Games

Rescue the Princess: A beautiful Princess has been captured by a mad mathematician and is now locked in a castle. There is only one entrance to the castle and it is protected by a combination lock. The mathematician left behind clues which you can use to find the combination. Once you have the combination, click the "Unlock" button below. Good luck!

Clue #1: Enter in the first box the 25th digit of the constant p (=3.1415927...).

Clue #2: Enter in the second box the next number in the sequence  77  49  36  18  _

Clue #3: Given A=1, B=2, C=3, .., Z=26. Find A2 + B2 + C2 + ... + Z2. Enter the number in the third box.

Clue #4: The Euler Numbers E1, E2, E3, ... are defined by sec x = 1/cos x = 1 + E1x2/2! + E2x4/4! + E3x6/6! + ... where |x|<p/2. Use this or any other method to find E3 and enter the result in the last box. (Hint. You can also look up the number in any good math handbook.)

#1
#2
#3
#4

The following number game is played using a four-digit number and the operators + (addition), - (subtraction), x (multiplication), / (division) and the equal sign (=). The object is to insert the appropriate operators in appropriate places to make the resulting expression an equation.

For example, given the number 1234, you can make it into an equation in a number of ways:

1=2+3-4
12=3x4
12/3=4
etc.

The rules are simple: (1) The expression is evaluated from left to right, i.e. 1+2x3=9, not 7. (2) The order of the digit must not be changed.

Ok, now is your turn to exercise your brain power on the following numbers:

(1) 9332
(2) 9181

I am now going to introduce the exponentiation operator ^: a^n = a x a x ... x a (n times), e.g. 3^2 = 3x3 = 9. Try the game on (1) 6438, (2) 1998.

The following "picto-word" game (Courtesy of Tang) is rather fun. Answers are provided at the end. Do try to guess before looking up the answers. Have fun!

Example:

      1.  ______
         | sand |
         |______|

   Ans = sand box

      2.   man
        ------------
           board

   Ans = man overboard


Now it is your turn to try:

      3.  stand
         ------------
             i

      4. /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/

      5.   wear
          ----------
           long

      6.  r
         road
          a
          d

      7. cycle
         cycle
         cycle

      8.
          t
          o
          w
          n

      9.      /
          le /
            / vel
           /

     10.     0
           ------------
             M.D.
             Ph.D.

      11.    knee
            ------------
               light

      12.    ii   ii
            ---------
              O   O

      13.  dice
           dice

      14.  t
           o
           u
           c
           h

     15.    ground
            ---------------
             feet
             feet
             feet
             feet
             feet
             feet

      16.    mind
            ------------
             matter

      17. he's / himself

      18. ecnalg

      19. death / life

ANSWER
3. I understand
4. reading between the lines
5. long underwear
6. cross road
7. tricycle
8. downtown
9. split level
10. two degrees below zero
11. neon light (knee-on-light)
12. circles under the eyes
13. paradise
14. touchdown
15. six feet underground
16. mind over matter
17. he's beside himself
18. backward glance
19. life after death

This word game courtesy of Tang. Think really hard before scrolling down for answer.

A man was locked in a room with only a bed, a calendar, and a piano.
How did he drink, how did he eat, and how did he get out?





























Answer: He drank from the springs of the bed, ate the dates off the calendar and played the piano until he found the right key, which he used to unlock the door.

Another man was locked in a room with only a mirror and a table. How did he get out?





























Answer: He looked in the mirror to see what he saw. Then he took the saw and cut the table in half. Next, he put the two halves together to make a whole. Finally, he crawled out through the hole.