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Pennies On A Table

Blogs > Slithe
Post a Reply
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
February 05 2008 23:08 GMT
#1
Another puzzle guys. This one is kinda neat, but pretty simple.

You're playing a two-player turn based game. You have a circular table, 1 meter in diameter. You and your opponent take turns putting 1 centimeter pennies on the table. The pennies cannot overlap each other, and they must stay completely on the table.

If you cannot put down a penny on your turn, you lose the game.

Would you rather go first or second, and what would your strategy be?

****
Daveed
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States236 Posts
February 05 2008 23:14 GMT
#2
+ Show Spoiler +
I would Go first/put the penny right on the center.
Cascade
Profile Blog Joined March 2006
Australia5405 Posts
February 05 2008 23:15 GMT
#3
On February 06 2008 08:14 Daveed wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
I would Go first/put the penny right on the center.


+ Show Spoiler +
ahh, that's sweet! And then just put pennies exactly on the opposite side of the centre penny as his pennies I guess?
DamageControL
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States4222 Posts
February 05 2008 23:23 GMT
#4
On February 06 2008 08:15 Cascade wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 06 2008 08:14 Daveed wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
I would Go first/put the penny right on the center.


+ Show Spoiler +
ahh, that's sweet! And then just put pennies exactly on the opposite side of the centre penny as his pennies I guess?

breakable aint it? I mean this would rely on PRECISION placement. No would have to be dead on, every time. There must be more effective ways
Liquid | SKT
Folca
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
2235 Posts
February 06 2008 00:26 GMT
#5
just play retardedly, its a 50/50% chance unless your opponent is einstein or somethin
Dea : one time when he was playing vs the comps he asked me "how do I make that flying unit that makes the other stuff invisible" and I reply "ur playing terran zomg"
Meta
Profile Blog Joined June 2003
United States6226 Posts
February 06 2008 01:27 GMT
#6
there's gotta be a mathematical solution to how many pennies can be on the table. can you move pennies that are already on the table?
good vibes only
fight_or_flight
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States3988 Posts
February 06 2008 01:43 GMT
#7
On February 06 2008 08:23 DamageControL wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 06 2008 08:15 Cascade wrote:
On February 06 2008 08:14 Daveed wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
I would Go first/put the penny right on the center.


+ Show Spoiler +
ahh, that's sweet! And then just put pennies exactly on the opposite side of the centre penny as his pennies I guess?

breakable aint it? I mean this would rely on PRECISION placement. No would have to be dead on, every time. There must be more effective ways

I don't think it would work. What if the second player put a penny down 0.7 cm away from yours, at a 25º angle?
Do you really want chat rooms?
Daveed
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
United States236 Posts
February 06 2008 01:55 GMT
#8

+ Show Spoiler +
Actually, if the coin overlaps the exact center of the table at all, you've won.


A few replies to the people above:

@ DamageControL:

In mathematical games like this, you usually assume exact movements from yourself, as well as perfect strategy from the opponent. At any rate, if you carry this out correctly, there's no way you can lose.

@ fight/flight- I don't understand what you mean. At a 25 degree angle? With respect to... what?

@ meta- sure, you could figure out what the max number of pennies are that could fit on a table. But this would require that the pennies be put on in a specific pattern; what if one of the players placed their penny out of position for this "perfect arrangement"? That would mess things up.
Cambium
Profile Blog Joined June 2004
United States16368 Posts
February 06 2008 02:18 GMT
#9
On February 06 2008 08:14 Daveed wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
I would Go first/put the penny right on the center.


Cool.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
EmeraldSparks
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
United States1451 Posts
February 06 2008 02:22 GMT
#10
Take the pennies and run.
But why?
ZaplinG
Profile Blog Joined February 2005
United States3818 Posts
February 06 2008 02:29 GMT
#11
haha
Don't believe the florist when he tells you that the roses are free
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
February 06 2008 04:57 GMT
#12
Daveed's solution is correct. Congratulations!

+ Show Spoiler +

Once you take the center, you know that anything your opponent does, there's always a mirror move on the other side that's open. There's no way for the opponent to "block" your move, because the only place where that would be possible is in the middle, which you already took.


For anyone who doubts the solution, you could always find a circular table, break out a lot of pennies, and test for yourself .
fight_or_flight
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States3988 Posts
February 06 2008 05:10 GMT
#13
wow, thats actually pretty clever
Do you really want chat rooms?
Sigrun
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States1655 Posts
February 06 2008 07:31 GMT
#14
On February 06 2008 11:22 EmeraldSparks wrote:
Take the pennies and run.


This one looked like a better solution!
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