Feb 21 - Thomas Garrison (Northeastern)
Title: Packit!
Abstract: We present and analyze PackIt!, a turn-based game consisting of packing rectangles on an $n \times n$ grid. PackIt! can be easily played on paper, either as a competitive two-player game or in \emph{solitaire} fashion. On the $t$-th turn, a rectangle of area $t$ or $t+1$ must be placed in the grid. In the two-player format of PackIt! whichever player places a rectangle last wins, whereas the goal in the solitaire variant is to perfectly pack the $n \times n$ grid. We analyze necessary conditions for the existence of a perfect packing over $n \times n$, as well as making first steps towards solving which player is in a position to win for small boards.
You can play PackIt! herehttps://packit.surge.sh/