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Conway's Soldiers

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checkerboard. The board is divided by a horizontal line that extends indefinitely. Above the line are empty cells and below the line are an arbitrary number of game pieces, or "soldiers". As in peg solitaire, a move consists of one soldier jumping over an adjacent soldier into an empty cell,
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Consider the full starting configuration, where soldiers fill the whole half-plane below the red line. This configuration's score is the sum of the scores of the individual lines. Therefore, if the target square is immediately above the red line, the score is
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to the target square. Then we can compute the "score" of a configuration of soldiers by summing the values of the soldiers' squares. For example, a configuration of only two soldiers placed so as to reach the target square on the next jump would have score
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that, regardless of the strategy used, there is no finite sequence of moves that will allow a soldier to advance more than four rows above the horizontal line. His argument uses a carefully chosen weighting of cells (involving the
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vertically or horizontally (but not diagonally), and removing the soldier which was jumped over. The goal of the puzzle is to place a soldier as far above the horizontal line as possible.
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Thus, we have shown that when the target square is in the fifth row above the infinite half-plane of soldiers, the starting configuration's score is exactly
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E. Berlekamp, J. Conway and R. Guy, Winning Ways for Your Mathematical Plays, 2nd ed., Vol. 4, Chap. 23: 803—841, A K Peters, Wellesley, MA, 2004.
63:), and he proved that the total weight can only decrease or remain constant. This argument has been reproduced in a number of popular math books. 1042: 624: 1457:
If the target square is in the second row above the red line, every soldier is one space further from the target square, and so the score is
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Arrangements of Conway's soldiers to reach rows 1, 2, 3 and 4. The soldiers marked "B" represent an alternative to those marked "A".
858: 1250:{\displaystyle S_{1}=(\varphi +2(\varphi ^{2}+\varphi ^{3}+\varphi ^{4}\ldots ))(1+\varphi +\varphi ^{2}+\varphi ^{3}+\ldots )} 1782:
represents the (small, but positive) contributions of the infinite number of soldiers that remain elsewhere on the plane.
1284: 2120: 1028:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{2}+2\varphi ^{3}+2\varphi ^{4}+\ldots =\varphi (\varphi +2\varphi ^{2}+2\varphi ^{3}+\ldots )} 2125: 2115: 1463: 1587: 1528: 855:
If this horizontal line of soldiers is immediately below the target square, then the score of the configuration is
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Consider now a starting configuration where only one infinite horizontal line is completely filled with soldiers.
833:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n+2}-\varphi ^{n+1}-\varphi ^{n}=\varphi ^{n}(\varphi ^{2}-\varphi -1)=-2\varphi ^{n+1}} 1696:
When a soldier reaches the target square after some finite number of moves, the ending configuration has score
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series of moves. If diagonal jumps are allowed, the 8th row can be reached, but not the 9th row. In the
1992: 1893:, it is impossible for any soldier to reach a square in the fifth row after a finite number of jumps. 607:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n-2}-\varphi ^{n-1}-\varphi ^{n}=\varphi ^{n-2}(1-\varphi -\varphi ^{2})=0} 466: 283: 1821: 1446:{\displaystyle S_{1}=(\varphi +2)(1+\varphi +1)=(\varphi +2)^{2}=5+3\varphi \approx 6.85410\ldots } 1738: 419: 316: 1928: 1853: 361: 55: 39: 2051:
R. Honsberger, A problem in checker jumping, in Mathematical Gems II, Chap. 3: 23—28, MAA, 1976.
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distance from the target square after his jump: In this case the change in score is
2061: 1966: 1948: 235: 66: 60: 19: 1913: 203:{\displaystyle \varphi ={\frac {{\sqrt {5}}-1}{2}}\approx 0.61803\,39887\ldots } 2095: 408:
When a soldier jumps over another soldier, there are three cases to consider:
2081: 78: 1106:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{2}(\varphi +2\varphi ^{2}+2\varphi ^{3}+\ldots )} 47: 2067:
A page describing several variations of the game, with recent references
695:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n}-\varphi ^{n-1}-\varphi ^{n}=-\varphi ^{n-1}} 2100: 1912:
Bell, George I.; Hirschberg, Daniel S.; Guerrero-Garcia, Pablo (2007).
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and Gareth Taylor have shown that the fifth row can be reached via an
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represents the contribution of the soldier on the target square and
1850:; and since no kind of jump ever increases the score, we must have 18: 844:
So, no jump will ever increase the configuration's total score.
