Grundy's Game
Grundy's Game is played with one or more heaps of items. The nature of the items is not important, but in the applet below they may perhaps remind of chocolate squares. The only legal move in the game is to split a single heap into smaller two of different sizes.
To perform a move click between any two (with the above provision) adjacent squares.
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Copyright © 1996-2018 Alexander BogomolnyGrundy's Game
Clearly the game ends when all the heaps have either one or two items. The Grundy number of heaps of size 0, 1, 2 is 0. By the Mex rule, that of the heap of size 3 is 1. For other sizes the Grundy numbers are found successively: 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 1, ... Here is a list of values for heap sizes up to 60 [WW, p. 96]:
| 0-9 | 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 |
|---|---|
| 10-19 | 0 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 4 3 |
| 20-29 | 0 4 3 0 4 3 0 4 1 2 |
| 30-39 | 3 1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 |
| 40-49 | 1 5 4 1 5 4 1 5 4 1 |
| 50-59 | 0 2 1 0 2 1 5 2 1 3 |
As usual, the P-positions are those whose Grundy number is 0. You are bound to win the game if, on every move, you leave a P-Position.
References
- E. R. Berlekamp, J. H. Conway, R. K. Guy, Winning Ways for Your Mathematical Plays, Volume 1, A K Peters, 2001
- J. H. Conway, On Numbers And Games, A K Peters, 2001
- R. Guy, fair game, Comap's Explorations in Mathematics, 1989
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