Words of Hanoi daily archive
Words of Hanoi #21: 2 Oct 2026
This is the Words of Hanoi puzzle Crux set for Friday 2 Oct 2026 (UTC), number 21 since the game started on 12 Sep 2026. The board has 5 tubes, four tiles tall. Sort the letters into 3 four-letter words. Par is 28 moves.
The starting board
- IRAK
- ANK
- TC
- EXS
Tube 1: empty. Tube 2: I R A K. Tube 3: A N K. Tube 4: T C. Tube 5: E X S. The top of each tube is its first letter.
Play today's Words of Hanoi in your browser
Hints and answer
Each one opens on a tap, so you only see what you ask for.
Hint 1: the first letters
The setter's words start with E, R, S.
Hint 2: one word
One of the words is EXIT.
The answer: all 3 words
EXIT, SACK, RANK. Any arrangement where every full tube spells a word from the list also counts, so you may finish with different words.
- EXIT
- SACK
- RANK
The full solution in 28 moves
- Move T from tube 4 to tube 5.
- Move T from tube 5 to tube 1.
- Move I from tube 2 to tube 1.
- Move R from tube 2 to tube 3.
- Move C from tube 4 to tube 2.
- Move E from tube 5 to tube 4.
- Move R from tube 3 to tube 4.
- Move X from tube 5 to tube 4.
- Move A from tube 3 to tube 2.
- Move S from tube 5 to tube 3.
- Move A from tube 2 to tube 4.
- Move C from tube 2 to tube 1.
- Move A from tube 2 to tube 3.
- Move C from tube 1 to tube 2.
- Move A from tube 3 to tube 5.
- Move A from tube 5 to tube 2.
- Move A from tube 4 to tube 1.
- Move A from tube 1 to tube 5.
- Move S from tube 3 to tube 2.
- Move N from tube 3 to tube 5.
- Move X from tube 4 to tube 1.
- Move N from tube 5 to tube 1.
- Move R from tube 4 to tube 5.
- Move N from tube 1 to tube 3.
- Move R from tube 5 to tube 1.
- Move A from tube 5 to tube 3.
- Move R from tube 1 to tube 3.
- Move E from tube 4 to tube 1.
How to play Words of Hanoi
- Lift the top letter. Tap a tube to pick up its top tile. Only the top tile moves.
- Make some room. Tap another tube that has space. Any letter may sit on any other.
- Read top to bottom. Finish when every tube with letters spells a four-letter word from the list. Spare tubes may stay empty.
Tips for this board
- Start with the word that has the most letters already in order. The top letters right now are I, A, T, E.
- Keep a tube empty as long as you can. This board has 2 spare tubes, and an empty one is where you park a letter you need later.
- Build each word from the bottom up: the last letter goes in first.
#20, 1 Oct 2026 · All past puzzles · #22, 3 Oct 2026
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