906:{\displaystyle \varphi +2\varphi ^{2}+2\varphi ^{3}+\ldots } 416:
the target square: Let the value of the soldier's square be
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version of the game, the highest row that can be reached is
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INTEGERS: Electronic Journal of Combinatorial Number Theory
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At this point, observe another interesting property of
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from the target square: Here the change in score is
110:; Conway's weighting argument demonstrates that row 1328:{\displaystyle \sum _{n=2}^{\infty }\varphi ^{n}=1} 496:; then the total change in score after the jump is 2012: 1875: 1842: 1810: 1774: 1754: 1727: 1684: 1631: 1572: 1510: 1445: 1327: 1273: 1249: 1105: 1027: 905: 832: 694: 606: 488: 455: 435: 397: 352: 332: 313:, and all other squares be labeled with the value 305: 269: 222: 202: 131: 102: 143:Conway's proof that the fifth row is inaccessible 1953:"Reaching row 5 in Solitaire Army (web version)" 848:Computing the score of the initial configuration 280:Let the target square be labeled with the value 38:or puzzle devised and analyzed by mathematician 1914:"The minimum size required of a solitaire army" 1511:{\displaystyle S_{2}=\varphi S_{1}=3+2\varphi } 463:, and the value of the square he jumps over be 1632:{\displaystyle S_{4}=\varphi S_{3}=1+\varphi } 1573:{\displaystyle S_{3}=\varphi S_{2}=2+\varphi } 8: 1987:Eriksson, Henrik; Lindstrom, Bernt (1995). 2035: 2004: 1999: 1998: 1997: 1994: 1932: 1861: 1855: 1823: 1796: 1790: 1767: 1746: 1740: 1713: 1701: 1670: 1654: 1648: 1611: 1595: 1589: 1552: 1536: 1530: 1487: 1471: 1465: 1413: 1349: 1343: 1313: 1303: 1292: 1286: 1266: 1232: 1219: 1185: 1172: 1159: 1131: 1125: 1088: 1072: 1050: 1044: 1010: 994: 960: 944: 928: 922: 891: 875: 860: 818: 784: 771: 758: 739: 720: 714: 680: 664: 645: 632: 626: 589: 558: 545: 526: 507: 501: 474: 468: 448: 427: 421: 398:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{1}+\varphi ^{2}} 389: 376: 370: 345: 324: 318: 291: 285: 249: 243: 215: 193: 168: 165: 157: 115: 86: 1728:{\displaystyle E=\varphi ^{0}+\epsilon } 2101:Plus online magazine describes the game 1901: 270:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{2}=1-\varphi } 1818:; the ending configuration's score is 1971:"Reaching Row Five in Solitaire Army" 1685:{\displaystyle S_{5}=\varphi S_{4}=1} 7: 2096:Interactive version of the game (2) 2091:Interactive version of the game (1) 2062:cut-the-knot.org explains the game 1335:. Applying this identity produces 1304: 917:spaces below the target square is 16:Mathematical puzzle by John Conway 14: 2024:European Journal of Combinatorics 2013:{\displaystyle {\mathbb {Z}}^{d}} 1410: 1397: 1391: 1373: 1370: 1358: 1244: 1200: 1197: 1194: 1152: 1140: 1100: 1056: 1022: 978: 802: 777: 595: 570: 489:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n-1}} 306:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{0}=1} 