Art of Game

Battleship, a game of fun, chance and wait, strategy? In what once boiled down to inspired guessing, the mathematicians of the world have optimized an organized guessing pattern greatly enhancing one’s chance at emerging with ships un-sunk. How do you do it? Follow closely:Your first two guesses will need to be spaced out 5 spots (meaning 4 empty squares in between). For example, if you guess A1 to start the game, your second guess should be A5. This allows the maximum possible distance without the potential for overlooking an aircraft carrier (the largest of the ships at your opponent’s disposal). From this point, guesses should proceed in a in a diagonal fashion, like so (numbers represent guess number):1 – - – - 2 – - – — 3 – - – - 4 – - — – 5 – - – - 6 – — – - 7 – - – - 8 — – - – 9 – - – - 1011 – - – - 12 – - – — 13 – - – - 14 – - — – 15 – - – - 16 – — – - 17 – - – - 18 — – - – 19 – - – - 20After 20 guesses, hitting the aircraft carrier is a mathematical certainty. Once the aircraft carrier is sunk, guesses should move to 4 spaces apart (3 spaces in between), as you search for the destroyer, shown below in brackets. (more…)

What is now a popular mobile phone application started out as just a bouncing ball (anything the size of a volleyball or larger will do) and a chalk outline the playground side walk. To begin, simply draw out a square big enough for 4 individual players to move freely. Maybe make it a little bigger than you than you did back in the day, unless you and your 3 friends have Tyrannosaurus arms. Divide the large square into 4 frames, clearly labeled 1 through 4. Square 4 will serve by bouncing the ball to square 2, at which point square 2 can return the ball to any other square. Each player aims to hit the ball after it has bounced in his or her square without the ball sailing out of bounds or landing in the same square a second time. This isn’t a team effort to see how long the group can keep a rally going; it’s a completion to see which player will be eliminated, so if possible, put some spin on the ball and aim for corners and hard to reach places. If a ball lands outside the larger square boundary or inside the smaller square from which it was hit, the last player to touch the ball must either return to square 1 or the end of the waiting line, depending on how many people are playing. If a ball lands in a player’s square and goes untouched before bouncing again, then the player standing in that square is out. Only one participant can be eliminated per turn. (more…)

As people age they cross more and more thresholds, often resulting in a laundry list of privileges little kids can only dream of, whether it’s driving a car, seeing R-rated movies or even making your vote count. Unfortunately, with each passing year many people lose a little more of their youthful zest for life, despite being able to live with a little more choice and freedom. Hopefully, these blasts from the past will help take you back to a better time and restore a little bit of the pep in your step.Pogs Not since pet rocks has a popular fad been so affordable. Of course, if you want to pay more than a couple bucks for a bag of glorified bottle caps, feel free. While Pogs are commonly remembered as widespread collector’s items, some may recall the corresponding game of the same name. To play, stack a tower of pogs, equally contributed from the collection of each player, and send them flying by smashing the stack with a plastic “Slammer” piece. The Pogs that land face up are kept by whoever slammed the stack. Play can continue until one player calls it quits or has no Pogs remaining.Pencil-breaker Any two people with standard 2 pencils can engage in the schoolyard battle called pencil-breaker. Try to select your least chewed pencil, as wooden strength is a key to victory. Play begins with Player 1 holding his pencil out, tip in one hand, eraser in the other. Space out your hands to ensure player safety. Player 2 will hold his pencil in one hand, as if to make the “we’re 1″ gesture, with the index finger running parallel to the pencil. When both players are ready, Player 2 will rear back and smash his pencil perpendicularly across the extended pencil of Player 1. The first person to break the other player’s pencil wins. (more…)