by Dudeney, Henry Ernest, 1857-1930
Available in 215 free installments
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A French prisoner, for his sins (or other people's), was confined in an underground dungeon containing sixty-four cells, all communicating with open doorways, as shown in our illustration. In order to reduce the tedium of his restricted life, he set himself various puzzles, and this is one of them. Starting from the cell in which he is shown, how could he visit every cell once, and only once, and make as many turnings as possible? His first attempt is shown by the dotted track. It will be found that there are as many as fifty-five straight lines in his path, but after many attempts he improved upon this. Can you get more than fifty-five? You may end your path in any cell you like. Try the puzzle with a pencil on chessboard diagrams, or you may regard them as rooks' moves on a board.
324.?THE LION AND THE MAN.
In a public place in Rome there once stood a prison divided into sixty-four cells, all open to the sky and all communicating with one another, as shown in the illustration. The sports that here took place were watched
from a high tower. The favourite game was to place a Christian in one corner cell and a lion in the diagonally opposite corner and then leave them with all the inner doors open. The consequent effect was sometimes most laughable. On one occasion the man was given a sword. He was no coward, and was as anxious to find p 9 98 the lion as the lion undoubtedly was to find him.
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The man visited every cell once and only once in the fewest possible straight lines until he reached the lion's cell. The lion, curiously enough, also visited every cell once and only once in the fewest possible straight lines until he finally reached the man's cell. They started together and went at the same speed; yet, although they occasionally got glimpses of one another, they never once met. The puzzle is to show the route that each happened to take.
325.?AN EPISCOPAL VISITATION.
The white squares on the chessboard represent the parishes of a diocese. Place the bishop on any square you like, and so contrive that (using the ordinary bishop's move of chess) he shall visit every one of his parishes in the fewest possible moves. Of course, all the parishes passed through on any move are regarded as "visited." You can visit any squares more than once, but you are not allowed to move twice between the same two adjoining squares. What are the fewest possible moves? The bishop need not end his visitation at the parish from which he first set out.
326
NEW COUNTER PUZZLE.
Here is a new puzzle with moving counters, or coins, that at first glance looks as if it must be absurdly simple. But it will be found quite a little perplexity. I give it in this place for a reason that I will explain when we come to the next puzzle. Copy the simple diagram, enlarged, on a sheet of paper; then place two white counters on the points 1 and 2, and two red counters on 9 and 10, The puzzle is to make the red and white change places. You may move the counters one at a time in any order you like, along the lines from point to point, with the only restriction that a red and a white counter may never stand at once on the same straight line. Thus the first move can only be from 1 or 2 to 3, or from 9 or 10 to 7.
327.?A NEW BISHOP'S PUZZLE.
This is quite a fascinating little puzzle. Place eight bishops (four black and four white) on the reduced chessboard, as shown in the illustration. The problem is to make the black bishops change places with the white ones, no bishop ever attacking another of the opposite colour. They must move alternately?first a white, then a black, then a white, and so on. When you have succeeded in doing it at all, try to find the fewest possible moves.
If you leave out the bishops standing on black squares, and only play on the white squares, you will discover my last puzzle turned on its side.
328.?THE QUEEN'S TOUR.
