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1 SUNDAY - OCTOBER 1972
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY - 275TH DAY - 91 DAYS TO COME

The name Jim Bynum I saw at Martin's yesterday sounded familiar to me. Checked, and had sent me a game THE NINE CHECKER GAME.

BB got 15 more copies of NO WAY at Boston Road ^yesterday, this time with the numbers written in. I played with it and decided to allow a circle to be visited twice and have only 5 forbidden pairs. This way I am pretty sure that any setup can be solved. The less revisited circles the better the solution. Marylin's Eliot solved one, but couldn't do a second. Marylin picked up a book ELECTRONIC GAMES at a library sale. (It cost her 10¢.)

(cont. from 9/29)[9/30]

Martin said that any cube from MacMahon's set could by [be] replicated by using the proper 8 others, and also interior side face joints match. By calling for the matching, Martin said, the problem becomes much easier.

T.H. O'Beirne had a column in THE NEW SCIENTIST in 1961 and 1962. The best of it went into his book, PUZZLES AND PARADOXES. Martin suggested him as a possible G & P columnist. Conway spent hours trying to prove NINE OF SWORDS unique. Conway sent Martin a cube PUZZLE which is very tricky.
It can't be solved unless the small pcs. [pieces] are placed first - being propped up. Martin suggested Tom Atwater trying to sell it. The pcs., which are to be formed into a 5 x 5 x 5 cube are as follows:- 13 of 1 x 2 x 4, 3 of 1 x 1 x 3, 1 of 1 x 2 x 2, 1 of 2 x 2 x 2. O'Beirne sent him two PUZZLES based on the same principle- 3 of 1 x 1 x 3, 2 of 1 x 2 x 4, 3 of 2 x 2 x 3, and 4 of 1 x 4 x 4. 1 of 1 x 1 x 1, 1 of 1 x 1 x 3, 3 of 1 x 2 x 2, 7 of 2 x 2 x 3, 1 of 1 x 3 x 3, and 1 of 1 x 4 x 4.

Returned the 3 letters borrowed on 9/7, with MEANDER, FEZ, etc.
Borrowed a letter from Colin Vout, Secretary of the Puzzles and Games Ring, Cambridge University Achimideans. [Archimedians] Contained games - DODGEM, SERPENT, and an unnamed GAME.

Somewhere saw the game SIM (see 7/5/69) but it had the name Arch Napier connected with it.

Took a copy of a form letter Martin has for answering certain letters. Martin was approached by WORLD Magazine for a new type of liter- ary PUZZLE. He came up with a few. One they seemed to like was taking a known stanza of a poem and arranging the words into a new poem; also taking the letters of the poet's name and forming a new name. He paid a correspondent in England to come up with some samples. But now he hasn't heard from the magazine.

On the way to and from Martin's we discussed my column in G & P; some criticisms; particularly that "readers" games should be able to be played with very little effort by the reader; my opinion of SPECULATE (he agrees that (cont. on - 9)