MathDB

Alice and Bob play a game on a strip of

n \ge 3

squares with two game pieces. At the beginning, Alice’s piece is on the first square while Bob’s piece is on the last square. The figure shows the starting position for a strip of

n = 7

squares. https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/1/7/c636115180fd624cbeec0c6adda31b4b89ed60.png The players alternate. In each move, they advance their own game piece by one or two squares in the direction of the opponent’s piece. The piece has to land on an empty square without jumping over the opponent’s piece. Alice makes the first move with her own piece. If a player cannot move, they lose.
For which

n

can Bob ensure a win no matter how Alice plays? For which

n

can Alice ensure a win no matter how Bob plays?
(Karl Czakler)

Problem Statement