Unwed Numbers
The mathematics of Sudoku, a puzzle that boasts “No math required!”
A few years ago, if you had noticed someone filling in a crossword puzzle with numbers instead of letters, you might well have looked askance. Today you would know that the puzzle is not a crossword but a Sudoku. The craze has circled the globe. It’s in the newspaper, the bookstore, the supermarket checkout line; Web sites offer puzzles on demand; you can even play it on your cell phone.
An article from Chosun, a Korean newspaper, asking the question why do videogames claim lives? The article is in response to some recent high profile gamer deaths. From the article: “Apparently rare overseas, such cases make frequent headlines in Korea. Why? Experts point to the poor environment of the ‘PC bang’ or Internet cafes that have mushroomed nationwide. Generally dark and poorly ventilated, they cater to gamers who tend to smoke heavily. The bad air and light can increase the danger of sudden death, experts warn.”
Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked – Henry Jenkins points out errors in the myths we hear about videogames and those who play them. It’s nice to hear intelligent commentary that doesn’t run along the lines of the usual messages.
The New York Times: One of China’s newest factories operates here in the basement of an old warehouse. Posters of World of Warcraft and Magic Land hang above a corps of young people glued to their computer screens, pounding away at their keyboards in the latest hustle for money.
The people working at this clandestine locale are “gold farmers.” Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they “play” computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash.
That is because, from Seoul to San Francisco, affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay the young Chinese here to play the early rounds for them.
By some estimates, there are well over 100,000 young people working in China as full-time gamers. Click here to read the whole story.
It’s the ultimate robot reality show: 43 contestants battling for a spot in a government-sponsored desert race intended to speed development of unmanned military combat vehicles.
The reward? A $2 million cash prize.
The autonomous robotic vehicles began competing Wednesday in the first of a series of qualifying rounds at the California Speedway. Half will advance to the October 8 starting line of the so-called Grand Challenge.
The grueling, weeklong semifinals are designed to test the vehicles’ ability to cover a roughly 2-mile stretch of the track without a human driver or remote control.
Participants ranging from souped-up SUVs to military behemoths will be graded on how well they can self-drive on rough road, make sharp turns and avoid obstacles — hay bales, trash cans, wrecked cars — while relying on GPS navigation and sensors, radar, lasers and cameras that feed information to computers.
Videogame makers have ignored half their potential market. Now they’re having a second look, and altering the possibilities of gaming.
Videogame economics are such that companies are willing to hemorrhage money selling consoles like the Xbox and the Sony PlayStation at a loss to build market share, then make money selling the games. But the kind of growth that’s needed to make that model work is hard to imagine unless more women are brought into the market. “Whoever takes that philosophical leap—’We’re solid enough to appeal to our core, we can reach outside our demographic’—they’re going to win out in the end,” says Ankarino Lara, director of GameSpot.com, a popular gaming Web site. “Female gaming is the last frontier; 2006 is going to be a milestone year.”
I’m addicted to a Japanese logic puzzle. You will be, too.
Sudoku is a logic puzzle. You fill numbers into a grid, using deduction (or, failing that, plain old trial and error). Each row and column must contain the digits 1 through 9, with each digit used only once. The best way to understand is probably to visit Sudoku.com, where there are clear explanations and some sample games. It’s incredibly easy to learn.
God we love limericks. ‘There was a young man from Pawtucket, who’s-” No wait, how about this? “There once was a girl from Balmoral-” Uh, scratch that. Wait, wait:
Limericks ought to be bawdy,
Failing that, their puns should be naughty.
They’re the absolute worst
Of all kinds of verse,
And their charms are often quite gaudy. – Judith Economos
The CIA is conducting a cyber-war game this week geared to simulate a major Internet attack by enemy computer hackers, an intelligence official said Thursday.
Dubbed “Silent Horizon,” the three-day unclassified exercise is based on a scenario set five years in the future and involves participants from government and the private sector.
“These are people who could likely be affected or enlisted in a real situation,” the intelligence official said.
“Its goal is to help the United States recognize indicators of a large-scale cyber attack.”
It’s been called “the Everest of the sea,” although that may seem like an understatement. A single-handed sailing race around the globe, without stops, without assistance. On November 7, 20 navigators set out on 20 single-hulls, in a race that will last more than 100 days and cross over 24,000 miles of open sea. Trace their route from France to the Cape of Good Hope, eastward to Cape Horn, and northward to the finish line. Onboard, the skippers capture their experiences on video, watch for changes in the weather,
and plan their strategy for the win. You’re invited to share their adventure and challenges as they try to conquer this watery Everest.
The Most Ambitious Game Ever? At this year’s Game Developers Conference, Sims creator Will Wright’s upcoming game Spore drew standing ovations. Not to be outdone, Peter Molyneux (of Populous and Black & White fame) revealed his own ambitious game-like project The Room. While the top game designers have freedom to play, independents rail (read Greg Costikyan’s amazing bit in the middle) at the restrictions of the publisher system. For those who doubt games can be art.
Brain Teasers, Riddles, Games, Forums and more…
With over 7,500 brain teasers, riddles, logic problems and mind puzzles submitted and ranked by users like you, Braingle has the largest collection anywhere on the internet. Their large array of unique online multiplayer games will keep you entertained for hours. If you crave a brain teaser, mind puzzle, riddle or game, they are the place to get it. Increase your creativity, boost learning and become a better person at Braingle. Get ready to have your brain tangled!
Fractal Maze, one of the most evil puzzles I have ever encountered. It’s documented briefly at mathpuzzle.com (scroll down a bit), which also features a smaller fractal maze.
If you are interested in sliding puzzles try this one
If you want to read about the puzzle: Has an inventor found the hardest possible simple sliding-block puzzle?
Not as simple as it looks
Below is my solution, you can see the blocks (that may help)
Game of the day: Reflex. Very addicting.
Game Theory .net provides resource material to educators and students of game theory and its applications to economics, business, political science, computer science, and other disciplines. Primarily, the site is directed at less rigorous presentations
of the material, concentrating more on making the lessons of game theory relevant to the student. In aiding class preparation, a list of textbooks, readers, and lecture notes used by other educators is provided. Java applets and online games demonstrate these concepts in a fun, interactive way.
Sections I liked are: Lecture Notes, Games and Pop Culture
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