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| I'm not certain of the origins of this puzzle.
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| ==Puzzle==
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| Two friends, Sam and Lloyd, play the following game: each boy, on their turn, removes a number from 1,...,9 without replacement. The winner of the game is the one who first obtains 3 numbers that sum to 15. Does Sam have a winning strategy assuming he goes first?
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| ==Help==
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| {{Hint| Try to reinterpret the game as taking place on a 3x3 grid.}}
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| {{Answer| No. At most he can guarantee a draw.}}
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| {{Solution| We can translate the rules of the game to that of Tic Tac Toe on a 3x3 magic square (i.e. each row, column and diagonal sums to 15). Since there is no winning strategy in Tic Tac Toe neither is there for this game.}}
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| ==See also==
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| [[Category:Game theory]]
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