Conference rusure::math

230.0. "GAMES contest" by HARE::STAN () Mon Mar 04 1985 19:14

You may be interested in the April 1985 GAMES magazine contest,
which I reprint below.  Grand prize (winner chosen at random from among
all people sending in the correct answer) is an IBM PCjr computer:

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	What are the Rules of this Contest?

  In entering any contest, the most important thing to remember
is to follow the rules very carefully. The rules of this contest
may not seem as concise as those of most GAMES contests - but to
compensate, we've made the task required by the rules very easy.

  Each rule of this contest is written as a sentence. The fact that
one sentence precedes or follows another does not, in itself, give
either sentence priority over the other. Every sentence ends with a
period that looks like this:. The sentences are grouped into six
paragraphs.  This sentence, for example, is in paragraph number two.
The order in which the paragraphs appear on this page, however, does
not necessarily correspond to their numbers. For instance, the paragraph
that appears next is paragraph number five.

  You should ignore any sentence in this paragraph that begins with the
word "ignore". Ignore the previous sentence, if you dare. If two
sentences in the same paragraph contradict one another, follow the
one that comes last. But if two sentences in the same paragraph
contradict one another, follow the one that comes first.

  The name of this contest is: "What is the name of this contest?".
To enter, send a letter or postcard to GAMES, 515 Madison Ave., New York,
NY 10022. The name of this contest, as indicated in these rules, must
appear on the letter or postcard, along with your name, address, and
a single two-digit number. You must circle this number. The two-digit
number referred to in the last two sentences must be formed by writing
together the numbers of this paragraph and the paragraph that appears
last in these rules. Entries must be received no later than May 1, 1985.
And, in case you've forgotten, the name of this contest is: "What are
the rules of this contest?".

  This paragraph supersedes all others. The last sentence in the
next-to-last paragraph of these rules is to be ignored. (The following
sentence supersedes all others in this paragraph except for any that
are in parentheses.) For purposes of the second sentence in this
paragraph, the order of these paragraphs is not to be considered the order
in which they appear on this page, but rather the order in which they
are numbered, as determined by the rules. For instance, for numbering
purposes, this is really paragraph number one. The paragraph that
appears immediately before this one is paragraph number six; it has an
error in it. In order to interpret the rules of this contest correctly,
you must correct the error by substituting the word "adding" for the word
"writing". Or rather, you must correct the error by substituting the
word "multiplying" for the word "writing".

  The paragraph that appears first is really paragraph number three. Ignore
the rest of this paragraph, except for the next sentence. The number of
this paragraph is either two, four, or six. If this is paragraph number
five, then the name of this contest is "No-name" regardless of anything
that may be said elsewhere in these rules. Ignore this sentence and the
next. Don't ignore the previous sentence. Do ignore both this sentence
and the previous two.						- R.W.S.

Name: "What are the rules of this contest?"
Number: 24