The Unbeatable Game from the 60s: Dr NIM

Buy a modern version of Dr NIM!
mathsgear.co.uk/products/braino
The game of (single pile) Nim can be won by anyone who understands a simple trick. A trick so easy, a 1960s mechanical plastic computer can play with perfect strategy, defeating all humans.
Learn the method and proceed to beat your friends, family and colleagues.
Read more about single-pile Nim on the Maths Busking site:
www.mathsbusking.com/shows-twenty-quid.html
My Domino Computer. The Domputer.
kzbin.info/www/bejne/haGvhpKVl82oaNk
Dr NIM at the Computer History Museum:
www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102688881
And someone has put the whole instruction booklet online:
www.cs.miami.edu/home/burt/learning/Csc427.152/491_Dr-Nim-Manual5b15d.pdf
MATT PARKER: Stand-up Mathematician
Website: standupmaths.com/
Music by Howard Carter
Design by Simon Wright

How to win: Use maths How to win if the opponent has caught on to our strategy: Cheat

[@Elusivehawk]

The secret ingredient is crime

[@erikgag]

Just hack the mechanism

[@dancrane3807]

I changed the conditions of the simulation - Kirk.

[@serphon5784]

Perfect Strategy

[@buzzlightyear6960]

Where from Earth do people say maths?

[@devoid-of-life]

Dr. Nim hates him for this one simple trick

[@babafrigarodolfo6889]

This simple trick can increase you IQ size by 16!

[@iboiiiii]

@@babafrigarodolfo6889 I didn’t know IQ scores could get to 2.092279e+13

[@babafrigarodolfo6889]

@@iboiiiii i mean its recomended for 9/10 nims

[@lennyface2586]

Lol

[@devoid-of-life]

@@Harrazmo ??

[@ProteinFromTheSea]

Idea: have 13 coins. Line twelve of them up, and flip the last coin to determine who will go first. If the flip says that you go first, add the last coin to the line, and act like that was what was going to happen all along. If the flip says that they go first, pocket the coin, and act like that was going to happen all along.

[@dario9962]

underrated idea. GREAT

[@LancerloverLL]

Wouldn't work twice for the same opponent though

[@markjacobs1086]

@@LancerloverLL if they catch on to the strategy that is. Some people just don't see it.

[@galatic-wyvern2993]

@@markjacobs1086 seriously did this back and forth with someone for half an hour. He genuinely was trying to figure it out

[@codyallen43]

@@LancerloverLL winner picks who goes first, ez

[@guestuser2373]

“NIM” is “WIN” turned upside down.

[@chambersr1176]

😮

[@jpnrndr7983]

You don't to be smart to know that, also don't comment with shitty emoji

[@branflakes2600]

Jackson shut up

[@guestuser2373]

# turn it upside down, not flip it upside down.

[@pork108]

@@jpnrndr7983 You fr just commented "you dont to be smart" and "dont comment with shitty emoji" m8 it sounds to me like your grammar is the equivalent to an 11 year old Spanish speaker who's been playing around with duolingo for the last week and a half so I suggest you stfu

[@DanDart]

> TFW when your plastic toy has a doctorate and you haven't

[@U014B]

and your soda

[@DanDart]

+Noel Goetowski hah fair point. I've just been outsmarted by a drink!

[@guepardo.1]

+Dan Dart "That feel when when"? What the WTF?

[@OtakuNoShitpost]

+Guepardo Guepárdez Nah nah, That Face With when...

[@DanDart]

+phoxxentswrath I thought it was That Face When when tbh

[@barneymcwhat6241]

played this with my young nephew. only instead of coins, marbles, or pegs, there were sweets. and instead of losing, if there were no sweets left to take, and it was your go, you'd have to take and bite into a wedge of lemon. because what else are nephews for

[@curtislevey7639]

I like lemon so why not

[@tcoren1]

Barney McWhat honestly this is the better version of the game to play, as it isn’t inherently rigged, there is actual strategy. If you’re losing, you can take 3 sweets per turn, forcing your opponent to take one. If they choose to take more, you can force them into eating the lemon. If they don’t, you at least get the majority of sweets...

[@kurumi394]

I am honored to make this comment have 666 likes because this is quite devilish

[@teunvandiedenhoven1105]

@@curtislevey7639 Lol same

[@goclbert]

As a young child I would straight up eat lemons so I would have loved your game.

