If you want to improve your knowledge of GIPF, then this is where you must be. Solving puzzles is very useful to understand more of what the game is all about. Note that you'll find GIPF-pieces in all of the given problems, so you're supposed to be familiar with at least the standard version of GIPF. Even better is that you know the rules of the tournament version.

Below you'll find several series of puzzles. The given solutions are not supposed to explain everything; that would be too complicated and, in a number of cases, it would cause more confusion than bring clarity. In case you are unsure about a certain solution, we advise you to take your game of GIPF and check it out with pieces on the board. If you don't have a game at your disposal, then make your own copy. The design of the board is easy to draw and you can use whatever you want as pieces: buttons, shells, checkers, etc.

GIPF-puzzles still are a rather new notion. We don't have much experience with this matter yet and have few references to work with. Please inform us if you find a "bug" in one or more of the puzzles. Suggestions and corrections are very welcome.


SERIES 1

Through solving this first series of puzzles, you'll find out some of the basic principles of playing GIPF.

SERIES 2

Eight multiple choice puzzles. Not too hard…
Pay attention to how the given solutions are noted down; it will help you to understand how to take notes of a game of GIPF.

SERIES 3

The problems in this series are presented without specific descriptions, i.e. as situations that may occur in any game of GIPF. The question most of the time goes as follows: what would be the best move? Put in other words: you must find out yourself what you must look for. The reason for leaving the problems undefined, is that the characteristics of GIPF are completely different from e.g. chess. Describing a GIPF-problem in detail, often implies that the phrasing in itself already reveals half of the solution, so the answer in a number of cases would become too obvious - which, as you'll understand, is not the purpose. To make it even more difficult, some of the problems are not really meant to be problems. It is up to you to find out which of the problems have a straight solution and which are just interesting situations with a suggested next move.

But so as not to make life too hard on you, we provided each problem with a Tip. If you think to have found a solution or if you want to know in which direction you must search, then click on it. Each Tip will reveal something concrete about the respective problem.

SERIES 4: THE FAMOUS MSO3 PUZZLES

These 12 puzzles were assembled for the first GIPF Problem Solving Championship, which took place on August 28, 1999, during the third Mind Sports Olympiad in London. It turned out to be an extremely difficult contest. The participants - amongst whom a number of the most experienced Gipfers - suffered for 2 long hours and most didn't feel well immediately after having handed over their answers. And even worse after having heard their score… but that was then! Meanwhile it is acknowledged that there are real beauties amongst the MSO 3-puzzles.
If you want to know more about this event, then read the report.

All 12 puzzles have the same starting point: White is to play and wins the game in at most 6 moves. The task, for each problems, is to find what White should play with his next move in order to force the win. Only one move must be found (i.e. the first move of the sequence against which Black has no defense). That move must concern White's shortest possible win. A move which leads to a win with a certain number of moves is incorrect if there is another way to win with fewer moves. That's it. Have fun!
If you want to know how the championship was regulated in detail, read the rules.

Note 1: each problem is provided with 3 TIPS. The participants of the championship in London had to look for the solutions without these tips.
Note 2: don't feel frustrated if you don't find as many of the solutions as you would like. As said before: even the most experienced Gipfers had real difficulties. Look at them as examples that reveal part of how GIPF can be played on a higher level.
Note 3: all the problems are checked and double checked in advance by several players, but since GIPF (released in 1997) must still be considered as a rather new game, it must be said that the level of play - in general - has not reached the point where it is possible to give an absolute guarantee that no "bugs" will be found in the given problems. Though, when the championship was over, all the problems (and their respective solutions) have been discussed thoroughly, and until now no backdoor has been detected.


SERIES 5

Multiple choice puzzles again. All of the puzzles below have been published on KMW's Spielpl@tz and Spielbox Online in 2000. Some are easy, others aren't…

SERIES 6

The 6 puzzles of the first Online GIPF Puzzle Contest. They were put on line on Sunday, October 7, 2001, at exactly 16:00 Greenwich Mean Time and participants had one week to send in their solutions.
The question to be answered is the same for all 6 puzzles: which move must White make to start a sequence of at most 6 moves against which Black will have no defence? In other words: it is White's turn; what must he play to win with maximally 6 moves? The solution must be the shortest possible winning sequence.

Read the complete rules of the contest.