Mathematical games include many topics which are a part of recreational mathematics, but can also cover topics such as the mathematics of games, and playing games with mathematics.

Mathematical Games was the title of a long-running column on the subject by Martin Gardner in Scientific American. He inspired several new generations of mathematicians and scientists through his interest in mathematical recreations. Mathematical Games was succeeded by Metamagical Themas, a similarly distinguished but shorter-running column by Douglas Hofstadter.

Mathematics of games

This can be a more serious subject than the name belies. It can include the statistical analysis of Card games to understand and improve play techniques.

• Game theory has wide social and military applications for tactical and strategic planning.
• Conway's combinatorial game theory and surreal numbers

Playing games with mathematics

The foremost popularizers of recreational mathematics in recent years have been

• John Conway
• Martin Gardner
• Douglas Hofstadter

Other figures in recreational mathematics history have included:

• Henry Dudeney
• Piet Hein
• Sam Loyd

Specific mathematical games and puzzles

• 15 Puzzle
• Chomp
• Dots and boxes
• Eight queens puzzle
• Four fours
• Hex
• Hexaflexagons
• Knight's Tour
• L game
• Life
• Monty Hall problem
• Nim
• Penrose dominoes
• Pentominos
• Philosopher's football
• Prisoner's dilemma
• Rhythmomachy
• Rubik's Cube
• Sim
• Soma cube
• Sprouts
• Squaring the square
• Su Doku
• Tangram
• Think-a-Dot
• Tower of Hanoi
• Verbal arithmetic
• Wire-and-string puzzles (knot theory, topology)

Some sort of mathematics can be found in nearly all types of games.

Other games and pastimes of non-trivial mathematical interest:

• Juggling (juggling patterns)
• Origami (many mathematical results, some deep)

See also:

• Solved board games, Games of skill

External links and references

• Journal of Recreational Mathematics (http://www.ashbacher.com/jrecmath.stm)
• http://www.mathpuzzle.com/ by Ed Pegg, Jr.
• The Unreasonable Utility of Recreational Mathematics (http://anduin.eldar.org/%7Eproblemi/singmast/ecmutil.html) by David Singmaster
• Profile of John Conway (http://www.sciam.com/1999/0499issue/0499profile.html)
• Bibliography: http://bruichladdich.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/mathrecsFolder/books.html
• Mathematical Games from Madras College, St Andrews (http://www.madras.fife.sch.uk/maths/games/)
• Malba Tahan: The Man Who Counted (http://www.gamereport.com/tgr6/bookreport.html)