| The Missing Link And The Top-Spin (1996) | |||||||||||||||
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| The missing link and the top spin are two puzzles closely related to Loyd's 15-puzzle. Basic group-theoretic machinery required to solve these puzzles is presented along with their complete solutions. New variations of these puzzles are suggested and analyzed. Some observations are also made regarding the efficiency of presented solutions. Mathematics subject classification number: 20B20, 20B35 1. Introduction Sliding piece puzzles, the best known example of which is Sam Loyd's 15-puzzle, have been designed and marketed in numerous forms for more than a century. Hordern's book [Hor86] is perhaps the most comprehensive treatment of such puzzles. Hordern presents hundreds of such puzzles with their solutions. This book does not give a mathematical treatment of its subject, however. A brief appendix by D. Singmaster provides a summary of some group-theoretic results underlying these puzzles. A mathematical treatment of such puzzles was carried out by R. Wilson [Wil74] and extended by D. K... | |||||||||||||||
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