[@angryzergling7832]

That's pretty friggin' cool. Always amazed with the clever ways engineers could 'program' arbitrary rules or mathematical stuff to play out via purely mechanical means.

[@Banzybanz]

We studied pneumatics and hydraulics in our Mechanical engineering course. You can use them to do purely mechanical automation and programming. It's essentially the same thing happening in your modern day computer, except that instead of a few dozen switches, you have billions of very tiny ones.

[@nortonofnorthamerica]

@@Banzybanz I once had the dream to make a logic controller out of pneumatic relays rather than transistors... I got over it when I had trouble scrounging the parts

[@ginosko_]

Your always amazed with engineers programming arbitrary rules? Where else have you been amazed by engineers programming arbitrary rules ?

[@angryzergling7832]

@@ginosko_ This game here, early transmissions, mechanical computers, analog calculators, complex astrological calendars built thousands of years ago that could accurately predict the position of the sun today to a precision we have trouble matching. Lots of stuff! I'm a programmer, and it's fascinating how people solved the same problems we solve today with purely mechanical principles. Sometimes I'll have trouble working out a problem, then you think people used to have to solve the same thing I'm struggling with translating into code with a powerful digital computer but using only stacks of precisely tuned gears and chains, vacuum tubes, or plastic spheres interacting with plastic switches as it fell down a gameboard. Pretty neat stuff.

[@AyarARJ]

Heron of Alexandria appreciates your amazement. Creating mechanical programs for audience entertainment was an interesting diversion.

[@drewboozer427]

"You can tell it's 1960's America because there's a wholesome family having fun, with GUNS in the background." I'd like to say you're wrong but it's very true

[@paulprecour3636]

Rather, "You can tell it's 1960s America because there's a wholesome family having fun, due to the fact that they have guns in the background".

[@xcvsdxvsx]

Back when guns were everywhere but mass shootings were almost unheard of. Kids brought guns to school to target practice in PE. Imagine it. People like to make fun of boomers who blame video games for mass shootings, and I'm sure those people are atleast mostly wrong, but they are on to something in the sense that something did happen. Be that video games or something else, some force or influence, SOMETHING did screw up the culture.

[@insertwittyname5649]

I had a bunch of 60s games from my mom. The happy family is par for the course but... The guns are kind of new to me lol

[@aqueousone]

Electronic Adventures tell me more about that “well regulated” part.

[@rickw7903]

We had a shooting range in high school. Politicians will not disarm me.

[@tommygarson8592]

the fact that this thing is technically classified as a computer fucking amazes me

[@Mabufu381]

John Gaquin technically, computers was just the name for dedicated mathematicians, who were trained to process equations. The computing machine took its name from their role. So theres another thing that used to be classed as a computer; people. #themoreyouknow

[@eideticex]

That's because we throw around computer with absolutely no specificity. What you used to watch this video is a general purpose computer. Inside of it however is an example of a more specialized computer: the graphics card. it is a whole computer unto itself but ill suited for general purpose computing due to it's high degree of focus on vector based calculus. In printers you can find highly specialized computers that require massive reworking to be recognized in the same vein as an ordinary desktop computer and I'm not talking cosmetic changes. This computer is specialized in solving one specific equation. As such it's simple enough that you can easily see how it works with only elementary arithmetic and rudimentary mechanical knowledge.

[@MrBackSTARR]

this isn't just a computer this is perfect gaming AI

[@gusrussell8784]

John Gaquin Its most definitely a computer. Not a complex one, but one nonetheless.

[@petey9232]

A computer that uses gravitational potential energy rather than electrical energy.

[@plumeater1]

Instructions Unclear Won the lottery

[@vicr123]

Oops! :P

[@Chrnan6710]

I hate when that happens.

[@shinydewott]

kemboy323 thats unfortunate

[@provalvez284]

im so sorry about that

[@s1v3bid]

kemboy323 im sorry for your loss

[@Rurike]

I remember seeing a version of this game on an old show called cyberchase, they even explained the same group of four trick and a version where you dont want to be left with the last marble. Kinda neat.

[@economicapple2609]

CYBERCHASE WE’RE MOVIN WE’RE BEATIN HACKA AT HIS GAME

[@xleplayVA]

COSMIC WORLDS, FREAKY PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN!