1: 1843:{\displaystyle E=1+\epsilon } 2037:10.1016/0195-6698(95)90054-3 1755:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{0}} 436:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n}} 333:{\displaystyle \varphi ^{n}} 1876:{\displaystyle S_{5}\geq E} 617:When a soldier remains the 2142: 1989:"Twin jumping checkers in 1775:{\displaystyle \epsilon } 1274:{\displaystyle \varphi } 223:{\displaystyle \varphi } 148:Notation and definitions 1811:{\displaystyle S_{5}=1} 46:, it takes place on an 32:checker-jumping problem 2014: 1877: 1844: 1812: 1776: 1756: 1729: 1686: 1633: 1574: 1512: 1447: 1329: 1308: 1275: 1251: 1107: 1035:. The score of a line 1029: 913:. The score of a line 907: 834: 696: 608: 490: 457: 437: 399: 354: 334: 307: 271: 224: 204: 133: 104: 42:in 1961. A variant of 24: 2015: 1878: 1845: 1813: 1777: 1757: 1730: 1687: 1634: 1575: 1513: 1448: 1330: 1288: 1276: 1252: 1108: 1030: 908: 835: 705:When a soldier jumps 697: 609: 491: 458: 438: 412:When a soldier jumps 400: 355: 335: 308: 272: 225: 205: 134: 105: 22: 1993: 1854: 1822: 1789: 1766: 1739: 1700: 1647: 1588: 1529: 1464: 1342: 1285: 1265: 1124: 1043: 921: 859: 713: 625: 500: 467: 447: 420: 369: 344: 317: 284: 242: 214: 156: 132:{\displaystyle 3n-1} 114: 103:{\displaystyle 3n-2} 85: 2121:Single-player games 2077:"Conway's Soldiers" 210:. (In other words, 139:cannot be reached. 2126:John Horton Conway 2116:Mathematical games 2074:Weisstein, Eric W. 2010: 1873: 1840: 1808: 1772: 1752: 1725: 1682: 1629: 1570: 1508: 1443: 1325: 1271: 1247: 1103: 1025: 903: 830: 692: 604: 486: 453: 433: 395: 362:Manhattan distance 350: 330: 303: 267: 220: 200: 129: 100: 40:John Horton Conway 25: 1969:; Gareth Taylor. 456:{\displaystyle n} 353:{\displaystyle n} 230:here denotes the 185: 173: 36:mathematical game 28:Conway's Soldiers 2133: 2087: 2086: 2042: 2041: 2039: 2019: 2017: 2016: 2011: 2009: 2008: 2003: 2002: 1984: 1978: 1977: 1975: 1963: 1957: 1956: 1945: 1939: 1938: 1936: 1918: 1909: 1882: 1880: 1879: 1874: 1866: 1865: 1849: 1847: 1846: 1841: 1817: 1815: 1814: 1809: 1801: 1800: 1781: 1779: 1778: 1773: 1761: 1759: 1758: 1753: 1751: 1750: 1734: 1732: 1731: 1726: 1718: 1717: 1691: 1689: 1688: 1683: 1675: 1674: 1659: 1658: 1638: 1636: 1635: 1630: 1616: 1615: 1600: 1599: 1579: 1577: 1576: 1571: 1557: 1556: 1541: 1540: 1517: 1515: 1514: 1509: 1492: 1491: 1476: 1475: 1452: 1450: 1449: 1444: 1418: 1417: 1354: 1353: 1334: 1332: 1331: 1326: 1318: 1317: 1307: 1302: 1280: 1278: 1277: 1272: 1256: 1254: 1253: 1248: 1237: 1236: 1224: 1223: 1190: 1189: 1177: 1176: 1164: 1163: 1136: 1135: 1112: 1110: 1109: 1104: 1093: 1092: 1077: 1076: 1055: 1054: 1039:spaces below is 1034: 1032: 1031: 1026: 1015: 1014: 999: 998: 965: 964: 949: 948: 933: 932: 912: 910: 909: 904: 896: 895: 880: 879: 839: 837: 836: 831: 829: 828: 789: 788: 776: 775: 763: 762: 750: 749: 731: 730: 701: 699: 698: 693: 691: 690: 669: 668: 656: 655: 637: 636: 613: 611: 610: 605: 594: 593: 569: 568: 550: 549: 537: 536: 518: 517: 495: 493: 