Jumping Frog Puzzle Instructions

This is an online version of a very old puzzle in which you have to swap the three green chested frogs with the three yellow chested frogs.

Click the green GO! button to start the game and you will see a pond with seven lily pads. Three yellow chested frogs are sitting on the three at the left and three green chested frogs are sitting on the three on the right (which are yellow).

Now, the three yellow chested frogs would like to sit on the yellow lily pads and the three green chested frogs would like to sit on green lily pads. The yellow and green chested frogs don't really like each other, so they want the empty lily pad between them.

It is your job to move the frogs and make them happy! However, the yellow chested frogs can only hop to the right (luckily the markings on their chest look like an arrow pointing that way). The green chested frogs can only hop to the left. Both frogs can only jump onto an empty lily pad, but if there is a frog between the one you want to move and the lily pad then they can jump over it. They are only strong enough to jump over one frog, though.

To make a frog jump, just click on it and if it can move then it will jump. If it can't move then you will hear a noise and it won't move.

If none of the frogs can move, then you will see a message and will have to restart the game. If you complete the puzzle, then you will see a message and Trixie will appear.

This game was first sold in France and was called "Jeu des Grenouilles" (which literally means "game of frogs"). The original design dates from around 1883! It is sometimes called Hop-Over, but that game usually has 8 frogs rather than 6 and is more difficult.

This puzzle is also available as a print-out using PDF files.

The puzzle can be found here [PDF file 333 kB]

The solution can be found here [PDF file 204 kB]