Winning strategies for a matchstick game

Abstract

Strategic thinking and planning are commonly regarded as typically human capabilities. Ever since computer programs demonstrated that they can beat chess grand masters, however, one can see that some of these skills can be successfully managed by machines. On the other hand, some games can be won with very simple strategies - one must have the right knowledge. In this chapter the author demonstrates this impressively using a matchstick game. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.