Crate-push docks
Push a crate onto its dock while distinguishing a walk from a push.
Logic & rule checking
- Players
- 1–3 cooperatively
- Time
- 10–20 minutes
- Materials
- 5×5 map, one player marker, one crate and pencil.
Prepare
Label columns A–E and rows 1–5. Every outer square is a wall; the nine inner squares are floor. Start the person at B2, the crate at C3 and dock at D4. A token represents a position, not a physical person moving in a room. First agree which learner plans and which records.
Play
Move the person one orthogonal square per action. Empty floor is walkable. To enter the crate square, push it one square in the same direction only if that next square is empty floor. The person ends on the crate’s old square. You cannot pull, jump, move diagonally or push a crate through a wall.
Worked example
A checked route is B2→B3→C3→C2→D2→D3 for the person. The second action pushes the crate C3→D3; the fifth pushes D3→D4. Five actions complete the dock. Record both positions after each action, because the person and crate do not move together on an ordinary walk.
Finish and check
Success requires the crate on D4. If a crate reaches the non-target corner B2, it cannot leave: the person would need to stand on wall A2 or B1 to push it away. Use the undo log to return to the last legal choice or reset; no penalty or elimination is needed. Stop after three attempts.
Adaptation and limits
This is a small, separately drawn push-box puzzle. The example establishes solvability, not the optimal route for every layout. Enlarge the map and dictate moves if handling paper is difficult. A host can reveal one reachable standing square without moving the crate on the group’s behalf.
Purpose, observation and provenance
Within this activity: Push a crate onto its dock while distinguishing a walk from a push.
Explain one legal decision and check it against the written constraints; a single result does not measure lasting ability.
Our rules, examples and printable diagrams are separately prepared. The earliest inventor of the broader mechanism is not established here.
Free alternative: Copy the supplied grids, labels and cards onto reused paper. No specialist product is needed. Adults may prepare pieces or act as a scribe.
Printable materials
Preview at 100% scale, with browser headers and footers off. Cut with suitable help. Keep host keys separate. This is a manual tabletop kit, not an online opponent, automatic judge or solver.
Player materials · Crate-push docks
Walls: outer ring A/E columns and rows 1/5. Person B2; crate C3; dock D4.
Action / person / crate / walk or push: ___ .
Player record · keep host key separate
| Action | Person | Crate | Walk/push |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Host key · separate from players
Five actions: person B3,C3,C2,D2,D3; crate C3,D3,D3,D3,D4. B2 is a non-target dead corner.
Run the round
Label columns A–E and rows 1–5. Every outer square is a wall; the nine inner squares are floor. Start the person at B2, the crate at C3 and dock at D4. A token represents a position, not a physical person moving in a room. First agree which learner plans and which records.
Move the person one orthogonal square per action. Empty floor is walkable. To enter the crate square, push it one square in the same direction only if that next square is empty floor. The person ends on the crate’s old square. You cannot pull, jump, move diagonally or push a crate through a wall.
A checked route is B2→B3→C3→C2→D2→D3 for the person. The second action pushes the crate C3→D3; the fifth pushes D3→D4. Five actions complete the dock. Record both positions after each action, because the person and crate do not move together on an ordinary walk.
Success requires the crate on D4. If a crate reaches the non-target corner B2, it cannot leave: the person would need to stand on wall A2 or B1 to push it away. Use the undo log to return to the last legal choice or reset; no penalty or elimination is needed. Stop after three attempts.
This is a small, separately drawn push-box puzzle. The example establishes solvability, not the optimal route for every layout. Enlarge the map and dictate moves if handling paper is difficult. A host can reveal one reachable standing square without moving the crate on the group’s behalf.
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