Project Euler Forum

I have a slight problem with the wording of problem 306. The problem currently asks "how many values of n are there for which the first player can force a win?" I believe this phrase is using "can force" in a misleading way. The way I originally interpreted the phrase "can force" was "can choose to", which implies that they can also choose not to; otherwise, it wouldn't be a choice. However, the problem states that for 1 <= n <= 5, there are 3 values of n for which the player can force a win, but by the problem's own explanation for n=2 and n=3, the player cannot choose to lose.

This is a pretty minor issue, since the example results for 1 <= n <= 5 and 1 <= n <= 50 make the intended meaning clear, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

'Force a win' is pretty standard terminology. 'Can force a win' means the first player can win regardless of what the second player does, as opposed to 'can win' which means that the first player can win via some sequence of moves on both sides. I'm not really sure how 'can force a win' implies anything about the first player being able to lose.

I can breathe, though I can't really choose not to 'Can' means I have the ability to; not that I have the choice to.