Monday, 20 October 2014

Oskar van Deventer's “haunted vending machine puzzle”


Oskar van Deventer has created the “haunted vending machine puzzle”.




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You have to insert coins into the slots 1, 2, 3 or 4. A coin that hits a green switch on its head rests there; a coin that hits a switch on its leg changes switch position. A starting position is shown on the left side. The goal is to have 7 coins in the machine (one on each switch). Partial solution is shown on right side (3 out of 7 coins are on the right places). You can insert as many coins as you need, your supply of coins is unlimited.



You can try this game here (a java applet).


Is it always possible to solve the puzzle? Is there a way to calculate the solution?




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