Andy and Bob play rock-paper-scissors 10 times. Andy plays 3 rocks, 6 scissors, and 1 paper (in some order), and Bob plays 2 rocks, 4 scissors, and 4 paper. There are no ties. Who wins?
Puzzles
Black and White
Future world chess champion Max Euwe composed this miniature in 1927. White to mate in two moves.
The Piggy Bank
You have 100 coins totaling $5.00. They consist of pennies, dimes, and half dollars. How many of each are there?
Five Puzzles
- In a footrace you overtake the person in second place. What position are you now in?
- A clock costs $10 plus half its cost. What does it cost?
- A month begins on Friday and ends on Friday. What month is it?
- What’s the next letter in this sequence? W T N L I T _
- The 22nd and 24th U.S. presidents had the same mother and father but were not brothers. How?
Hand Over Hand
What is the best full house? Suppose you are playing poker and a genie offers to arrange the deal so that you receive the full house of your choice. What hand should you specify?
Till Death …
The law in a certain village requires that any wife who can prove that her husband has been unfaithful must shoot him before sundown on the same day. Every wife reasons perfectly, and all the wives know this. Further, every wife knows instantly when another’s husband has been unfaithful but never whether her own is.
One day the mayor announces that there is at least one unfaithful husband in the village. In fact there are 40 unfaithful husbands, but the wives do not know this. What happens?
Black and White
Small World
Three flying saucers land simultaneously on a spherical planet.
What’s the probability that all land in or on the same hemisphere?
Black and White
By Joseph Kling, from Chess Euclid, 1849. White to mate with the pawn in three moves.
Elbow Room
Five points are located in an equilateral triangle with 10-inch sides (or on its perimeter). What’s the maximum distance between the two closest points?