posted
Ok this is a very difficult problem. Basically you're given 5 dice, and somehow, you have to figure out how many moves it takes to get to "checkmate". You don't even know what the condition is, but you can see the answer, and then can find an algorithm to determine checkmate.
Here's the things that gets me: there exists a completely nonmathematical, or at least not very mathematical approach to solving this problem, and it has to do with the title "Checkmate". And please don't cheat. There is a way to do so, but I won't even say how.
posted
The first one I rolled had the same answer as Petals around the Rose, but none of the others have. I don't know the answer yet.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, I know how to find the answer, but I don't know if its the pattern they were looking for as its a bit too thoughtful.
These things only really work if the pattern makes someone go "doh!" Otherwise its another rousing game of "guess the mathematical algorithm!"
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
There's certainly nothing as elegant as the "Petal around the Rose" solution to this. I've got a method that's worked for about 30 straight, and I've confirmed it with a few selected dice combinations, but it doesn't mean anything.
posted
OK, after examining the source code, my algorithm works, but there's at least one part that's just totally arbitrary. (The part done after the final numbers are selected.)
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote: This game is based on the "Petals Around the Rose" dice game. Both games are easy in the sense that once you know the "secret", you can easily determine the answer in seconds. After hearing of this game, I was able to figure out the secret immediately. Just remember, as in "Petals Around the Rose", the name of the game is important. Note however, you do not actually need to know anything about chess to figure out the secret. Good Luck! (some of you will need it, lol)
quote:So, Dag, it's more complicated than PatR? (Which, by the way , I did really quickly.)
I don't think I've "solved" it. But yes, it's quite a bit more complicated to calculate the solution for each combination, at least to me.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Any chance that's deliberate? That is, that the person who programmed it came up with a tedious way to have it solve for the "obvious" answer, just to throw off people who read the source code?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Useful fact: You can manipulate it to tell you the answer of any die-roll combo you like. If you input numbers by hand and have it display answer, it will.
Of course, this has confirmed that my solution is wrong, and I keep getting answers that make even less sense than the ones I was getting randomly. >_<
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
This was how I confirmed the important fact that allowed me to deduce a solution. The algorithm in code is a very mechanistic and wasteful way to program what I came up with. But my solution is still really an algorithm, and nothing that can be summed up in a simple sentence like PatR. Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've also being doing that, but really all I've been getting is parts of ideas, not the wholes.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
This is why I'm a history major and not a math major. My brain cannot handle anything more complicated than 1+1.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
What am I missing? I don't understand what this "checkmate" thing that it's talking about is. I'm supposed to figure out how long it takes to do something that I don't know what it is?
Posts: 1002 | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, I looked at the source code and figured out how it's done. But like Dagonee said, the last part is completely arbitrary as far as I can tell. And I have no idea how any of it relates to "checkmate".
I think this is even more frustrating than before. I can predict the outcome every time, but I don't know why I'm doing it, other than it works. Which means i need to figure out a different way to do it, the way they intended I guess.
posted
yeah, but they tell you that you don't need to know anything about chess to figure it out.
So "checkmate" does not mean, checkmate in chess. but something to do with the words "check" and "mate" i'm guessing.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ugh. I'm so right minded (I think that's the right lobe) I have trouble figuring out which way is North. You want me to start spitting out TS Eliot, sure, I'm your guy, but ask me to add the tip in my head or, God forbid, divide up the check, and you'll see the most uncomfortable look come over my face.
So, of course, this stuff is miles beyond me.
Posts: 2258 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
SPOILERS! (Not the answer, just speculation) | | | | | | | | | V
The only thing that I can figure out that relates to checkmate is that if you have them set to all one, there are no more moves because the game is over.
Same goes for all of them set at the same number (or rather the first, the third and the fifth). One dot doesn't count.
All the dots but one on the first, the third and the fifth (the one's don't count).
But, if all the dice are set to 3, the number is the same (6). For some reason, those second and fourth dice only make a difference in certain instances or at certain numbers.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've done that, but my mathematical deduction just fails. Sometimes it seems to be higher, sometimes lower, depending on the number and its position.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
The author is lurking here (or y'all are emailing comments to him) because some of your posts are appearing on the comments page.
Petals Around the Rose took me an embarrassing long time to solve. I don't have any insights on this one, yet.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
are you sure they're lurking? Alot of those comments seemed similar to ones here, but not exactly.
And I'm sure with the number of people that have played this game, there have been many of the same type of comments.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Nope, two of my exactly copied comments appear there, complete with charming editor's notes:
quote: - We had a variation on this theme a while ago, so I already kind of knew what I was looking for... But I got it [Editor's Note: A few minutes later this post was edited:] Edit: Neeeeeeeever mind. I didn't.[Editor's Note: LOL]
-My brain is fried.
It's highly unlikely that some other person made exactly those two comments.
See, I keep punning on the name -- "checking" for "mates," and so forth -- but come up empty. We're not counting the number of pairs, or deviations from pairs, or the value of non-paired items, so I dunno.
posted
POTENTIAL INFERENTIAL SPOILER FOR PETALS AROUND THE ROSE!
I kept trying to do something with "check" as in a check mark. Nothing I can find there. At this point, it's "try to find a physical explanation for this mathematical fact."
quote: Hello, dice-game person. Which is it? Non-mathematical, like the Petals Around the Rose game, or "not very"? [Editor's Note: Hello Teshi! How are you?]
posted
Hmph. If you're going to quote Jatraqueros, you can at least have the grace to come post on the thread...
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
What I meant was that the insight into finding out the pattern is nonmathematical, but then getting the answer probably involves a bit of math afterwards.
That is NOT nice. I don't think it's polite to be culling comments for the comment page from here without permission. Some of those are mine, and I did NOT email them to anyone.
Gosu, is that YOUR game?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Its almost certainly copyright infringement that doesn't fall under fair use.
We should sue.
Actually we could just send a copyright infringement notice to his ISP and watch the pages come down, but that would be mean.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)
![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
