Simon plays a game on an $n\times n$ grid of cells. Initially, each cell is filled with an integer. Every minute, Simon picks a cell satisfying the following: [list] [*] The magnitude of the integer in the chosen cell is less than $n^{n^n}$ [*] The sum of all the integers in the neighboring cells (sharing one side with the chosen cell) is non-zero [/list] Simon then adds each integer in a neighboring cell to the chosen cell. Show that Simon will eventually not be able to make any valid moves.

Let $d$ and $m$ be two fixed positive integers. Pinocchio and Geppetto know the values of $d$ and $m$ and play the following game: In the beginning, Pinocchio chooses a polynomial $P$ of degree at most $d$ with integer coefficients. Then Geppetto asks him questions of the following form "What is the value of $P(n)$?'' for $n \in \mathbb{Z}$. Pinocchio usually says the truth, but he can lie up to $m$ times. What is, as a function of $d$ and $m$, the minimal number of questions that Geppetto needs to ask to be sure to determine $P$, no matter how Pinocchio chooses to reply?

Let $n \ge 3$ be a fixed integer. A game is played by $n$ players sitting in a circle. Initially, each player draws three cards from a shuffled deck of $3n$ cards numbered $1, 2, \dots, 3n$. Then, on each turn, every player simultaneously passes the smallest-numbered card in their hand one place clockwise and the largest-numbered card in their hand one place counterclockwise, while keeping the middle card. Let $T_r$ denote the configuration after $r$ turns (so $T_0$ is the initial configuration). Show that $T_r$ is eventually periodic with period $n$, and find the smallest integer $m$ for which, regardless of the initial configuration, $T_m=T_{m+n}$. [i]Proposed by Carl Schildkraut and Colin Tang[/i]

Is there a gambling game with an honest coin for two players, in which the probability of one of them winning is $\frac{1}{{\pi}^e}$.

Let $n\ge 3$ be an integer. Two players, Ana and Beto, play the following game. Ana tags the vertices of a regular $n$- gon with the numbers from $1$ to $n$, in any order she wants. Every vertex must be tagged with a different number. Then, we place a turkey in each of the $n$ vertices. These turkeys are trained for the following. If Beto whistles, each turkey moves to the adjacent vertex with greater tag. If Beto claps, each turkey moves to the adjacent vertex with lower tag. Beto wins if, after some number of whistles and claps, he gets to move all the turkeys to the same vertex. Ana wins if she can tag the vertices so that Beto can't do this. For each $n\ge 3$, determine which player has a winning strategy. [i]Proposed by Victor and Isaías de la Fuente[/i]

Anselmo and Bonifacio start a game where they alternatively substitute a number written on a board. In each turn, a player can substitute the written number by either the number of divisors of the written number or by the difference between the written number and the number of divisors it has. Anselmo is the first player to play, and whichever player is the first player to write the number $0$ is the winner. Given that the initial number is $1036$, determine which player has a winning strategy and describe that strategy. Note: For example, the number of divisors of $14$ is $4$, since its divisors are $1$, $2$, $7$, and $14$.

Johann and Nicole are playing a game on the coordinate plane. First, Johann draws any polygon $\mathcal{S}$ and then Nicole can shift $\mathcal{S}$ to wherever she wants. Johann wins if there exists a point with coordinates $(x, y)$ in the interior of $\mathcal{S}$, where $x$ and $y$ are coprime integers. Otherwise, Nicole wins. Determine who has a winning strategy.

A magician and his assistent are performing the following trick.There is a row of 12 empty closed boxes. The magician leaves the room, and a person from the audience hides a coin in each of two boxes of his choice, so that the assistent knows which boxes contain coins. The magician returns, and the assistant is allowed to open one box that does not contain a coin. Next, the magician selects 4 boxes, which are simultaneously opened. The goal of the magician is to open both boxes that contain coins. Devise a method that will allow the magician and his assistant to always succesfully perform the trick.

