172 Combinatorial & Topological ProblemsBeing acquainted with the peculiar appetites of the cannibals, the mission-
aries could never allow their companions to be in a majority on either side of
the river. Only one of the missionaries and one of the cannibals could row
the boat. How did they manage to get across?
- CROSSING THE RIVER
During the Turkish stampede in Thrace, a small detachment found itself
confronted by a wide and deep river. However, they discovered a boat in which
two children were rowing about. It was so small that it would only carry the
two children, or one grown person.
How did the officer get himself and his 357 soldiers across the river and leave
the two children finally in joint possession of their boat? And how many times
need the boat pass from shore to shore?
- A GOLF COMPETITION PUZZLE
I was asked to construct some schedules for players in American golf com-
petitions. The conditions are:
(1) Every player plays every other player once, and once only.
(2) There are half as many links as players, and every player plays twice
on every links except one, on which he plays but once.
(3) All the players play simultaneously in every round, and the last round
is the one in which every player is playing on a links for the first time.
I have written out schedules for a long series of even numbers of players up
to twenty-six, but the problem is too difficult for this book except in its most
simple form-for six players. Can the reader, calling the players A, B, C, D,
E, and F, and pairing these in all possible ways, such as AB, CD, EF, AF,
BD, CE, etc., complete the above simple little table for six players?
ROUNDS
1 Z 3 4 5
lOT LINKSZ··L1NKS3"LlNKS