10001110100110101
In light of Growly's (seemingly) insatiable desire for more teasers and puzzles, I came across this interesting question while sifting through old Putnum questions.
A game starts with four heaps of beans, containing 3, 4, 5 and 6 beans. The two players move alternately. A move consists of taking either
- one bean from a heap, provided at least two beans are left behind in that heap, or
- a complete heap of two or three beans.
The player who takes the last heap wins. To win the game, do you want to move first or second? Give a winning strategy.
I haven't solved this one myself, so you guys may want to try it out for yourselves.
There's a great puzzle that HKL sent me a few years ago, but I can't remember exactly how it went, and I only vaguely remember the solution. It's the sum-product question. I'll see if I can rederive it.
Monday, July 24, 2000 at 19:11:08 (UTC)
I think you need to check the syntax of your puzzler!
I'd hazard to guess that going second is the winning strategy.
Human Bean
Wednesday, July 26, 2000 at 18:04:51 (UTC)
Hmm, it sounds like the right one but I can't be sure about the specifics. Unfortunately, I stopped thinking about it the instant I forwarded it to you. <Sigh, my math days are over>. HKL
The Grinning Reaper