Related papers: Query Complexity of Mastermind Variants
A graph $G$ contains a graph $H$ as a pivot-minor if $H$ can be obtained from $G$ by applying a sequence of vertex deletions and edge pivots. Pivot-minors play an important role in the study of rank-width. Pivot-minors have mainly been…
We consider a computing system where a master processor assigns tasks for execution to worker processors through the Internet. We model the workers decision of whether to comply (compute the task) or not (return a bogus result to save the…
We study the quantum query complexity of constant-sized subgraph containment. Such problems include determining whether an $ n $-vertex graph contains a triangle, clique or star of some size. For a general subgraph $ H $ with $ k $…
Let $n$ be a positive integer, and let $k$ be a field (of arbitrary characteristic) accessible to symbolic computation. We describe an algorithmic test for determining whether or not a finitely presented $k$-algebra $R$ has infinitely many…
We consider a game in which a blindfolded player attempts to set $n$ counters lying on the vertices of a rotating regular $n$-gon table simultaneously to $0$. When the counters count$\pmod{m}$ we simplify the argument of Bar Yehuda, Etzion,…
We introduce a guessing game, permutation Wordle, in which a guesser attempts to recover a hidden permutation in $S_n$. In each round, the guesser guesses a permutation (using information from previous rounds) and is told which entries of…
In this paper we study noisy sorting without re-sampling. In this problem there is an unknown order $a_{\pi(1)} < ... < a_{\pi(n)}$ where $\pi$ is a permutation on $n$ elements. The input is the status of $n \choose 2$ queries of the form…
Two-player (antagonistic) games on (possibly stochastic) graphs are a prevalent model in theoretical computer science, notably as a framework for reactive synthesis. Optimal strategies may require randomisation when dealing with inherently…
We study the dual linear code of points and generators on a non-singular Hermitian variety $\mathcal{H}(2n+1,q^2)$. We improve the earlier results for $n=2$, we solve the minimum distance problem for general $n$, we classify the $n$…
We study the Levine hat problem, a cooperative puzzle introduced by Lionel Levine in 2010, in which $n \geq 2$ players must simultaneously identify a black hat on their own infinite stack, each seeing only their teammates' stacks. While the…
We prove PSPACE-completeness of two classic types of Chess problems when generalized to n-by-n boards. A "retrograde" problem asks whether it is possible for a position to be reached from a natural starting position, i.e., whether the…
We study a simplified version of full street, three player Kuhn poker, in which the weakest card, J, must be checked and/or folded by a player who holds it. The number of nontrivial betting frequencies that must be calculated is thereby…
Reinforcement learning has become a powerful approach for enhancing large language model reasoning, but faces a fundamental dilemma: training on easy problems can cause overfitting and pass@k degradation, while training on hard problems…
Given a family ${\mathcal F}$ and a host graph $H$, a graph $G\subseteq H$ is ${\mathcal F}$-saturated relative to $H$ if no subgraph of $G$ lies in ${\mathcal F}$ but adding any edge from $E(H)-E(G)$ to $G$ creates such a subgraph. In the…
We consider the following two-player game, parametrised by positive integers $n$ and $k$. The game is played between Painter and Builder, alternately taking turns, with Painter moving first. The game starts with the empty graph on $n$…
We consider some biased Maker-Breaker games. Starting with the complete $k$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices, at each turn Maker claims one edge, and then Breaker claims $b$ edges. Maker's goal is to obtain a set of edges having some…
Common knowledge is crucial for safe group coordination. In its absence, humans must rely on shared knowledge, which is inherently limited in depth and therefore prone to coordination failures, because any finite-order knowledge attribution…
We investigate games played between Maker and Breaker on an infinite complete graph whose vertices are coloured with colours from a given set, each colour appearing infinitely often. The players alternately claim edges, Makers aim being to…
Consider a situation with $n$ agents or players where some of the players form a coalition with a certain collective objective. Simple games are used to model systems that can decide whether coalitions are successful (winning) or not…
The parallel minority game (PMG) extends the classical minority game to many choices, with each agent restricted to two predetermined alternatives. In this condition, minimizing the population variance across all choices is a complex…