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Lights Out is a game which can be played on any graph $G$. Initially we have a configuration which assigns one of the two states on or off to each vertex. The aim of the game is to turn all vertices to off state for an initial configuration…

Lights Out is a game played on a graph $G$ where every vertex has a light bulb that is either on or off, and pressing a vertex $v$ toggles the state of every vertex in the closed neighborhood of $v$. The goal is to find a subset of vertices…

Neighborhood Lights Out is a game played on graphs. Begin with a graph and a vertex labeling of the graph from the set $\{0,1,2,\dots, \ell-1\}$ for $\ell \in \mathbb{N}$. The game is played by toggling vertices: when a vertex is toggled,…

We consider the generalized game Lights Out played on a graph and investigate the following question: for a given positive integer $n$, what is the probability that a graph chosen uniformly at random from the set of graphs with $n$ vertices…

We model the Lights Out game on general simple graphs in the framework of linear algebra over the field $\mathbb F_2$. Based upon a version of the Fredholm alternative, we introduce a separating invariant of the game, i.e., an initial state…

We study the generalization of the game Lights Out in which the standard square grid board is replaced by a graph. We examine the probability that, when a graph is chosen uniformly at random from the set of graphs with $n$ vertices and $e$…

Lights Out! is a game played on a $5 \times 5$ grid of lights, or more generally on a graph. Pressing lights on the grid allows the player to turn off neighboring lights. The goal of the game is to start with a given initial configuration…

In this paper we study a variant of the solitaire game Lights-Out, where the player's goal is to turn off a grid of lights. This variant is a two-player impartial game where the goal is to make the final valid move. This version is playable…

Consider a game played on a simple graph $G = (V, E)$ where each vertex consists of a clickable light. Clicking any vertex $v$ toggles the on/off state of $v$ and its neighbors. Starting from an initial configuration of lights, one wins the…

A configuration of the lit-only $\sigma$-game on a finite graph $\Gamma$ is an assignment of one of two states, on or off, to all vertices of $\Gamma.$ Given a configuration, a move of the lit-only $\sigma$-game on $\Gamma$ allows the…

A configuration of a graph is an assignment of one of two states, on or off, to each vertex of it. A regular move at a vertex changes the states of the neighbors of that vertex. A valid move is a regular move at an on vertex. The following…

The theory behind the Lights Out game has been developed by several authors. The aim of this work is to present some results related to this game using Linear Algebra. We establish a criterion for the solubility of this game in the case of…

We study a version of the lights out game played on directed graphs. For a digraph $D$, we begin with a labeling of $V(D)$ with elements of $\mathbb{Z}_k$ for $k \ge 2$. When a vertex $v$ is toggled, the labels of $v$ and any vertex that…

We give an elementary inductive proof of a classical result for the \emph{Lights Out problem} on graphs: from any configuration of vertices, one can reach the complementary configuration by a sequence of moves, where a move consists of…

We look at both the \emph{group labeling lights out game} and the \emph{neighborhood lights out game}. Our main focus is to determine necessary and sufficient conditions for when the group labeling lights out game on path graphs, cycle…

Let $\mathbb{F}$ be any field, we consider solving $Ax=b$ repeatedly for a matrix $A\in\mathbb{F}^{n\times n}$ of $m$ non-zero elements, and multiple different $b\in\mathbb{F}^{n}$. If we are given a zero forcing set of $A$ of size $k$, we…

The Lights Out Puzzle represents a cellular automaton based on a grid of squares where clicking a square changes its state and the states of surrounding squares. A "quiet pattern" is a way to click such that in the end, no change is…

The Lights Out Puzzle, played on a graph $\Gamma$, has been studied using linear algebra over $\mathbb{F}_2$ and more generally over $\mathbb{Z}/k\mathbb{Z}$. We generalize the setting by allowing the states of vertices to be the elements…

In this work, we study a triangular variant of the Lights Out game, proposed in the 2025 Capixaba Mathematics Olympiad. We present a combinatorial description of the game, formally characterize its operations, and introduce the notion of a…

Game of Life is a simple and elegant model to study dynamical system over networks. The model consists of a graph where every vertex has one of two types, namely, dead or alive. A configuration is a mapping of the vertices to the types. An…