User:Vampire Library: Difference between revisions

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==Puzzle==


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?
==Help==
{{Hint| Try to reinterpret the game as taking place on a 3x3 grid.}}
{{Answer| No. At most he can guarantee a draw.}}
{{Solution| This game is actually "equivalent" to 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.}}
==See also==
[[Category:Game theory]]

Revision as of 18:10, 6 November 2010