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Sam Loyd
Samuel Loyd , born in Philadelphia and raised in New York, was an American chess player, chess composer, puzzle author, and recreational mathematician....
's most famous puzzles. The following are Sam Loyd's original instructions:
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
, the great mathematician, discovered a rule for solving all manner of maze puzzles, which, as all good puzzlists know, depends chiefly upon working backwards. The accompanying puzzle, however, was built purposely to defeat Euler's rule, and out of the many attempts is probably the only one that thwarts his method.
Start from the heart in the center. Go three steps in a straight line in any one of the eight directions, north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, or southwest. When you have gone three steps in a straight line you will reach a square with a number on it, which indicates the second day's journey, as many steps as it tells, in a straight line in any one of the eight directions. From this new point, march on again according to the number indicated, and continue on in this manner until you come upon a square with a number which will carry you just one step beyond the border, thus solving the puzzle.
(NOTE: according to the reference below, the puzzle as pictured here is actually a "corrected" version, as Sam Loyd's original puzzle contained a typo that allowed two different solutions.)
External links
- The Cyclopedia of Puzzles; Original puzzle from Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles, Tricks, and Conundrums (With Answers).