Lambdia

Backward induction

2 articles

Three Rolls, One Decision, and 14/3

A die is rolled up to three times and you are paid the face you stop on. The reflex answer of 3.5 is the value of the same game with the right to stop deleted, and the real value is 14/3, reached by computing the game from its last roll backwards. The thresholds move as rolls run out, which is why a four is worth keeping late and worth rejecting early.

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Say Six: The Only Opening That Wins the Race to Fifty

Counting to fifty in steps of one to ten, the first player wins, and exactly one of the ten legal openings does it. The stations are 6, 17, 28, 39 and 50, spaced eleven apart because eleven is one more than the largest legal step. The article carries the residue argument that proves the opening is unique, and the target 55 where the advantage flips.

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