Ryuo Nim: A Variant of the classical game of Wythoff Nim

TL;DR

This paper introduces and analyzes a generalized variant of Wythoff Nim called Ryuo Nim, exploring its mathematical properties, including Grundy numbers, variants with pass moves, restricted movements, and extensions to higher dimensions.

Contribution

The paper presents a new generalized game of Ryuo Nim, providing explicit formulas for Grundy numbers and analyzing variants with pass moves and movement restrictions, extending the game to multiple dimensions.

Findings

Grundy number formula for generalized Ryuo Nim

Simple Grundy formulas for variants without pass moves

Extension of Ryuo Nim to n-dimensions

Abstract

The authors introduce the impartial game of the generalized Ry\=u\=o Nim, a variant of the classical game of Wythoff Nim. In the latter game, two players take turns in moving a single queen on a large chessboard, attempting to be the first to put her in the upper left corner, position $(0,0)$. Instead of the queen used in Wythoff Nim, we use the generalized Ry\=u\=o for a given natural number $p$. The generalized Ry\=u\=o for $p$ can be moved horizontally and vertically, as far as one wants. It also can be moved diagonally from $(x,y)$ to $(x-s,y-t)$, where $s,t$ are non-negative integers such that $1 \leq s \leq x, 1 \leq t \leq y \textit{and} s+t \leq p-1$. When $p$ is $3$, the generalized Ry\=u\=o for $p$ is a Ry\=u\=o, i.e., a promoted hisha piece of Japanese chess. A Ry\=u\=o combines the power of the rook and the king in Western chess. The generalized Ry\=u\=o Nim for $p$ is mathematically the same as the Nim with two piles of counters in which a player may take any number from either heap, and a player may also simultaneously remove $s$ counters from either of the piles and $t$ counters from the other, where $s+t \leq p-1$ and $p$ is a given natural number. The Grundy number of the generalized Ry\=u\=o Nim for $p$ is given by $\bmod(x+y,p) + p(\lfloor \frac{x}{p} \rfloor \oplus \lfloor \frac{y}{p}\rfloor)$. The authors also study the generalized Ry\=u\=o Nim for $p$ with a pass move. The generalized Ry\=u\=o Nim for $p$ without a pass move has simple formulas for Grundy numbers. This is not the case after the introduction of a pass move, but it still has simple formulas for the previous player's positions. We also study the Ry\=u\=o Nim that restricted the diagonal and side movement. Moreover, we extended the Ry\=u\=o Nim dimension to the $n$-dimension.