Related papers: Counting Domineering Positions
We introduce a one-person game that we call Padlock Solitaire which resembles the well-known clock solitaire card game. Analyzing variants of this game we obtain simple proofs of some classical results of combinatorics including ballot…
The $\mathscr{P}$-position sets of some combinatorial games have special combinatorial structures. For example, the $\mathscr{P}$-position set of the hexad game, first investigated by Conway and Ryba, is the block set of the Steiner system…
We initiate the study of the phantom version of Maker-Breaker positional games. In a phantom game, the moves of one of the players are hidden from the other player, who still has the complete information. We look at the biased $(a:b)$…
We introduce and study a Maker-Breaker type game in which the issue is to create or avoid two disjoint dominating sets in graphs without isolated vertices. We prove that the maker has a winning strategy on all connected graphs if the game…
We introduce a new family of one-player games, involving the movement of coins from one configuration to another. Moves are restricted so that a coin can be placed only in a position that is adjacent to at least two other coins. The goal of…
In this paper, we study nonzero-sum separable games, which are continuous games whose payoffs take a sum-of-products form. Included in this subclass are all finite games and polynomial games. We investigate the structure of equilibria in…
We study different domination problems of attacking and non-attacking rooks and queens on polyominoes and polycubes of all dimensions. Our main result proves that maximum independent domination is NP-complete for non-attacking queens and…
In this short note, we exhibit a draw in the game of Philosopher's Phutball. We construct a position on a 12 x 10 Phutball board from where either player has a drawing strategy, and then generalize it to an m x n board with m-2 >= n >= 10.
The minority game is a simple congestion game in which the players' main goal is to choose among two options the one that is adopted by the smallest number of players. We characterize the set of Nash equilibria and the limiting behavior of…
Infinite draughts, or checkers, is played just like the finite game, but on an infinite checkerboard extending without bound in all four directions. We prove that every countable ordinal arises as the game value of a position in infinite…
Knockout tournaments, also known as single-elimination or cup tournaments, are a popular form of sports competitions. In the standard probabilistic setting, for each pairing of players, one of the players wins the game with a certain (a…
The maximal number of totally mixed Nash equilibria in games of several players equals the number of block derangements, as proved by McKelvey and McLennan.On the other hand, counting the derangements is a well studied problem. The numbers…
The Maker-Breaker domination game is played on a graph $G$ by Dominator and Staller who alternate turns selecting an unplayed vertex of $G$. The goal of Dominator is that the vertices he selected during the game form a dominating set while…
We analyze the two-player game of Knock 'em Down, asymptotically as the number of tokens to be knocked down becomes large. Optimal play requires mixed strategies with deviations of order sqrt(n) from the naive law-of-large numbers…
We study Maker--Breaker total domination game played by two players, Dominator and Staller, on the connected cubic graphs. Staller (playing the role of Maker) wins if she manages to claim an open neighbourhood of a vertex. Dominator wins…
We show that the winning positions of a certain type of two-player game form interesting patterns which often defy analysis, yet can be computed by a cellular automaton. The game, known as {\em Blocking Wythoff Nim}, consists of moving a…
Infinite chess is chess played on an infinite edgeless chessboard. The familiar chess pieces move about according to their usual chess rules, and each player strives to place the opposing king into checkmate. The mate-in-n problem of…
We analyze the domination game, where two players, Dominator and Staller, construct together a dominating set M in a given graph, by alternately selecting vertices into M. Each move must increase the size of the dominated set. The players…
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…
Wythoff Nim aka Corner the Lady is a classic combinatorial game. A Queen is placed on an infinite chess board and two players take alternate turns, moving the Queen closer to the corner. The first player that corners the Queen wins. What…