turn - pick a direction and stick to it for a clean optimal run. On odd turns move the smallest disk; on even turns make the only other legal move available. This rhythm produces the perfect solution automatically. The full tips list on this page covers the rest.
Does Tower of Hanoi save my progress?
Yes — Tower of Hanoi keeps your best score and settings in this browser's local storage, so they are still there when you come back on the same device. Nothing is uploaded and no account is involved — clearing your browser data is what resets it.
Is Tower of Hanoi unblocked at school or work?
Tower of Hanoi is a plain web page — no plugin, no installer, no app store — so it loads on a Chromebook or a locked-down school or office laptop the same way any other page does. Whether it opens comes down to your network's filter rather than the game itself, and there is nothing to install either way.
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More free puzzle games
Tower of Hanoi is one of 87 free puzzle games on 360 PlayZone. Browse the whole Puzzle collection, try Bridge Builder next, or head back to the home page to explore every category. You might also like our games like Tower of Hanoi roundup.