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Subj:.....Rip Van Winkle Puzzle (S640)           From the book              "More Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd"            Edited by Martin Gardner            From: Dover Publications in 1960   What is Rip's best shot to win the game?  Both players can hit any pin or pair of pins. The old Dutch game of Kugelspiel, from which modern bowling is derived, used to be played with thirteen pins placed in a row.  Only one or two pins could be knocked down by any single shot.  The bowlers stood so close to the pins that it did not call for much skill to hit any single pin desired, or any two adjacent ones.  Players bowled alternately, one ball at a time, and the point of the game was to see who could knock down the last pin. The little Man-of-the-Mountain, with whom Rip Van Winkle is playing this game, has just rolled a ball and knocked out pin No. 2.  Rip has a choice of twenty-two different plays: any of the twelve single pins, or any of the ten open spots that will bring down two adjacent pins.  What is Rip's best shot to win the game?  It is assumed that both players can hit any pin or pair of pins they wish, and that there is the best possible play on both sides.

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