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PROJECT EULER · #0459

Flipping Game

Statement only · UnsolvedOriginal problem ↗

The flipping game is a two player game played on an N by N square board.
Each square contains a disk with one side white and one side black.
The game starts with all disks showing their white side.

A turn consists of flipping all disks in a rectangle with the following properties:

  • the upper right corner of the rectangle contains a white disk
  • the rectangle width is a perfect square (1, 4, 9, 16, ...)
  • the rectangle height is a triangular numberThe triangular numbers are defined as 12n(n+1) for positive integer n. (1, 3, 6, 10, ...)

0459-flipping-game-0.png

Players alternate turns. A player wins by turning the grid all black.

Let W(N) be the number of winning movesThe first move of a strategy that ensures a win no matter what the opponent plays. for the first player on an N by N board with all disks white, assuming perfect play.
W(1)=1, W(2)=0, W(5)=8 and W(102)=31395.

For N=5, the first player's eight winning first moves are:

0459-flipping-game-1.png

Find W(106).

Write-up coming later

The complete problem is available here. An approach, code, and answer will be added later.