Mathematical game

Mathematical Games was the title of a long-running column on the subject by Martin Gardner in Scientific American. He inspired several new generations of mathematicians and scientists through his interest in mathematical recreations. Mathematical Games was succeeded by Metamagical Themas, a similarly distinguished but shorter-running column by Douglas Hofstadter.

Mathematics of games This can be a more serious subject than the name belies. It can include the statistical analysis of card games such as poker or bridge to understand and improve play techniques.

• Game theory has wide social and military applications for tactical and strategic planning.
• Conway's game theory and surreal numbers

Playing games with mathematics

The foremost popularizers of recreational mathematics in recent years have been

• John Conway
• Martin Gardner
• Douglas Hofstadter

Other figures in recreational mathematics history have included:

• Henry Dudeney[?]
• Piet Hein
• Sam Loyd

Specific mathematical games

• Dots and boxes
• Eight queens puzzle
• Four fours
• Hex
• Hexaflexagons[?]
• Life
• Knight's Tour
• Nim
• Penrose[?] dominoes
• Prisoner's dilemma
• Rhythmomachy
• Rubik's Cube
• Soma cube
• Sprouts
• Sim
• Squaring the square
• Tangram
• Topo[?]
• Tower of Hanoi

Other games and pastimes of non-trivial mathematical interest:

• Juggling (juggling patterns)
• Origami (many mathematical results, some deep)

External links and references

• Journal of Recreational Mathematics (http://www.ashbacher.com/jrecmath.stm)
• http://www.mathpuzzle.com/ by Ed Pegg, Jr.
• The Unreasonable Utility of Recreational Mathematics (http://anduin.eldar.org/%7Eproblemi/singmast/ecmutil) by David Singmaster
• Profile of John Conway (http://www.sciam.com/1999/0499issue/0499profile)
• Bibliography: http://bruichladdich.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/mathrecsFolder/books
• Mathematical Games from Madras College, St Andrews (http://www.madras.fife.sch.uk/maths/games/)