Games of No Chance: Combinatorial Games at Msri, 1994: 29 (Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Publications, Series Number 29) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521574110 ISBN 13: 9780521574112

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1997

Synopsis

A fascinating look at the mathematics behind games such as checkers, chess, Go, Nim, and Nine-Men Morris.

About this title

Review

'No one interested in two-person combinatorial games should hesitate before acquiring this splendid book. Leading experts report on the latest research involving such classic board games as checkers, chess, and go. Other familiar games are analyzed in depth, and many exciting new games are introduced. Did you know that go moku, nine-men morris, and Sol Golomb's pentomino game are now solved? Did you know that computers are getting close to solving checkers? Fifty-two tantalizing unsolved problems are posed by Richard Guy, and Aviezri Fraenkel's bibliography lists 666 references! Games of No Chance is a great collection of elegant, entertaining papers - a book to put on the shelf alongside the classic two-volume Winning Ways by Elwyn Berlekamp, John Conway, and Richard Guy.' Martin Gardner

'A thoroughly edited volume, Combinatorial Game Theory at its best.' European Mathematical Society

From the Publisher

A book for combinatorial games enthusiasts
Is nine-men 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, and the first book that presented a general theory of the subject was John H. Conway's On Numbers and Games (1976).

This volume represents a significant addition to the literature of combinatorial games. The first part will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background: it contains introductory expositions, reports of unusual tournaments, and a lovely article by Conway on the possibly everlasting contest between an angel and a devil. Next come studies of chess and go from the point of view of combinatorial game theory; reports on computer advances such as the solution of nine-men morris and pentominoes; and new theoretical approaches, including extensions of the traditional framework to games with many players, or lacking perfect information, or involving loops. The book closes with an annotated list of unsolved problems and a comprehensive bibliography.

If you have read and enjoyed Martin Gardner, or if you like to learn and analyze new games, this book is for you.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521574110
• ISBN 13: 9780521574112
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 549
• Editor: Richard J. Nowakowski