Mathematical game

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This article is about the type of game where there is more than one player and the goal is to win. For topics that are like playing games with mathematics (for example Towers of Hanoi, Rubik's Cube, Four Fours), see mathematical puzzle. If you were looking for something on this page but could not find it, it is probably on the mathematical puzzles article. Mathematical Games was a column written by Martin Gardner that appeared in the Scientific American. Information on his column and other recreational mathematics publications can be found on the recreational mathematics article.

Mathematical games shares topics with recreational mathematics and discusses the mathematics of games. As far as two-player games are concerned, what distinguishes a mathematical game from ordinary games is the emphasis on mathematical analysis of the game, rather than actually playing it. Playing games with mathematics and numbers, however, is a different thing and here they shall be referred to as mathematical puzzles. Some sort of mathematics can be found in nearly all types of games.

1 Mathematics of games
2 People
3 Specific mathematical games and puzzles
- 3.1 Abstract Strategy Games (No chance involved)
  - 3.1.1 Lattice board
  - 3.1.2 Non-lattice boards and other games
- 3.2 Chance involved or imperfect information
4 See also
5 External links

Mathematics of games

This can be a more serious subject than the name belies. It can include the statistical analysis of Card games to understand and improve play techniques.

Game theory has wide social and military applications for tactical and strategic planning.
Determinacy is the study of when one player or the other has a guaranteed winning strategy for an infinitely long game, and has important consequences in set theory and descriptive set theory.
Conway's combinatorial game theory and surreal numbers cover only games that involve no chance and are played in turns. Such games are often called abstract strategy games.

People

See Recreational mathematics

Specific mathematical games and puzzles

Sometimes it is not immediately obvious that a particular game involves chance. Often a card game is described as "pure strategy" and such, but a game with any sort of random shuffling or face-down dealing of cards should not be considered to be "no chance".