number game

Table of Contents

Introduction
History
- Early history
  - Kinds of problems
  - Some examples
    - Finding a number
    - “God-Greet-You” problems
    - The chessboard problem
    - The lion in the well
    - Courier problems
- Pioneers and imitators
- 18th and 19th centuries
- 20th century
Types of games and recreations
- Arithmetic and algebraic recreations
  - Number patterns and curiosities
  - Digital problems
  - Cryptarithms
  - Paradoxes and fallacies
  - Polygonal and other figurate numbers
  - Pythagorean triples
  - Perfect numbers and Mersenne numbers
  - Fibonacci numbers
- Geometric and topological recreations
  - Optical illusions
  - Geometric fallacies and paradoxes
  - Impossible figures
  - Pathological curves
  - Mazes
  - Geometric dissections
  - Graphs and networks
  - Map-colouring problems
  - Flexagons
- Manipulative recreations
  - Puzzles involving configurations
  - Chessboard problems
  - The Fifteen Puzzle
  - The Tower of Hanoi
  - Polyominoes
  - Soma Cubes
  - Coloured squares and cubes
  - Nim and similar games
- Problems of logical inference
  - Logical puzzles
    - The brakeman, the fireman, and the engineer
    - Overlapping groups
    - Truths and lies
    - The smudged faces
    - The unexpected hanging
  - Logical paradoxes

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

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Square numbers shown formed from consecutive triangular numbers

Oblong numbers formed by doubling triangular numbers

Odd numbers shown as gnomons

Golden rectangles and the logarithmic spiral

Impossible figures

The endless stair

Van Koch's snowflake curve

A space-filling curve

Sierpinski curve

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number game: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	mathematical recreation • math puzzle • mathematical puzzle • math game • mathematical game

Photos and Videos

Square numbers shown formed from consecutive triangular numbers

Oblong numbers formed by doubling triangular numbers

Odd numbers shown as gnomons

Golden rectangles and the logarithmic spiral

Impossible figures

The endless stair

Van Koch's snowflake curve

A space-filling curve

Sierpinski curve

Examples of mazes

See an explanation on Zeno's Achilles paradox, an infinite series concept used in finance to pay off mortgages

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

impossible figure tangram ticktacktoe courier problem God-Greet-You problem lion in the well problem 30 Coloured Cubes Puzzle Instant Insanity brakeman-fireman-engineer puzzle paradox electronic game fantasy sport card game logic puzzle crossword puzzle children’s game chess bridge poker quiz

Key People

Sam Loyd

American puzzlemaker

Fibonacci

Italian mathematician

Robert Recorde

Welsh mathematician

Cardano, Girolamo

Girolamo Cardano

Italian physician and mathematician

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