Hi guzzlers
Today we’re going to play a game I learned about in Japan when I was researching my latest book, Puzzle Ninja.
All you need to do is think of a number and write it in the box below.
The winner is the person who submits the lowest number that no one else also submits.
It costs nothing to enter and the prize is a £50 voucher to spend on books at the Guardian Bookshop. Go for it!
The only rule is that the number you submit must be a positive whole number, in other words, 1 or any number greater.
What’s your best strategy? If you enter the number 1, no one else can beat you by having a lower number, so this might be a good number to choose. Although if anyone else thinks along these lines and also enters 1, you both lose. So maybe entering 1 is a really bad strategy. On the other hand, if you think no one would be crazy enough to enter 1, maybe it is a good strategy. The key to this game is to outsmart everyone else who is taking part.
Here is where you submit your number. (You have to enter your email so we know who the winner is but we promise we will not use the email for anything else.)
In Japan this game is called the Nikoli Derby, since it was devised by a reader of Nikoli puzzle magazine. (I subsequently found out that the game is also played outside of Japan).
Nikoli has for the last 35 years been the most consistently innovative puzzle magazine in the world, and has an interesting business model in that almost all of its puzzles are created by its readers. Once a year these readers get together for a party where the highlight is the Nikoli Derby.
Sometimes the winning number is 1.
Of course, the game today is a bit different. At the Nikoli party, guests can look around the room and estimate the number of other people taking part. I have no idea how many people will take part today. Sometimes 10,000 read this column, and sometimes 100,000 do. Who knows?
I will stop the submission at 4pm today, and have the results at 5pm. Best of luck, number ninjas!
My latest book Puzzle Ninja: Pit Your Wits Against The Japanese Puzzle Masters, is out it October. It contains more than 200 hand-crafted puzzles from Japan as well as profiles of prominent puzzle creators. If you pre-order Puzzle Ninja from the Guardian Bookshop it costs only £9.99 (rrp is £14.99) and you will get a free ninja pencil!
I set a puzzle here every two weeks on a Monday. Send me your email if you want me to alert you each time I post a new one. I’m always on the look-out for great puzzles. If you would like to suggest one, email me.
Thanks to Guardian Bookshop for today’s prize. The winning £50 voucher is valid online and over the phone, and must be used in one transaction. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount code.
