MathDB
Frogs game

Source:

June 8, 2008
combinatorics proposedcombinatorics

Problem Statement

There are 2008 bags numbered from 1 to 2008, with 2008 frogs in each one of them. Two people play in turns. A play consists in selecting a bag and taking out of it any number of frongs (at least one), leaving x x frogs in it (x0 x\geq 0). After each play, from each bag with a number higher than the selected one and having more than x x frogs, some frogs scape until there are x x frogs in the bag. The player that takes out the last frog from bag number 1 looses. Find and explain a winning strategy.