Volume: 54; 2022; 124 pp; Softcover
MSC: Primary 00; 91;
Print ISBN: 978-1-4704-6492-9
Product Code: NML/54
List Price: $35.00
AMS Member Price: $26.25
MAA Member Price: $26.25
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4704-6948-1
Product Code: NML/54.E
List Price: $35.00
AMS Member Price: $26.25
MAA Member Price: $26.25
Supplemental Materials
Hex: A Playful Introduction
Share this pageRyan B. Hayward
MAA Press: An Imprint of the American Mathematical Society
This book offers a gentle introduction to Hex,
the classic board game created by Piet Hein and popularized by John
Nash and Martin Gardner. The first three chapters cover rules, basic
strategy, and history. The remaining eight chapters cover a variety of
topics: mathematical properties (there are no draws, the first player
can win, the acute corner is a losing first move), the related game of
Y, winning strategies for small boards, how computers play Hex, and
analysis of Random-Move Hex (where one or both players move randomly)
and Dark Hex (the imperfect information version of the game, where you
can't see your opponent's moves).
Did we mention puzzles? There are puzzles in every chapter, with
solutions.
This book is intended for anyone interested in playing board games
or learning some recreational mathematics. It is written for a wide
audience and will be enjoyed equally by general readers and
professional mathematicians. The book could be used as a textbook or
companion resource for a topics course on recreational mathematics or
game theory or as a source for undergraduate research
questions.
Readership
Undergraduate students interested in the game of Hex.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Hex: A Playful Introduction
- Cover Cover11
- Title page iii4
- contents ix10
- acknowledgments xiii14
- preface xv16
- this is Hex 118
- basics 926
- how Hex began 2542
- first player wins 3754
- don't go there 5168
- back to Y 5976
- winning strategies 7390
- computers 8198
- uniform random Hex 89106
- dark Hex 97114
- larger boards 109126
- further reading 115132
- bibliography 119136
- index of names 121138
- index 123140
- back cover Back Cover1142