Nim (noch nicht übersetzt)

Problem 301

Nim is a game played with heaps of stones, where two players take it in turn to remove any number of stones from any heap until no stones remain.

We'll consider the three-heap normal-play version of Nim, which works as follows:

  • At the start of the game there are three heaps of stones.
  • On each player's turn, the player may remove any positive number of stones from any single heap.
  • The first player unable to move (because no stones remain) loses.

If (n1,n2,n3) indicates a Nim position consisting of heaps of size n1, n2, and n3, then there is a simple function, which you may look up or attempt to deduce for yourself, X(n1,n2,n3) that returns:

  • zero if, with perfect strategy, the player about to move will eventually lose; or
  • non-zero if, with perfect strategy, the player about to move will eventually win.

For example X(1,2,3)=0 because, no matter what the current player does, the opponent can respond with a move that leaves two heaps of equal size, at which point every move by the current player can be mirrored by the opponent until no stones remain; so the current player loses. To illustrate:

  • current player moves to (1,2,1)
  • opponent moves to (1,0,1)
  • current player moves to (0,0,1)
  • opponent moves to (0,0,0), and so wins.

For how many positive integers n230 does X(n,2n,3n)=0 ?