XPYRAMINX(6)
NAME
xpyraminx - Pyramid X widget
SYNOPSIS
/usr/games/xpyraminx [-geometry
[{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]] [-display
[{host}]:[{vs}]] [-mono] [-{foreground|fg} <color>]
[-{background|bg} <color>] [-{border|bd} <color>]
[-face{0|1|2|3} <color>] [-{size <int>|sticky}] [-{mode
<int> | both}] [-[no]orient] [-[no]practice] [-username
{string}]
DESCRIPTION
The original puzzle has 9 triangles per face (size = 3)
and has period 3 turning (i.e. the face or points turn in
120 degree intervals). The puzzle was designed by Uwe
Meffert and called the Pyraminx. This has 2^5*3^8*6!/2 or
75,582,720 different comibinations.
Another puzzle Senior Pyraminx 3x3x3 exists only on paper,
it has period 2 turning (i.e. edges turn with 180 degree
intervals) but the corners would fall off unless it had
some tricky mechanism. (This may be the same as the Mas-
ter Pyraminx which has 446,965,972,992,000 different com-
binations).
Another puzzle (which was not widely distributed), the
Junior Pyraminx (and similarly the Junior Pyraminx Star, a
octahedron formed by two tetrahedra, this has 7!*3^6 or
3,674,160 different combinations), has 4 triangles (size =
2) per face and at the time I designed this computer puz-
zle thought that it had only period 2 turning (i.e the
edges rotate). It turns out the puzzle has a period 4
turning (edges turn with 90 degree intervals) which makes
it analogous to the 2x2x2 Rubik's cube. This puzzle makes
various non-tetrahedral shapes. The puzzle contained here
has no period 4 turning flexability.
One is able to simulate Halpern's Tetrahedron or Pyraminx
Tetrahedron (period 3 turning and sticky mode). Also one
is able to simulate one with variant turning (period 2
turning and sticky mode).
FEATURES
Press "mouse-left" button to move a piece. Release
"mouse-left" button on a piece on the same face and in the
same row (but not an adjacent piece or the move is ambigu-
ous). The pieces will then turn towards where the mouse
button was released.
Click "mouse-center", or press "P" or "p" keys to toggle
the practice mode (in practice mode the record should say
"practice"). One must double click on "mouse-center" if
the puzzle is being worked on. This is good for learning
moves and experimenting.
Click "mouse-right", or press "R" or "r" keys to randomize
(this must be done first to set a new record). One must
double click on "mouse-right" if the puzzle is being
worked on.
Press "I" or "i" keys to increase the number of "tetras".
Press "D" or "d" keys to decrease the number of "tetras".
Press "O" or "o" keys to toggle the orient mode. One has
to orient the faces in orient mode, besides getting all
the faces to be the same color. To do this one has to get
the lines to be oriented in the same direction, this only
matters with center "tetras", if at all (i.e. those
"tetras" not on a corner or edge). This does add complex-
ity so there are 2 sets of records.
Press "2", "3", "B", or "b" keys (not the keypad 2, 3) to
change modes to Period 2, Period 3, or Both.
Press "Y" or "y" to toggle sticky mode (increase/decrease
is disabled here if sticky mode is on).
"Sticky" and "Period 2" turning allows only the edges to
turn, and the 2 center rows turn together. It is as if the
middle cut of the three cuts did not exist.
"Sticky" and "Period 3" turning allows only the faces to
turn, it is as if the middle cut of the three cuts did not
exist.
Beware, the "Sticky" mode is a hack and much could be done
to improve its look.
"S" or "s" keys reserved for the auto-solver (unimple-
mented).
Press "U" or "u" keys to undo move.
Press "G" or "g" keys to get a saved puzzle.
Press "W" or "w" keys to write or save a puzzle.
Press "Q", "q", or "CTRL-C" keys to kill program.
Use the key pad, "R" keys, or arrow keys to move without
mouse clicks.
Key pad is defined for Pyraminx as:
/ Counterclockwise
8 9 Up, Upper Right
^
4<5>6 Left, Clockwise, Right
v
1 2 Lower Left, Down
Use the shift keys to access "Period 3" turns from "Both"
mode, otherwise it assumes "Period 2" turning. Faces and
points turn in "Period 3" and edges (2 points) turn in
"Period 2".
