Games of No Chance (Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Publications, Series Number 29)

"Is Nine-Men's Morris, in the hands of perfect players, a win for white or for black--or a draw? Can king, rook, and knight always defeat king and two knights in chess? What can Go players learn from economists? What are nimbers, tinies, switches, minies? This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full analysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full anlaysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. The first part of this book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background: it contains introductory expositions, reports of unusual contest between an angel and a devil. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go; reports on computer advances such as the solution of Nine-Men's Morris and Pentominoes; and new theoretical approaches to such problems as games with many players. If you have read and enjoyed Martin Gardner, or if you like to learn and analyze new games, this book is for you." -- Provided by publisher

Is Nine-Men's Morris, in the hands of perfect players, a win for white or for black—or a draw? Can king, rook, and knight always defeat king and two knights in chess? What can Go players learn from economists? What are nimbers, tinies, switches, minies? This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full analysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full anlaysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. The first part of this book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background: it contains introductory expositions, reports of unusual contest between an angel and a devil. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go; reports on computer advances such as the solution of Nine-Men's Morris and Pentominoes; and new theoretical approaches to such problems as games with many players. If you have read and enjoyed Martin Gardner, or if you like to learn and analyze new games, this book is for you.

Is Nine-Men's Morris, in the hands of perfect players, a win for white or for black - or a draw? Can king, rook, and knight always defeat king and two knights in chess? What can Go players learn from economists? What are nimbers, tinies, switches, minies? This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full analysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full anlaysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. The first part of this book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background: it contains introductory expositions, reports of unusual contest between an angel and a devil. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go; reports on computer advances such as the solution of Nine-Men's Morris and Pentominoes; and new theoretical approaches to such problems as games with many players. If you have read and enjoyed Martin Gardner, or if you like to learn and analyze new games, this book is for you. preface......Page 1 front......Page 3 conway......Page 8 fraenkel......Page 18 westboxes......Page 48 westdom......Page 54 wolfe......Page 61 gasser......Page 67 tinsley......Page 80 schaeffer......Page 84 elkies......Page 99 stiller......Page 115 kawano......Page 157 kim......Page 167 landman......Page 191 moloopy......Page 222 muller......Page 236 ericsowing......Page 248 erictoads......Page 259 garcia......Page 271 moews......Page 274 nowak......Page 287 orman......Page 296 west......Page 302 zieve......Page 308 ber......Page 319 blackwell......Page 360 cali......Page 362 codes......Page 370 iida......Page 385 propp......Page 388 richman......Page 399 loeb......Page 400 unsolved......Page 421 bibl......Page 438 This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. The first part of the book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go, plus reports on computer advances and theoretical approaches. The Angel and the Devil play their game on an infinite chessboard, with one square for each ordered pair of integers (x, y).