Mathematical puzzle

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This article is about puzzles that require mathematics in order to solve them. Often mathematical puzzles are referred to as mathematical games, but here mathematical games such as tic-tac-toe are multiplayer games whose rules, strategies, and outcomes can be studied and explained by mathematics. Note that the players may not need to use mathematics in order to play mathematical games.

Mathematical puzzles make up an integral part of recreational mathematics. They have specific rules as do multiplayer games, but they do not usually involve competition between two or more players. Instead, in order to solve such a puzzle, the solver must find a solution that satisfies the given conditions.

Mathematical puzzles require mathematics in order to solve them. Logic puzzles are a common type of mathematical puzzle.

Conway's Game of Life and fractals, as two examples, may also be considered mathematical puzzles even though the solver interacts with them only at the beginning by providing a set of initial conditions. After these conditions are set, the rules of the puzzle determine all subsequent changes and moves.

Contents

[edit] List of mathematical puzzles

The following categories are not disjoint; some puzzles fall into more than one category.

[edit] Numbers, arithmetic, and algebra

[edit] Combinatorial

[edit] Analytical or differential

See also: Zeno's paradoxes

[edit] Probability

[edit] Tiling, packing, and disection

[edit] Involves a board

[edit] Chessboard tasks

[edit] Topology, knots, graph theory

The fields of knot theory and topology, especially their non-intuitive conclusions, are often seen as a part of recreational mathematics.

[edit] Mechanical

Main article: Mechanical puzzle

[edit] 0-player puzzles

[edit] Other

[edit] External links