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From: ewa@sdcc3.UUCP (Eric Anderson)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: pennies puzzle (SPOILER)
Message-ID: <3171@sdcc3.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 02:35:19 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcc3.3171
Posted: Fri Feb 21 02:35:19 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Feb-86 07:44:02 EST
References: <953@houxa.UUCP> <904@whuxlm.UUCP>
Reply-To: ewa@sdcc3.UUCP (Eric Anderson)
Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center
Lines: 19

In article <904@whuxlm.UUCP> dim@whuxlm.UUCP (McCooey David I) writes:
>> Imagine a two-player game...
>The second player can always win if he uses the following strategy:
>	Considering the center of the table as the "origin", always
>	place his penny at a spot reflected through the origin from
>	where his opponent just placed his last penny.
>Using this strategy, the second player will always have a spot to place his
>penny because he is simply mirroring the actions of the first player.
Close .. but actually the FIRST player will win.

Suppose the second player mirrors the first players moves. Noting this, the
first player aviods the origin.  Then, when the rest of the table is full, the
first player plays the origin, and wins.

Winning strategy: Play the origin first, then mirror the other player.


Eric Anderson, UC San Diego         {elsewhere}!ihnp4!ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdcc3!ewa
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