Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!ames!pasteur!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!humu!uhccux!julian
From: julian@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Julian Cowley)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Blackbox
Message-ID: <3862@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Date: 29 Apr 89 04:55:43 GMT
References: <8904271819.AA06295@dsys.icst.nbs.gov>
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Lines: 35

In article <8904271819.AA06295@dsys.icst.nbs.gov> rbj@dsys.icst.nbs.GOV (Root Boy Jim) writes:
>When you are satisfied you have figured things out, type RET to
>get your score. This is presumably some inverse function of the
>number of rays shot into the box.

The score is equal to the number of marked points on the outside
of the box at the end of the game, so the lower the score the
better.  You are also given a five-point penalty for each ball
you incorrectly place.

Regarding best scores, I believe the minimum score possible in
order to secure a sure match is equal to the number of balls in
the box.  However, as this is an extreme case, most scores will
be at least twice the number of balls.

By the way, blackbox reminds me of some mechanical puzzle boxes
that Martin Garder wrote up in one of his books on mathematical
puzzles.  The puzzles were solid boxes constructed of wood that
contained a hole into which you were to place a ball bearing.
The object was retrieve the ball out of a second opening, while
manipulating the box in any manner possible except opening up
the box or damaging it.  The boxes were especially devious,
however, and often contained magnets that trapped the balls, or
trap doors that required manipulation of doodads on the outside
of the box.  In fact, one of these boxes proved so hard that one
solver had to have the box X-rayed before he could solve it!
Fortunately, the game blackbox is nowhere near as hard.

Ps. Is there some inherent reason why the game is limited to an
8 x 8 box?  It might be more interesting if the size were
adjustable as well as the number of balls.

julian@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu
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