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The ``losing positions" of certain combinatorial games constitute linear error detecting and correcting codes. We show that a large class of games that can be cast in the form of *annihilation games*, provides a potentially polynomial…
In this paper, we generalize modal $\mu$-calculus to the non-distributive (lattice-based) modal $\mu$-calculus and formalize some scenarios regarding categorization using it. We also provide a game semantics for the developed logic. The…
Competition among cooperators, defectors, and loners is studied in an evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game with optional participation. Loners are risk averse i.e. unwilling to participate and rather rely on small but fixed earnings. This…
Combinatorial games lead to several interesting, clean problems in algorithms and complexity theory, many of which remain open. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the area to encourage further research. In particular, we…
In many combinatorial games, one can prove that the first player wins under best play using a simple but non-constructive argument called strategy-stealing. This work is about the complexity behind these proofs: how hard is it to actually…
We analyze Solo Chess puzzles, where the input is an $n \times n$ board containing some standard Chess pieces of the same color, and the goal is to make a sequence of capture moves to reduce down to a single piece. Prior work analyzes this…
We study the computational complexity of distance games, a class of combinatorial games played on graphs. A move consists of colouring an uncoloured vertex subject to it not being at certain distances determined by two sets, D and S. D is…
We first prove that the set of domino tilings of a fixed finite figure is a distributive lattice, even in the case when the figure has holes. We then give a geometrical interpretation of the order given by this lattice, using (not…
Normally a chess problem must have a unique solution, and is deemed unsound even if there are alternatives that differ only in the order in which the same moves are played. In an enumerative chess problem, the set of moves in the solution…
We introduce the idea of an n-simplex graph and games upon simplicial complexes. We then define moves on a labeled graph and pose the problem of whether given two labelings of a graph it is possible to change one into another via these…
A matching game is a cooperative profit game defined on an edge-weighted graph, where the players are the vertices and the profit of a coalition is the maximum weight of matchings in the subgraph induced by the coalition. A population…
Submodular functions are discrete functions that model laws of diminishing returns and enjoy numerous algorithmic applications. They have been used in many areas, including combinatorial optimization, machine learning, and economics. In…
In this article, we consider some simple combinatorial game and a winning strategy in this game. This game is then used to prove several known results about non-repetitive sequences and approximations with denominators from a lacunary…
The main challenge of combinatorial game theory is to handle combinatorial chaos, if one player knows the strategy better than his opponent, he is able to determine the exact results of a game. If both players are qualified competitor, the…
The number of quantifiers needed to express first-order properties is captured by two-player combinatorial games called multi-structural (MS) games. We play these games on linear orders and strings, and introduce a technique we call…
We study the uniqueness and regularity of minimizing movements solutions of a droplet model in the case of piecewise monotone forcing. We show that such solutions evolve uniquely on each interval of monotonicity, but branching…
We study a family of sorting match puzzles on grids, which we call permutation match puzzles. In this puzzle, each row and column of a $n \times n$ grid is labeled with an ordering constraint -- ascending (A) or descending (D) -- and the…
We develop a theory of combinatorial games that is appropriate for describing positions in Hex and other monotone set coloring games. We consider two natural conditions on such games: a game is monotone if all moves available to both…
In this article we study the combinatorics of congruence subgroups of the modular group. We consider the notion of minimal monomial solutions. These are the solutions of a matrix equation (also appearing in the study of Coxeter friezes),…
In this paper we will discuss scoring play games. We will give the basic definitions for scoring play games, and show that they form a well defined set, with clear and distinct outcome classes under these definitions. We will also show that…