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Clique Game
The clique game is a positional game where two players alternately pick edges, trying to occupy a complete clique of a given size. The game is parameterized by two integers ''n'' > ''k''. The game-board is the set of all edges of a complete graph on ''n'' vertices. The winning-sets are all the cliques on ''k'' vertices. There are several variants of this game: * In the strong positional variant of the game, the first player who holds a ''k''-clique wins. If no one wins, the game is a draw. * In the Maker-Breaker variant , the first player (Maker) wins if he manages to hold a ''k''-clique, otherwise the second player (Breaker) wins. There are no draws. * In the Avoider-Enforcer variant, the first player (Avoider) wins if he manages ''not'' to hold a ''k''-clique. Otherwise, the second player (Enforcer) wins. There are no draws. A special case of this variant is Sim. The clique game (in its strong-positional variant) was first presented by Paul Erdős and John Selfridge, who at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Positional Game
A positional game is a kind of a combinatorial game for two players. It is described by: *Xa finite set of elements. Often ''X'' is called the ''board'' and its elements are called ''positions''. *\mathcala family of subsets of X. These subsets are usually called the ''winning-sets''. * A criterion for winning the game. During the game, players alternately claim previously-unclaimed positions, until one of the players wins. If all positions in X are taken while no player wins, the game is considered a draw. The classic example of a positional game is Tic-tac-toe. In it, X contains the 9 squares of the game-board, \mathcal contains the 8 lines that determine a victory (3 horizontal, 3 vertical and 2 diagonal), and the winning criterion is: the first player who holds an entire winning-set wins. Other examples of positional games are Hex and the Shannon switching game. For every positional game there are exactly three options: either the first player has a winning strategy, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clique (graph Theory)
In the mathematical area of graph theory, a clique ( or ) is a subset of vertices of an undirected graph such that every two distinct vertices in the clique are adjacent. That is, a clique of a graph G is an induced subgraph of G that is complete. Cliques are one of the basic concepts of graph theory and are used in many other mathematical problems and constructions on graphs. Cliques have also been studied in computer science: the task of finding whether there is a clique of a given size in a graph (the clique problem) is NP-complete, but despite this hardness result, many algorithms for finding cliques have been studied. Although the study of complete subgraphs goes back at least to the graph-theoretic reformulation of Ramsey theory by , the term ''clique'' comes from , who used complete subgraphs in social networks to model cliques of people; that is, groups of people all of whom know each other. Cliques have many other applications in the sciences and particularly in bioinf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complete Graph
In the mathematical field of graph theory, a complete graph is a simple undirected graph in which every pair of distinct vertices is connected by a unique edge. A complete digraph is a directed graph in which every pair of distinct vertices is connected by a pair of unique edges (one in each direction). Graph theory itself is typically dated as beginning with Leonhard Euler's 1736 work on the Seven Bridges of Königsberg. However, drawings of complete graphs, with their vertices placed on the points of a regular polygon, had already appeared in the 13th century, in the work of Ramon Llull. Such a drawing is sometimes referred to as a mystic rose. Properties The complete graph on vertices is denoted by . Some sources claim that the letter in this notation stands for the German word , but the German name for a complete graph, , does not contain the letter , and other sources state that the notation honors the contributions of Kazimierz Kuratowski to graph theory. has edges (a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strong Positional Game
A strong positional game (also called Maker-Maker game) is a kind of positional game. Like most positional games, it is described by its set of ''positions'' (X) and its family of ''winning-sets'' (\mathcal- a family of subsets of X). It is played by two players, called First and Second, who alternately take previously-untaken positions. In a strong positional game, the winner is the first player who holds all the elements of a winning-set. If all positions are taken and no player wins, then it is a draw. Classic Tic-tac-toe is an example of a strong positional game. First player advantage In a strong positional game, Second cannot have a winning strategy. This can be proved by a strategy-stealing argument: if Second had a winning strategy, then First could have stolen it and win too, but this is impossible since there is only one winner. Therefore, for every strong-positional game there are only two options: either First has a winning strategy, or Second has a drawing strateg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maker-Breaker Game
A Maker-Breaker game is a kind of positional game. Like most positional games, it is described by its set of ''positions/points/elements'' (X) and its family of ''winning-sets'' (\mathcal- a family of subsets of X). It is played by two players, called Maker and Breaker, who alternately take previously-untaken elements. In a Maker-Breaker game, Maker wins if he manages to hold all the elements of a winning-set, while Breaker wins if he manages to prevent this, i.e. to hold at least one element in each winning-set. Draws are not possible. In each Maker-Breaker game, either Maker or Breaker has a winning strategy. The main research question about these games is which of these two options holds. Examples A classic Maker-Breaker game is Hex. There, the winning-sets are all paths from the left side of the board to the right side. Maker wins by owning a connected path; Breaker wins by owning a connected path from top to bottom, since it blocks all connected paths from left to right. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avoider-Enforcer Game