Use the control key and the left mouse button, keypad, or
arrow keys to move the whole tetrahedron. This is not
recorded as a turn.
The title is in the following format (non-motif version):
xpyraminx.{2|3|both<turning modes>}:
{1|2|3|4|5|6|7|sticky<number of "tetras" per edge>}
@ (<Number of moves>/{<Record number of moves>
<username>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Com-
ment>
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 pyra-
minx window (resource name "geometry").
-display host:dpy
This option specifies the X server to contact.
-mono This option allows you to access the mono mode on
a color monitor (resource name "mono").
-{foreground|fg} color
This option specifies the foreground of the pyram-
inx window (resource name "foreground").
-{background|bg} color
This option specifies the background of the pyram-
inx window (resource name "background").
-{border|bd} color
This option specifies the border color of the
tetras in the pyraminx window (resource name "bor-
derColor").
-face{0|1|2|3} <<color>>
This option allows you to change the color of a
face (resource name "faceColorN"). In mono-mode,
color is represented as the first letter of the
color name. The faces are ordered top to bottom
and left to right. If you has two colors that
begin with the same letter you should have one in
uppercase and one in lowercase to distinguish them
in mono-mode. You can change the colors of the
faces to make a stupid pyraminx (i.e. all White or
in mono-mode all "W"). Unfortunately, it will not
normally say its solved when its randomized. This
would be cheating.
-size <<int>>
This option allows you to change the number of
tetras on a edge (resource name "size").
-sticky This option allows you to set the sticky mode
(resource name "sticky").
-mode <<int>>
This option allows you to set the turning mode
(resource name "mode").
-both This option allows you to set the turning mode to
both period 2 and period 3 (resource name "mode"
set at 4).
-[no]orient
This option allows you to access the orient mode
(resource name "orient").
-[no]practice
This option allows you to access the practice mode
(resource name "practice").
-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 to produce and the standard notation is no
good for variable number of "tetras" and turning modes.
Pyraminx with default colors, not randomized:
0 B Blue
1 R Red
2 Y Yellow
3 G Green
size: 1-7 <number of triangles in the same orienta-
tion as the face per row>
mode: 2-4 <period 2 turning, period 3 turning, or
both (4)>
orient: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then lines on
"tetras" to be oriented>
sticky: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then some
"tetras" move together>
practice: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true>
moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>
startingPosition: <2 dimensional array of face
"tetra" position, each face has size * size
"tetras", if orient mode then orientation number
follows face number: 0 up, 1 upper right, 2 right,
3 down, 4 lower left, and 5 left>
This is then followed by the moves, starting from 1.
move #: <face> <position> <direction> <control>
Each turn is with respect to a face and position.
Position is 0 to size * size - 1. Position 0 is the tri-
angle furthest from the center, increasing clockwise.
Direction is represented 0 up, 1 upper right, 2 right, 3
down, 4 lower left, 5 left, 9 clockwise, and 15 counter-
clockwise.
Control is represented as 0 or 1, 1 if the whole tetrahe-
dron is moved at once (here position does not matter), 0
if not. The xpyraminx record keeper does not count a con-
trol move as a move, but here we do.
Caution: the program may crash on corrupted input.
REFERENCES
Mastering the Magic Pyramid by Tom Werneck, Evans Brothers
Limited, London, 1981. pp 109-111.
Beyond Rubik's Cube: spheres, pyramids, dodecahedrons and
God knows what else by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Scientific
American, July 1982, pp 16-31.
Magic Cubes 1996 Catalog of Dr. Christoph Bandelow.
SEE ALSO
X(1) xrubik(6) xskewb(6) xdino(6) xoct(6) xmball(6)
xmlink(6) xpanex(6) xcubes(6) xtriangles(6)
xhexagons(6) xabacus(1)
COPYRIGHTS
(R) Copyright 1994-97, David Albert Bagley
BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES
Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author
David Albert Bagley, lt;bagleyd@bigfoot.com
The most updated source could be found on ftp.x.org under
/contrib/games/puzzles.