Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!ucbvax!decwrl!joel From: joel@decwrl.UUCP (Joel McCormack) Newsgroups: net.math Subject: Mastermind wrong guesses Message-ID: <911@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Wed, 6-Mar-85 15:59:09 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.911 Posted: Wed Mar 6 15:59:09 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 9-Mar-85 07:07:48 EST Organization: DEC Western Software Lab, Los Altos, CA Lines: 15 Guessing "wrong" answers in Mastermind can indeed get you to the answer sooner than guessing only right answers. If you have all colors/positions perfect but one, guessing only right answers will let you test out one color at a time. Deliberately guessing a wrong answer allows you to test two colors - by the answer you know if none, the one in the known position, or the one in the known position is correct. This situation appears in real life most frequently when colors are allowed to be duplicated, and when there are a lot of colors (like bagels, which is 3 positions of 10 "colors" (digits)). -- - Joel McCormack {ihnp4 decvax ucbvax allegra}!decwrl!joel joel@decwrl.arpa