An Avoider-Enforcer game (also called Avoider-Forcer game or Antimaker-Antibreaker game) is a kind of positional game. Like most positional games, it is described by a set of ''positions/points/elements'' (X) and a family of subsets (\mathcal), which are called here the ''losing-sets''. It is played by two players, called Avoider and Enforcer, who take turns picking elements until all elements are taken. Avoider wins if he manages to avoid taking a losing set; Enforcer wins if he manages to make Avoider take a losing set. A classic example of such a game is ''Sim''. There, the positions are all the edges of the complete graph on 6 vertices. Players take turns to shade a line in their color, and lose when they form a full triangle of their own color: the losing sets are all the triangles. Comparison to Maker-Breaker games The winning condition of an Avoider-Enforcer game is exactly the opposite of the winning condition of the Maker-Breaker game on the same \mathcal. Thus, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sim (pencil Game)
Sim is a pencil-and-paper game that is played by two players. Gameplay Six dots ('vertices') are drawn. Each dot is connected to every other dot by a line ('edge'). Two players take turns coloring any uncolored lines. One player colors in one color, and the other colors in another color, with each player trying to avoid the creation of a triangle made solely of their color (only triangles with the dots as corners count; intersections of lines are not relevant); the player who completes such a triangle loses immediately. Analysis Ramsey theory can also be used to show that no game of Sim can end in a tie. Specifically, since the '' Ramsey number'' ''R''(3,3)=6, any two-coloring of the complete graph on 6 vertices (K6) must contain a monochromatic triangle, and therefore is not a tied position. This will also apply to any super-graph of K6. For another proof that there must eventually be a triangle of either color, see the Theorem on friends and strangers. Computer search has v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Erdős
Paul Erdős ( hu, Erdős Pál ; 26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. pursued and proposed problems in discrete mathematics, graph theory, number theory, mathematical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory. Much of his work centered around discrete mathematics, cracking many previously unsolved problems in the field. He championed and contributed to Ramsey theory, which studies the conditions in which order necessarily appears. Overall, his work leaned towards solving previously open problems, rather than developing or exploring new areas of mathematics. Erdős published around 1,500 mathematical papers during his lifetime, a figure that remains unsurpassed. He firmly believed mathematics to be a social activity, living an itinerant lifestyle with the sole purpose of writing mathematical papers with other mathem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Selfridge
John Lewis Selfridge (February 17, 1927 – October 31, 2010), was an American mathematician who contributed to the fields of analytic number theory, computational number theory, and combinatorics. Education Selfridge received his Ph.D. in 1958 from the University of California, Los Angeles under the supervision of Theodore Motzkin. Career Selfridge served on the faculties of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northern Illinois University from 1971 to 1991 (retirement), chairing the Department of Mathematical Sciences 1972–1976 and 1986–1990. He was executive editor of Mathematical Reviews from 1978 to 1986, overseeing the computerization of its operations. He was a founder of the Number Theory Foundation, which has named its Selfridge prize in his honour. Research In 1962, he proved that 78,557 is a Sierpinski number; he showed that, when ''k'' = 78,557, all numbers of the form ''k''2''n'' + 1 have a factor in the covering set . Five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journal Of Combinatorial Theory
The ''Journal of Combinatorial Theory'', Series A and Series B, are mathematical journals specializing in combinatorics and related areas. They are published by Elsevier. ''Series A'' is concerned primarily with structures, designs, and applications of combinatorics. ''Series B'' is concerned primarily with graph and matroid theory. The two series are two of the leading journals in the field and are widely known as ''JCTA'' and ''JCTB''. The journal was founded in 1966 by Frank Harary and Gian-Carlo Rota.They are acknowledged on the journals' title pages and Web sites. SeEditorial board of JCTA Originally there was only one journal, which was split into two parts in 1971 as the field grew rapidly. An electronic, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsey's Theorem
In combinatorics, Ramsey's theorem, in one of its graph-theoretic forms, states that one will find monochromatic cliques in any edge labelling (with colours) of a sufficiently large complete graph. To demonstrate the theorem for two colours (say, blue and red), let and be any two positive integers. Ramsey's theorem states that there exists a least positive integer for which every blue-red edge colouring of the complete graph on vertices contains a blue clique on vertices or a red clique on vertices. (Here signifies an integer that depends on both and .) Ramsey's theorem is a foundational result in combinatorics. The first version of this result was proved by F. P. Ramsey. This initiated the combinatorial theory now called Ramsey theory, that seeks regularity amid disorder: general conditions for the existence of substructures with regular properties. In this application it is a question of the existence of ''monochromatic subsets'', that is, subsets of connected edges of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategy-stealing Argument
In combinatorial game theory, the strategy-stealing argument is a general argument that shows, for many two-player games, that the second player cannot have a guaranteed winning strategy. The strategy-stealing argument applies to any symmetric game (one in which either player has the same set of available moves with the same results, so that the first player can "use" the second player's strategy) in which an extra move can never be a disadvantage. A key property of a strategy stealing argument is that it proves that the first player can win (or possibly draw) the game without actually constructing such a strategy. So, although it might tell you that there exists a winning strategy, the proof gives you no information about what that strategy is. The argument works by obtaining a contradiction. A winning strategy is assumed to exist for the second player, who is using it. But then, roughly speaking, after making an arbitrary first move – which by the conditions above is not a disa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