492: 487: 485: 484: 462: 460: 459: 454: 442: 440: 439: 434: 432: 431: 404: 402: 401: 396: 394: 393: 381: 380: 359: 357: 356: 351: 339: 337: 336: 331: 329: 328: 312: 310: 309: 304: 296: 295: 276: 274: 273: 268: 254: 253: 238:.) Observe that 229: 227: 226: 221: 209: 207: 206: 201: 186: 181: 174: 169: 166: 138: 136: 135: 130: 109: 107: 106: 101: 34:is a one-person 2141: 2140: 2136: 2135: 2134: 2132: 2131: 2130: 2106: 2105: 2072: 2071: 2058: 2045: 1996: 1991: 1990: 1986: 1985: 1981: 1973: 1965: 1964: 1960: 1947: 1946: 1942: 1916: 1911: 1910: 1903: 1899: 1857: 1852: 1851: 1820: 1819: 1792: 1787: 1786: 1764: 1763: 1742: 1737: 1736: 1709: 1698: 1697: 1666: 1650: 1645: 1644: 1607: 1591: 1586: 1585: 1548: 1532: 1527: 1526: 1483: 1467: 1462: 1461: 1409: 1345: 1340: 1339: 1309: 1283: 1282: 1263: 1262: 1228: 1215: 1181: 1168: 1155: 1127: 1122: 1121: 1084: 1068: 1046: 1041: 1040: 1006: 990: 956: 940: 924: 919: 918: 887: 871: 857: 856: 850: 814: 780: 767: 754: 735: 716: 711: 710: 676: 660: 641: 628: 623: 622: 585: 554: 541: 522: 503: 498: 497: 470: 465: 464: 445: 444: 423: 418: 417: 385: 372: 367: 366: 342: 341: 320: 315: 314: 287: 282: 281: 245: 240: 239: 212: 211: 167: 154: 153: 150: 145: 112: 111: 83: 82: 17: 12: 11: 5: 2139: 2137: 2129: 2128: 2123: 2118: 2108: 2107: 2104: 2103: 2098: 2093: 2088: 2069: 2064: 2057: 2056:External links 2054: 2053: 2052: 2049: 2044: 2043: 2030:(2): 153–157. 2007: 2001: 1979: 1958: 1940: 1900: 1898: 1895: 1872: 1869: 1864: 1860: 1839: 1836: 1833: 1830: 1827: 1807: 1804: 1799: 1795: 1771: 1749: 1745: 1724: 1721: 1716: 1712: 1708: 1705: 1694: 1693: 1681: 1678: 1673: 1669: 1665: 1662: 1657: 1653: 1641: 1640: 1628: 1625: 1622: 1619: 1614: 1610: 1606: 1603: 1598: 1594: 1582: 1581: 1569: 1566: 1563: 1560: 1555: 1551: 1547: 1544: 1539: 1535: 1520: 1519: 1507: 1504: 1501: 1498: 1495: 1490: 1486: 1482: 1479: 1474: 1470: 1455: 1454: 1442: 1439: 1436: 1433: 1430: 1427: 1424: 1421: 1416: 1412: 1408: 1405: 1402: 1399: 1396: 1393: 1390: 1387: 1384: 1381: 1378: 1375: 1372: 1369: 1366: 1363: 1360: 1357: 1352: 1348: 1324: 1321: 1316: 1312: 1306: 1301: 1298: 1295: 1291: 1281:, namely that 1270: 1259: 1258: 1246: 1243: 1240: 1235: 1231: 1227: 1222: 1218: 1214: 1211: 1208: 1205: 1202: 1199: 1196: 1193: 1188: 1184: 1180: 1175: 1171: 1167: 1162: 1158: 1154: 1151: 1148: 1145: 1142: 1139: 1134: 1130: 1102: 1099: 1096: 1091: 1087: 1083: 1080: 1075: 1071: 1067: 1064: 1061: 1058: 1053: 1049: 1024: 1021: 1018: 1013: 1009: 1005: 1002: 997: 993: 989: 986: 983: 980: 977: 974: 971: 968: 963: 959: 955: 952: 947: 943: 939: 936: 931: 927: 902: 899: 894: 890: 886: 883: 878: 874: 870: 867: 864: 849: 846: 842: 841: 827: 824: 821: 817: 813: 810: 807: 804: 801: 798: 795: 792: 787: 783: 779: 774: 770: 766: 761: 757: 753: 748: 745: 742: 738: 734: 729: 726: 723: 719: 703: 689: 686: 683: 679: 675: 672: 667: 663: 659: 654: 651: 648: 644: 640: 635: 631: 615: 603: 600: 597: 592: 588: 584: 581: 578: 575: 572: 567: 564: 561: 557: 553: 548: 544: 540: 535: 532: 529: 525: 521: 516: 513: 