Using two cubes to display a calendar date sounds easy enough... right?
Solve the numeric problem first. The same trick will come in handy if you attempt the more difficult letter version.AdvertisementSolution to Puzzle #2: Reverse Tic-Tac-ToeThe tic-tac-toe position above was reached in a game between two flawless players, meaning neither of them ever made a move that would allow their opponent to win by force and neither of them missed an opportunity to force a win themselves.I’ve numbered the squares for clarity’s sake.
The last move was either X in cell 3 or X in cell 6. How can we argue that X did not play in cell 3? Because X still could have forced a win by instead playing in cell 9! If cell 3 were empty, then cell 9 would simultaneously set up a horizontal two-in-a-row and a vertical two-in-a-row. O would be helpless to stop both on their next move. By process of elimination, we have successfully deduced the last move: X in cell 6.
We’ve now discovered the last four moves. That final deduction was a particularly tough one. Some of you may know perfect tic-tac-toe strategy, which says that if X begins the game in a corner, then Oplay in the center to avoid losing. Knowing this detail could have made the final step of this puzzle easier, because X only has markings in corner cells so O, being a flawless player, must have played their first move in the center. If you solved it this way, kudos.
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