Ponder This Challenge - February 2026 - Blot-avoiding backgammon strategy
- Ponder This
Ponder This Challenge:
This month's challenge is based on a suggestion by Kerry M. Soileau (thanks!).
One can replace the letters in the expression I/M = B/A+C/K with different digits from 1 to 6 to form a valid equation. For example: 5/6 = 2/4+1/3. Substituting back letters to digits, using the same solution ACK.IBM is 413.526.
The problem: Replace the letters with different digits such that D/O+N/T = P/E+R/I+S/H and send us PONDER.THIS translated back to a number.
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This month's challenge was quite easy - even checking all 10! possibilities is feasible, and noting the symmetries and the fact that 5 and 7 cannot be in the denominator makes it even simpler.
Another way to solve it is to take the example we gave 5/6 = 2/4 + 1/3 replace 2/4 with 1/4+2/8; 1/3 with 3/9; and 5/6 with 5/6+0/7 and get 0/7 + 5/6 = 1/4 + 2/8 + 3/9 which translates to PONDER.THIS = 175042.6983