A combinatorial game is a sequential game of perfect information, and generally
without a nature player (no exogenous randomness). Many common examples include tic-tac-toe,
chess, checkers, Nim, and go. Combinatorial games also include most puzzles, which are simply combinatorial
games with exactly one player. Combinatorial game theory is the academic field concerned with solving,
analyzing, and describing such games, a pursuit mostly credited to Elwyn R. Berlekamp, John H. Conway,
and Richard K. Guy, authors of Winning Ways, a two-volume tome on the subject.
updated: 15 August 2005
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