Carolina Solitaire
From Mancala World
| Carolina Solitaire |
| First Description: J. R. Griggs & C.-C. Ho, 1998 |
| Cycles: None |
| Ranks: One |
| Sowing: Reverse |
| Region: Bulgaria, USA |
In the late 1990s, Andrey Andreev, a Bulgarian visitor, introduced Carolina Solitaire to mathematicians of the University of South Carolina. This reverse sowing game appears to be a traditional mancala game in Bulgaria, but so far its native name is unknown in the west. Bulgarian Solitaire is a generalized version, which was invented by the famous mathematician Martin Gardner in 1983. It seems obvious that he knew the original game.
[edit] Rules
The game can be played with any number of (imagined) pits that are ordered in a row. Initially there are some seeds (or cards arranged in piles) in each pit, the exact number can be varied.
Initial Position Discussed by Davalan
The game is played by just one player.
Each move the player takes one seed from every non-empty pit (empty pits are ignored) and puts them in a newly created pit at the end of the row, always in the same direction.
The game ends when the board position repeats.
[edit] References
- Davalan, J.-P.
- Solitaire Bulgare. Concarneau (France) 2004.
- Gardner, M.
- Mathematical Games (a.k.a Bulgarian Solitaire and Other Seemingly Endless Tasks). In: Scientific American 1983; 249: 12-21.
- Griggs, J. R. & Ho, C.-C.
- The Cycling of Partitions and Compositions under Repeated Shifts. In: Advances in Applied Mathematics 1998; 21: 205-227.
[edit] Copyright
© Wikimanqala.
By: Ralf Gering.
Under the CC by-sa 2.5.
