Challenge Questions Blog

Challenge Questions

Stop in and exercise your brain. Talk about this month's Challenge from Specs & Techs or similar puzzles.

So do you have a Challenge Question that could stump the community? Then submit the question with the "correct" answer and we'll post it. If it's really good, we may even roll it up to Specs & Techs. You'll be famous!

Answers to Challenge Questions appear by the last Tuesday of the month.

Previous in Blog: Transatlantic Encounters (January 2025 Challenge Question)  
Close
Close
Close
2 comments

Snowball Fight Strategy (February '25 Challenge Question)

Posted January 31, 2025 12:00 AM
Pathfinder Tags: challenge question

A square snow fort contains 40 children.There are 3 defensive positions along each fort wall (8 total).

They have vowed to defend their fort against the adults in a snow ball fight. Once someone is hit with a snowball, they are out of the game.

The fort's leader has determined the best defense requires 11 children along each wall. He organizes the children into the formation pictured.

How do they maintain 11 defenders along each wall side, as the fort's garrison dwindles with each snow ball assault, when there are...

  • 36 children left?
  • 32 children left?
  • 28 children left?
  • 24 children left?
  • 22 children left?
Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.

Comments rated to be Good Answers:

These comments received enough positive ratings to make them "good answers".

Comments rated to be "almost" Good Answers:

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, rate them!
2
Guru

Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hemel Hempstead, UK
Posts: 5792
Good Answers: 315
#1

Re: Snowball Fight Strategy (February '25 Challenge Question)

01/31/2025 6:43 AM

Love my "note" phone:

__________________
We are alone in the universe, or, we are not. Either way it's incredible... Adapted from R. Buckminster Fuller/Arthur C. Clarke
Reply Good Answer (Score 2)
Guru

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: About 4000 miles from the center of the earth (+/-100 mi)
Posts: 9725
Good Answers: 1118
#2

Re: Snowball Fight Strategy (February '25 Challenge Question)

01/31/2025 9:39 AM

The children on the corners guard 2 sides while the children on the sides guard 1 side. To still have 11 on each side as the children are killed off, for each casualty, you need to move a child from a side to a corner.

40: Each side is 1 9 1

36: Each side is 2 7 2

32: Each side is 3 5 3

28: Each side is 4 3 4

24: Each side is 5 1 5

22: North and South sides: 6 0 5, east and west sides: 5 0 6

Reply Score 1 for Good Answer
Reply to Blog Entry 2 comments
Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.

Comments rated to be Good Answers:

These comments received enough positive ratings to make them "good answers".

Comments rated to be "almost" Good Answers:

Check out these comments that don't yet have enough votes to be "official" good answers and, if you agree with them, rate them!

Previous in Blog: Transatlantic Encounters (January 2025 Challenge Question)  

Advertisement