Mathematics Problem Of the Week

Spring 2004

POW 10

The Jelly Bean

Game

Let’s play a game. Start with n jellybeans placed around the circumference of a circle.   To play, one of us removes from the circle either one jellybean or two adjacent jellybeans.  We alternate turns.  The person removing the last jellybean from the circle wins (and gets to eat all the jellybeans).  Do you want to go first, or should I?  What is your winning strategy?