NIM (Marienbad)
- Nim is a mathematical game of strategy in which two players take turns removing objects from distinct heaps.
- On each turn, a player must remove at least one object, and may remove any number of objects provided they all come from the same heap.
- Variants of Nim have been played since ancient times. The game is said to have originated in China—it closely resembles the Chinese game of "Tsyan-shizi", or "picking stones" —but the origin is uncertain; the earliest European references to Nim are from the beginning of the 16th century. The name is probably derived from German nimm meaning "take [imperative]", or the obsolete English verb nim of the same meaning.
- The normal game is between two players and played with three heaps of any number of objects. The two players alternate taking any number of objects from any single one of the heaps.
- The goal is to be the last to take an object.
- An online version of the game is available here.
- A version of Nim is played in the French New Wave film Last Year at Marienbad (1961) – hence the name here. In this version it is played with four heaps of objects with 1-3-5-7 of them in each row. (See the video below)
PS - It seems that Nim originating from the Chinese game Jian Shi Zi (Picking Stones) is pretty questionable. For instance, a dialogue we came across suggests that this bit of information emanates from a very limited number of sources. Also apparently there is some confusion as to who just did a mathematical analysis of the game and who actually invented it. Game historians, Nim it please!