---
name: "xpanex"
section: "6x"
platform: "linux"
package: "xpuzzles"
version: "5.4.3-1"
release: "Debian 2.0 (Hamm)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/xpanex/6x"
---

# xpanex(6x)

Panex X widget

## NAME

xpanex - Panex X widget

## SYNOPSIS

**/usr/games/xpanex** \[-geometry \[{width}\]\[x{height}\]\[{+-}{xoff}\[{+-}{yoff}\]\]\] \[-display \[{host}\]:\[{vs}\]\] \[-mono\] \[-{foreground\|fg} {color}\] \[-{background\|bg} {color}\] \[-{border\|bd} {color}\] \[-tile {color}\] \[-pyramid{0\|1} {color}\] \[-tiles {int}\] \[-{mode {int}\|hanoi\|panex}\] \[-delay msecs\] \[-username {string}\]

## DESCRIPTION

The original Panex puzzle is from the Japanese Magic Company from the 1980's.  Mathematicians at Bell Laboratories estimated the number of moves to swap 2 columns of order 10 to be 27,564 \<= N \<= 31,537. It came in two varieties: one with a blue and a yellow pyramid of order 10 on silver tiles; in the gold version pieces of each color look alike (i.e. no pyramid is drawn on them), this is a little harder.

The original Tower of Hanoi puzzle is the invention of Edouard Lucas and was sold as a toy in France in 1883.  The legend of 64 disks in the great temple of Benares of the god Brahma is also his invention.

## FEATURES

Press "**mouse-left**" button to move a tile the top tile in a column. Release "**mouse-left**" button on another column.  It will not move if blocked.

Double click on "**mouse-right**" button or press "**R**" or "**r**" keys to reset the puzzle.

Press "**M**" or "**m**" keys to toggle between hanoi (one pyramid column) and panex (two pyramid columns) modes (they each have different rules). In Hanoi, one can not place larger trapezoid on a smaller trapezoid. Here the goal is to move the pile from the left peg to the rightmost peg. In Panex, a tile can not go lower that its initial starting point. Here the goal is to exchange the 2 piles.

Press "**I**" or "**i**" keys to increase the number of tiles.

Press "**D**" or "**d**" keys to decrease the number of tiles.

Press "**S**" or "**s**" keys to auto-solve.  Unfortunately, its only implemented from the starting position.

Press "**U**" or "**u**" keys to undo last move.

Press "**G**" or "**g**" keys to get a saved puzzle.

Press "**W**" or "**w**" keys to save a puzzle.

Press "**Q**", "**q**", or "**CTRL-C**" keys to kill program.

Unlike other puzzles in the collection there is no way to move pieces without drag and drop.

The title is in the following format (non-motif version):

x{hanoi \| panex}: \<Number of rows\> @ (\<Number of moves\>/{\<Record number of moves\> \<username\>\|"NEVER noaccess"}) - \<Comment\>

If there is no record of the current puzzle, it displays "NEVER noaccess".

## OPTIONS

- **-geometry {+\|-}*X*{+\|-}*Y***

  This option sets the initial position of the panex window (resource name "*geometry*").

- **-display *host*:*dpy***

  This option specifies the X server to contact.

- **-mono**

  This option specifies to display as if on a monochrome monitor (resource name "*mono*").

- **-{foreground\|fg} *color***

  This option specifies the foreground of the panex window (resource name "*foreground*").

- **-{background\|bg} *color***

  This option specifies the background of the panex window (resource name "*background*").

- **-{border\|bd} *color***

  This option specifies the border color of the tiles in the panex window (resource name "*borderColor*").

- **-tile *color***

  This option specifies the tile color of the tiles in the panex window (resource name "*tileColor*").

- **-pyramid0 *color***

  This option specifies the foreground of the first pyramid (resource name "*pyramidColor0*").

- **-pyramid1 *color***

  This option specifies the foreground of the second pyramid, if it exists (resource name "*pyramidColor1*").

- **-tiles *int***

  This option specifies the number of tiles in a column (resource name "*tiles*").

- **-mode *int***

  This option specifies the hanoi (0) or panex (1) mode (resource name "*mode*").

- **-hanoi**

  This option specifies the hanoi mode (resource name "*mode*").

- **-panex**

  This option specifies the panex mode (resource name "*mode*").

- **-delay *msecs***

  This option specifies the number of milliseconds it takes to move a tile or a group of tiles one space (resource name "*delay*").

- **-username *string***

  This option specifies the user name for any records made or else it will get your login name (resource name "*userName*").

## SAVE FORMAT

The format is not standard.  The reason for this is that this is simple and I do not know what the standard is.

mode: 0-1 \<0 hanoi, 1 panex\>\
 tiles: 1-10 \<number of tiles in a column\>\
 moves: 0-MAXINT \<total number of moves\>

startingPosition: \<array pairs of column and position of each tile\>

This is then followed by the moves, starting from 1.

move #: \<from\_column\> \<to\_column\>

from\_column is the top tile of the column\
 to\_column is where that tile is moved to.

Caution: the program may crash on corrupted input.

## REFERENCES

Sliding Piece Puzzles (Recreations in Mathematics Series) by L. E. Horden, Oxford University Press 1986, pp 144, 145.

Puzzles Old & New (How to Make and Solve Them) by Jerry Slocum & Jack Botermans, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1987, p 135.

Quantum January/February 1996 pp 55-57, 50-51. (Author's name not present on my copy).

## SEE ALSO

X(1), [xrubik(6)](/xrubik/6.md), [xskewb(6)](/xskewb/6.md), [xdino(6)](/xdino/6.md), [xpyraminx(6)](/xpyraminx/6.md), [xoct(6)](/xoct/6.md), [xmball(6)](/xmball/6.md), [xmlink(6)](/xmlink/6.md), [xcubes(6)](/xcubes/6.md), [xtriangles(6)](/xtriangles/6.md), [xhexagons(6)](/xhexagons/6.md), xabacus(1)

## COPYRIGHTS

® Copyright 1996-97, David Albert Bagley

## BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES

Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author

 David Albert Bagley, \<*bagleyd@bigfoot.com*\>

 The latest version is currently at:\
  *ftp://ftp.tux.org/pub/people/david-bagley/xpuzzles*\
  *ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/applications*