English

Necklace Games

Combinatorics 2026-04-14 v1

Abstract

We define and give results on the game NecklaceNim NN(nn,kk) which is PathNim PN(nn,kk) with an additional move allowed on the end vertices. This game arises as a sub-game in the context of solving CircularNim CN(nn,kk) when k2k-2 consecutive stacks have been depleted, therefore its solution is critical to solving CircularNim. We solve the infinite families of NN(nn,kk) when play is allowed on at least half the stacks.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2604.10364,
  title  = {Necklace Games},
  author = {Balaji R. Kadam and Silvia Heubach and Matthieu Dufour},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.10364},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:04:36.853Z