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8/6

SATURDAY 5 AUGUST 1967 217th day - 148 days to come

Bill Caruson sent me the rules for TOP BRASS. (Filed in Misc. Game Folder.)

Rcd. a long letter from Frank Thibault in which he mentions playing FOCUS & SLAM, seeing SIT DOWN AND THINK at 3M, and an ad for CASE OF THE ELUSIVE ASSASSIN. He sold his yacht racing game to 3M and are ch the name is being changed from TACK to REGATTA. They will prob- ably go ahead with SQUIGGLE after X-Mas. Jerry D'Arcy is flying to New York and will contact me. Frank sent the rules of his word game CHANNELWORD.

Martin Gardner over in afternoon & evening. I showed him THE CASE OF THE ELUSIVE ASSASSIN and gave him a copy of the puzzle. Showed him SIT DOWN AND THINK, TAKE A NUMBER & INFINITE PLANE. Gave him a copy of FOCUS and the published copy of WATCH - both were taken by his son. Martin looked at TIMUR'S GREAT CHESS in CHESS ECCENTRICITIES (which he had heard of, but not seen) for use in a column about ch knight moves & extended knight moves. Martin mentioned an interesting book by P.A. (Major) MacMahon on tessellation - NEW MATHEMATICAL PASTIMES (see MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS AND ESSAYS (pg. 111)). He will do a column on it partially based on it - on triangular games and puzzles. Another book he mentioned in MATHEMATICAL BAFFLERS by Angela Dunn (McGraw Hill). On the cover it has a diagram something like the following. There are chips of 4 colors. Players take turns placing any chip in any space, as long as two chips of the same colors are not in adjacent spaces. First player forced to place a chip next to one of same color loses. [diagram of four circles with segments drawn on them]

Martin mentioned that the magazine RECREATIONAL MATHEMATICS MAGAZINE will be revived by Greenwood Press. He thinks that previously unexpired subscriptions will be honored. The name will be changed to the THE JOURNAL OF RECREATIONAL MATHEMATICS. They will also publish a companion magazine called RECREATIONAL WORD PLAY. When he prepares his new book based on Scientific American columns he will mention the names of all my published games. Took down their names. Spoke again about his GAME idea using a long chain made up of interlocking balls (like for a key ring). This is dropped over a peg (or pegs) and players in some way choose whether it will catch on a peg or pull free. [drawing of squiggle "chain"] (cont. on 8/6)