Related papers: Higher-dimensional cubical sliding puzzles
Suppose that we are given two independent sets $I_b$ and $I_r$ of a graph such that $|I_b|=|I_r|$, and imagine that a token is placed on each vertex in $I_b$. Then, the sliding token problem is to determine whether there exists a sequence…
The Calisson puzzle is a tiling puzzle in which one must tile a triangular grid inside a hexagon with lozenges, under the constraint that certain prescribed edges remain tile boundaries and that adjacent lozenges along these edges have…
Let $S$ be a connected graph which contains an induced path of $n-1$ vertices, where $n$ is the order of $S.$ We consider a puzzle on $S$. A configuration of the puzzle is simply an $n$-dimensional column vector over $\{0, 1\}$ with…
The first 2x2x2 twisty cube was created as a demonstration tool by Erno Rubik in 1974 to help his students understand the complexity of space and the movements in 3D. He fabricated a novel 3x3x3 mechanism where the 26 cubies were turning,…
The Rubik's cube is a famous puzzle in which faces can be moved and the corresponding movement operations define a group. We consider here a generalization to any $3$-valent map. We prove an upper bound on the size of the corresponding…
Let $S$ be an independent set of a simple undirected graph $G$. Suppose that each vertex of $S$ has a token placed on it. The tokens are allowed to be moved, one at a time, by sliding along the edges of $G$, so that after each move, the…
Peg solitaire is an old puzzle with a 300 year history. We consider two ways a computer can be utilized to find interesting peg solitaire puzzles. It is common for a peg solitaire puzzle to begin from a symmetric board position, we have…
A sliding puzzle is a combination puzzle where a player slide pieces along certain routes on a board to reach a certain end-configuration. In this paper, we propose a novel measurement of complexity of massive sliding puzzles with…
Over the past decade, we have designed six typefaces based on mathematical theorems and open problems, specifically computational geometry. These typefaces expose the general public in a unique way to intriguing results and hard problems in…
In the $15$-puzzle game, $15$ labeled square tiles are reconfigured on a $4\times 4$ board through an escort, wherein each (time) step, a single tile neighboring it may slide into it, leaving the space previously occupied by the tile as the…
Given a graph $G$ and two independent sets $I_s$ and $I_t$ of size $k$, the independent set reconfiguration problem asks whether there exists a sequence of $k$-sized independent sets $I_s = I_0, I_1, I_2, \ldots, I_\ell = I_t$ such that…
This article describes sixteen different ways to traverse d-dimensional space recursively in a way that is well-defined for any number of dimensions. Each of these traversals has distinct properties that may be beneficial for certain…
We study a new reconfiguration problem inspired by classic mechanical puzzles: a colored token is placed on each vertex of a given graph; we are also given a set of distinguished cycles on the graph. We are tasked with rearranging the…
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…
Let I be an independent set of a graph G. Imagine that a token is located on any vertex of I. We can now move the tokens of I along the edges of the graph as long as the set of tokens still defines an independent set of G. Given two…
We study the two-dimensional hierarchical rectangle packing problem, motivated by applications in analog integrated circuit layout, facility layout, and logistics. Unlike classical strip or bin packing, the dimensions of the container are…
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…
Solving Sudoku puzzles is one of the most popular pastimes in the world. Puzzles range in difficulty from easy to very challenging; the hardest puzzles tend to have the most empty cells. The current paper explains and compares three…
In intuitive physics the process of stacking cubes has become a paradigmatic, canonical task. Even though it gets employed in various shades and complexities, the very fundamental setting with two cubes has not been thoroughly investigated.…
This paper proposes JiGAN, a GAN-based method for solving Jigsaw puzzles with eroded or missing borders. Missing borders is a common real-world situation, for example, when dealing with the reconstruction of broken artifacts or ruined…