510: 506: 483: 480: 477: 473: 452: 430: 426: 392: 388: 384: 379: 375: 349: 327: 323: 302: 299: 294: 290: 266: 263: 260: 257: 252: 248: 219: 199: 196: 192: 189: 184: 180: 177: 172: 164: 161: 149: 146: 144: 141: 128: 125: 122: 119: 99: 96: 93: 90: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 2138: 2127: 2124: 2122: 2119: 2117: 2114: 2113: 2111: 2102: 2099: 2097: 2094: 2092: 2089: 2084: 2083: 2078: 2075: 2070: 2068: 2065: 2063: 2060: 2059: 2055: 2050: 2047: 2046: 2038: 2033: 2029: 2025: 2021: 2005: 1983: 1980: 1972: 1968: 1962: 1959: 1954: 1950: 1944: 1941: 1935: 1930: 1926: 1922: 1915: 1908: 1906: 1902: 1896: 1894: 1892: 1891: 1886: 1885:contradiction 1870: 1867: 1862: 1858: 1837: 1834: 1831: 1828: 1825: 1805: 1802: 1797: 1793: 1783: 1769: 1747: 1743: 1722: 1719: 1714: 1710: 1706: 1703: 1679: 1676: 1671: 1667: 1663: 1660: 1655: 1651: 1643: 1642: 1626: 1623: 1620: 1617: 1612: 1608: 1604: 1601: 1596: 1592: 1584: 1583: 1567: 1564: 1561: 1558: 1553: 1549: 1545: 1542: 1537: 1533: 1525: 1524: 1523: 1505: 1502: 1499: 1496: 1493: 1488: 1484: 1480: 1477: 1472: 1468: 1460: 1459: 1458: 1440: 1437: 1434: 1431: 1428: 1425: 1422: 1419: 1414: 1406: 1403: 1400: 1394: 1388: 1385: 1382: 1379: 1376: 1367: 1364: 1361: 1355: 1350: 1346: 1338: 1337: 1336: 1322: 1319: 1314: 1310: 1299: 1296: 1293: 1289: 1268: 1241: 1238: 1233: 1229: 1225: 1220: 1216: 1212: 1209: 1206: 1203: 1191: 1186: 1182: 1178: 1173: 1169: 1165: 1160: 1156: 1149: 1146: 1143: 1137: 1132: 1128: 1120: 1119: 1118: 1114: 1113:, and so on. 1097: 1094: 1089: 1085: 1081: 1078: 1073: 1069: 1065: 1062: 1059: 1051: 1047: 1038: 1019: 1016: 1011: 1007: 1003: 1000: 995: 991: 987: 984: 981: 975: 972: 969: 966: 961: 957: 953: 950: 945: 941: 937: 934: 929: 925: 916: 900: 897: 892: 888: 884: 881: 876: 872: 868: 865: 862: 853: 847: 845: 825: 822: 819: 815: 811: 808: 805: 799: 796: 793: 790: 785: 781: 772: 768: 764: 759: 755: 751: 746: 743: 740: 736: 732: 727: 724: 721: 717: 708: 704: 687: 684: 681: 677: 673: 670: 665: 661: 657: 652: 649: 646: 642: 638: 633: 629: 620: 616: 601: 598: 590: 586: 582: 579: 576: 573: 565: 562: 559: 555: 551: 546: 542: 538: 533: 530: 527: 523: 519: 514: 511: 508: 504: 481: 478: 475: 471: 450: 428: 424: 415: 411: 410: 409: 406: 390: 386: 382: 377: 373: 363: 347: 325: 321: 300: 297: 292: 288: 278: 264: 261: 258: 255: 250: 246: 237: 233: 217: 197: 194: 190: 187: 182: 178: 175: 170: 162: 159: 147: 140: 126: 123: 120: 117: 97: 94: 91: 88: 80: 76: 72: 68: 64: 62: 57: 52: 49: 45: 44:peg solitaire 41: 37: 33: 29: 21: 2080: 2027: 2023: 1982: 1967:Simon Tatham 1961: 1949:Simon Tatham 1943: 1934:math/0612612 1924: 1920: 1888: 1883:. This is a 1784: 1695: 1521: 1456: 1260: 1115: 1036: 914: 854: 851: 843: 706: 618: 413: 407: 279: 236:golden ratio 151: 74: 70: 67:Simon Tatham 65: 61:golden ratio 53: 31: 27: 26: 1522:Similarly: 79:dimensional 2110:Categories 1897:References 232:reciprocal 2082:MathWorld 1868:≥ 1838:ϵ 1770:ϵ 1744:φ 1723:ϵ 1711:φ 1664:φ 1627:φ 1605:φ 1568:φ 1546:φ 1506:φ 1481:φ 1441:… 1435:≈ 