h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Have you tried doing the puzzle on the site? I get as far as having just two adjacent pieces transposed. Now, I seem to recall that this indicates the puzzle is impossible. So, is it a trick or am I just crap?

God, you're bored, aren't you?

I think it's just you being crap. I completed it in a sort of half-arsed way with two other browser windows open.

The two pieces transposed thing just means you've got to rearrange about nine different pieces.

B

Bored? Moi? I just tried one and completed it, but I've definitely seen a mathematical proof that on a four-by-four puzzle, transposing two adjacent pieces leaves it unsolvable. I suspect that the game chooses the initial positions randomly rather than mixing the pieces using legal moves.