Is Nine-Men Morris, in the hands of perfect players, a win for white or for black - or a draw? Can king, rook, and knight always defeat king and two knights in chess? What can Go players learn from economists? What are nimbers, tinies, switches and minies? This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. Their study is at once old and young: though some games, such as chess, have been analyzed for centuries, the first full analysis of a nontrivial combinatorial game (Nim) only appeared in 1902. The first part of this book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background: it contains introductory expositions, reports of unusual tournaments, and a fascinating article by John H. Conway on the possibly everlasting contest between an angel and a devil. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go; reports on computer advances such as the solution of Nine-Men Morris and Pentominoes; and theoretical approaches to such problems as games with many players. If you have read and enjoyed Martin Gardner, or if you like to learn and analyze new games, this book is for you.
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Review
'No one interested in two-person combinatorial games should hesitate before acquiring this splendid book. Leading experts report on the latest research involving such classic board games as checkers, chess, and go. Other familiar games are analyzed in depth, and many exciting new games are introduced. Did you know that go moku, nine-men morris, and Sol Golomb's pentomino game are now solved? Did you know that computers are getting close to solving checkers? Fifty-two tantalizing unsolved problems are posed by Richard Guy, and Aviezri Fraenkel's bibliography lists 666 references! Games of No Chance is a great collection of elegant, entertaining papers - a book to put on the shelf alongside the classic two-volume Winning Ways by Elwyn Berlekamp, John Conway, and Richard Guy.' Martin Gardner
'A thoroughly edited volume, Combinatorial Game Theory at its best.' European Mathematical Society
'A thoroughly edited volume, Combinatorial Game Theory at its best.' European Mathematical Society
Book Description
This book deals with combinatorial games, that is, games not involving chance or hidden information. The first part of the book will be accessible to anyone, regardless of background. For those who want to delve more deeply, the book also contains combinatorial studies of chess and Go, plus reports on computer advances and theoretical approaches.
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First Sentence
The Angel and the Devil play their game on an infinite chessboard, with one square for each ordered pair of integers (x, y). Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The Angel and the Devil play their game on an infinite chessboard, with one square for each ordered pair of integers (x, y). Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
31 Mar 2000
By skeezer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is full of beatiful work. Every section is an investigation into some combinatorial game, or some idea in combinatorial game theory. Most of the material is clearly presented and all should be accessible to undergrads, but be warned: this is not simple stuff. But, as we all know, beautiful mathematics isn't always simple. The book also includes a section with 52 unsolved problems, which should be of considerable interest to the curious.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
22 July 2002
By Maurizio De Leo
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I don't have read all the book, but I read most of the scientific papers it is composed by. I think they are very interesting and puzzling, on the border line between serious mathematics (game theory and all this stuff) and "recreational math" (like the angel problem). It would be a good read also for people interested in computer games.
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
MAA Online review
11 Sep 1997
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
See Ed Sandifer's MAA Online review at: http://www.maa.org/reviews/nochance.htm
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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