New Puzzler

Ray's Card Game

RAY: We're going to play a little card game. I'm going to deal out 21 cards from an ordinary deck of cards to a pile in front of us. We're going to alternate taking cards from the pile.

Here are the rules:

When it's your turn, you can take as many as three cards, but you must take at least one. So, you can take one , two, or three cards from the pile. The winner of the game is whoever picks up the last card, or cards, from the table.

For example, if there are six cards left and I pick up three, you will pick up the last three, because we're alternating turns, and you would win. So, clearly if there were six cards left, I wouldn't take three.

The question is, is there a strategy you could use that would guarantee you would win?

The Morris Minor That Could

RAY: The inspiration for this puzzler was sent in by Jerry Olhaver.

It’s 1954 and a giant hurricane has hit Cape Cod, leaving flooding in its wake. Cars sit underwater everywhere, waiting for a tow truck -- unable to start, unable to move.

Enter our hero, pedaling his bicycle. He spots his Morris Minor. Remember the Morris Minor? It was the great-grandfather of the modern Mini. His Minor looks as drowned as the rest of the cars, but at least the four tires are on the pavement. When he tries to start it, the engine cranks, but it won’t fire up.

He opens the hood and removes the spark plugs. They’re soaked with gasoline. He realizes why they’re soaked, because when he takes the distributor cap off, it’s full of water. Yet, in less than 10 minutes, unaided and using only what he has on his bicycle and in the trunk of the car, he begins a successful drive across the peninsula.

How did he do it?

Puzzler Answer