1432:φ 1401:φ 1383:φ 1362:φ 1311:φ 1305:∞ 1290:∑ 1269:φ 1242:… 1230:φ 1217:φ 1210:φ 1192:… 1183:φ 1170:φ 1157:φ 1144:φ 1098:… 1086:φ 1070:φ 1060:φ 1048:φ 1020:… 1008:φ 992:φ 982:φ 976:φ 970:… 958:φ 942:φ 926:φ 901:… 889:φ 873:φ 863:φ 816:φ 809:− 797:− 794:φ 791:− 782:φ 769:φ 756:φ 752:− 737:φ 733:− 718:φ 685:− 678:φ 674:− 662:φ 658:− 650:− 643:φ 639:− 630:φ 587:φ 583:− 580:φ 577:− 563:− 556:φ 543:φ 539:− 531:− 524:φ 520:− 512:− 505:φ 479:− 472:φ 443:for some 425:φ 387:φ 374:φ 322:φ 289:φ 265:φ 262:− 247:φ 218:φ 198:… 188:≈ 176:− 160:φ 124:− 95:− 1735:, where 340:, where 71:infinite 48:infinite 1927:(G07). 1438:6.85410 414:towards 360:is the 234:of the 191:0.61803 152:Define 54:Conway 30:or the 1890:Q.E.D. 56:proved 1974:(PDF) 1929:arXiv 1917:(PDF) 1037:three 195:39887 707:away 619:same 2032:doi 915:two 2112:: 2079:. 2028:16 2026:. 2022:. 1951:. 1923:. 1919:. 1904:^ 1887:; 405:. 277:. 2085:. 2040:. 2034:: 2020:" 2006:d 2000:Z 1976:. 1955:. 1937:. 1931:: 1925:7 1871:E 1863:5 1859:S 1835:+ 1832:1 1829:= 1826:E 1806:1 1803:= 1798:5 1794:S 1748:0 1720:+ 1715:0 1707:= 1704:E 1692:. 1680:1 1677:= 1672:4 1668:S 1661:= 1656:5 1652:S 1639:, 1624:+ 1621:1 1618:= 1613:3 1609:S 1602:= 1597:4 1593:S 1580:, 1565:+ 1562:2 1559:= 1554:2 1550:S 1543:= 1538:3 1534:S 1518:. 1503:2 1500:+ 1497:3 1494:= 1489:1 1485:S 1478:= 1473:2 1469:S 1453:. 1429:3 1426:+ 1423:5 1420:= 1415:2 1411:) 1407:2 1404:+ 1398:( 1395:= 1392:) 1389:1 1386:+ 1380:+ 1377:1 1374:( 1371:) 1368:2 1365:+ 1359:( 1356:= 1351:1 1347:S 1323:1 1320:= 1315:n 1300:2 1297:= 1294:n 1257:. 1245:) 1239:+ 1234:3 1226:+ 1221:2 1213:+ 1207:+ 1204:1 1201:( 1198:) 1195:) 1187:4 1179:+ 1174:3 1166:+ 1161:2 1153:( 1150:2 1147:+ 1141:( 1138:= 1133:1 1129:S 1101:) 1095:+ 1090:3 1082:2 1079:+ 1074:2 1066:2 1063:+ 1057:( 1052:2 1023:) 1017:+ 1012:3 1004:2 1001:+ 996:2 988:2 985:+ 979:( 973:= 967:+ 962:4 954:2 951:+ 946:3 938:2 935:+ 930:2 898:+ 893:3 885:2 882:+ 877:2 869:2 866:+ 840:. 826:1 823:+ 820:n 812:2 806:= 803:) 800:1 786:2 778:( 773:n 765:= 760:n 747:1 744:+ 741:n 728:2 725:+ 722:n 702:. 688:1 682:n 671:= 666:n 653:1 647:n 634:n 614:. 602:0 599:= 596:) 591:2 574:1 571:( 566:2 560:n 552:= 547:n 534:1 528:n 515:2 509:n 482:1 476:n 451:n 429:n 391:2 383:+ 378:1 348:n 326:n 301:1 298:= 293:0 259:1 256:= 251:2 183:2 179:1 171:5 163:= 127:1 121:n 118:3 98:2 92:n 89:3 77:- 75:n

Index


mathematical game
John Horton Conway
peg solitaire
infinite
proved
golden ratio
Simon Tatham
dimensional
reciprocal
golden ratio
Manhattan distance
contradiction
Q.E.D.


"The minimum size required of a solitaire army"
arXiv
math/0612612
Simon Tatham
"Reaching row 5 in Solitaire Army (web version)"
Simon Tatham
"Reaching Row Five in Solitaire Army"
"Twin jumping checkers in Z d {\displaystyle {\mathbb {Z}}^{d}} "
doi
10.1016/0195-6698(95)90054-3
cut-the-knot.org explains the game
A page describing several variations of the game, with recent references
Weisstein, Eric W.
"Conway's Soldiers"

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