March 5, 2013
Problem of the Week
for Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Odysseus and Evelyn play the following game in which they take turns. A number of coins lie on the table. When it is Odysseus' turn, he must remove 1 or 3 coins. When it is Evelyn's turn, she must remove either 2 or 4 coins, and if only 1 coin remains she loses her turn. A coin flip determines who will go first. Whoever removes the last coin wins. Assuming that both players use their best strategy, who will win if there are 15 coins on the table? How about 16 coins? ( Note: the answer for each question is either Odysseus, Evelyn, whoever goes first, or whoever goes second.)