120 pirates split 119 gold pieces, no more than 14 each
Source: Germany Federal - Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik 2019 round 2, p1
April 16, 2020
combinatorics
Problem Statement
pirates distribute gold pieces among themselves. Then the captain checks if any pirate has or more gold pieces. If he finds the first one, he must give all his gold pieces to other pirates, whereby he may not give more than one gold piece to anyone. This control is repeated as long as there is any pirate with or more gold pieces. Does this process end after a lot of checks?