The following operation is allowed on a finite graph: Choose an arbitrary cycle of length 4 (if there is any), choose an arbitrary edge in that cycle, and delete it from the graph. For a fixed integer ${n\ge 4}$, find the least number of edges of a graph that can be obtained by repeated applications of this operation from the complete graph on $n$ vertices (where each pair of vertices are joined by an edge). [i]Proposed by Norman Do, Australia[/i]

Navi and Ozna are playing a game where Ozna starts first and the two take turn making moves. A positive integer is written on the waord. A move is to (i) subtract any positive integer at most 2015 from it or (ii) given that the integer on the board is divisible by $2014$, divide by $2014$. The first person to make the integer $0$ wins. To make Navi's condition worse, Ozna gets to pick integers $a$ and $b$, $a\ge 2015$ such that all numbers of the form $an+b$ will not be the starting integer, where $n$ is any positive integer. Find the minimum number of starting integer where Navi wins.

Maker and Breaker are building a wall. Maker has a supply of green cubical building blocks, and Breaker has a supply of red ones, all of the same size. On the ground, a row of $m$ squares has been marked in chalk as place-holders. Maker and Breaker now take turns in placing a block either directly on one of these squares, or on top of another block already in place, in such a way that the height of each column never exceeds $n$. Maker places the first block. Maker bets that he can form a green row, i.e. all $m$ blocks at a certain height are green. Breaker bets that he can prevent Maker from achieving this. Determine all pairs $(m,n)$ of positive integers for which Maker can make sure he wins the bet.

Two players play a game. They have $n > 2$ piles containing $n^{10}+1$ stones each. A move consists of removing all the piles but one and dividing the remaining pile into $n$ nonempty piles. The player that cannot move loses. Who has a winning strategy, the player that moves first or his adversary?

On a board there are written the integers from $1$ to $119$. Two players, $A$ and $B$, make a move by turn. A $move$ consists in erasing $9$ numbers from the board. The player after whose move two numbers remain on the board wins and his score is equal with the positive difference of the two remaining numbers. The player $A$ makes the first move. Find the highest integer $k$, such that the player $A$ can be sure that his score is not smaller than $k$.

Define $f : \mathbb{Z}_+ \to \mathbb{Z}_+$ such that $f(1) = 1$ and $f(n) $ is the greatest prime divisor of $n$ for $n > 1$. Aino and Väinö play a game, where each player has a pile of stones. On each turn the player to turn with $m$ stones in his pile may remove at most $f(m)$ stones from the opponent's pile, but must remove at least one stone. (The own pile stays unchanged.) The first player to clear the opponent's pile wins the game. Prove that there exists a positive integer $n$ such that Aino loses, when both players play optimally, Aino starts, and initially both players have $n$ stones.

[b]p1.[/b] Twelve tables are set up in a row for a Millenium party. You want to put $2000$ cupcakes on the tables so that the numbers of cupcakes on adjacent tables always differ by one (for example, if the $5$th table has $20$ cupcakes, then the $4$th table has either $19$ or $21$ cupcakes, and the $6$th table has either $19$ or $21$ cupcakes). a) Find a way to do this. b) Suppose a Y2K bug eats one of the cupcakes, so you have only $1999$ cupcakes. Show that it is impossible to arrange the cupcakes on the tables according to the above conditions. [b]p2.[/b] Let $P$ and $Q$ lie on the hypotenuse $AB$ of the right triangle $CAB$ so that $|AP|=|PQ|=|QB|=|AB|/3$. Suppose that $|CP|^2+|CQ|^2=5$. Prove that $|AB|$ has the same value for all such triangles, and find that value. Note: $|XY|$ denotes the length of the segment $XY$. [b]p3.[/b] Let $P$ be a polynomial with integer coefficients and let $a, b, c$ be integers. Suppose $P(a)=b$, $P(b)=c$, and $P(c)=a$. Prove that $a=b=c$. [b]p4.[/b] A lattice point is a point $(x,y)$ in the plane for which both $x$ and $y$ are integers. Each lattice point is painted with one of $1999$ available colors. Prove that there is a rectangle (of nonzero height and width) whose corners are lattice points of the same color. [b]p5.[/b] A $1999$-by-$1999$ chocolate bar has vertical and horizontal grooves which divide it into $1999^2$ one-by-one squares. Caesar and Brutus are playing the following game with the chocolate bar: A move consists of a player picking up one chocolate rectangle; breaking it along a groove into two smaller rectangles; and then either putting both rectangles down or eating one piece and putting the other piece down. The players move alternately. The one who cannot make a move at his turn (because there are only one-by-one squares left) loses. Caesar starts. Which player has a winning strategy? Describe a winning strategy for that player. PS. You should use hide for answers. Collected [url=https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c5h2760506p24143309]here[/url].