[@retro3188]

We’ve got the power-of 1, 2, 3, 4!

[@bagelz3359]

Oh yes the cartoon with the Bird that sounds like he chain smokes cigarettes. Great show

[@gtmsnba13]

@@bagelz3359 he was voiced by gilbert gottfried

[@user-qp5mq9uz1n]

The way he says NIM every time reminds me the knights who say NI

[@teunvandiedenhoven1105]

NI

[@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am]

@@teunvandiedenhoven1105 Stop *it.*

[@Logarithm906]

@@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am NEE NEE NEE NEE NEE, We demand a shrubbary!

[@shardtheduraludon]

@@My_initials_are_O.G.cuz_I_am Shrubber-plead for your ignorance to one of the best comedy flicks ever published.

[@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447]

????????????????????????

[@williammitchell2046]

thank you for telling me how to hustle drunks at a bar

[@stevethea5250]

thanks

[@skylerclyne6542]

+

[@ztac_dex]

+

[@bellicose4653]

He didn't tell you how to casually introduce an extra coin to the game. Something like that could cause a fight

[@Dangerous_DM]

Yup

[@inkolore2]

"You can tell it's 1960s America because there is a family having fun with guns in the background" My sides

[@ketchup143]

+IceNoob88 we haven't changed at all?

[@RedHairdo]

+ketchup143 Just a bit. Sadly.

[@Izandaia]

+IceNoob88 As much to the point: A WHITE family with guns in the background.

[@Izandaia]

+delton No, the picture of the family on the box is also racist. But while the Chinese caricature is racist specifically against Chinese people, the whitewashed family on the box is racist against everybody who's not white by implying that only this (semi) nuclear family of white, middle class people is the norm, and anything else is an aberration.

[@Pattonator14]

+Izandai so you want a family from each ethnic group printed one after the other? Get out. A single image does not suggest that its the norm.

[@Ben_the_Rosafan]

Now I'd really like to see Matt do a video on the Mario Party 2 minigame "Honeycomb Havoc". It's basically an inversion of Nim: 4 players, you can take 1 or 2 items on your turn, and the object is to NOT take the last item, whoever does is eliminated.

[@MD-vs9ff]

That's not an inversion, it's literally the same game. You just win if you take the second to last item, instead of the last. The strategy is identical, except instead of leaving a multiple of 3 behind, you leave 3x+1 behind after your turn.

[@backlogbuddies]

Md, the issue with honeycomb havok is 4 players at once taking 1-2 and it's not an even amount between each honeycomb

[@donovanmahan2901]

At the 1v1 it simplifies to NIM, while the rest is people deciding which of the others can lose or contunue

[@mrobison91]

How the hell did somebody invent this game? It’s insanely smart.

[@condor2279]

It was a bored mathematics professor apparently.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Like many games, it was likely just invented by a couple of bored soldiers that didn't get mathematically solved until much later.

[@shirshajitsingha6484]

late reply, but a similar version of this game exists in a kids game that my friends and I used to play. It's called 21, and basically you count but you can only say 3 numbers and then your opponent continues. And whoever reaches 21 loses and gets some arbitrary punishment. So the goal of the game is essentially to reach 20, so your opponent has to say 21 and lose. I, and many other kids, actually independently found this trick because it's not that hard to figure out. SO it's a fairly widespread mundane game, any many versions of it exist. It's not as universal as something rock-paper-scissors but it's certainly akin to it. And it's quite pointless to ask who invented those kind of games. It's a pretty simple game, so it's reasonable to assume that many versions of essentially the same concept were invented in many places independently and one version got standardized.

[@stevejordan7275]

They didn't have the distraction/hazard of social media.

[@hungry6677]

@@stevejordan7275 bro KZbin is partly social media

[@breakingaustin]

*Doctors hate him! Australian man beats game with this one simple trick!*

[@vincentlok8894]

Have laws changed in your area? (*insert pic of girl in bikini in handcuffs*)

[@papipepe9659]

*pulls out a sledgehammer*

[@nothosaur]

Try not to gasp when you see what the game looks like now!

[@vincentlok8894]

And the internet can't even

[@vincentlok8894]

You won't believe what happens next.

[@tejasviization]

The levels of video editing is unreal on this on. (Multiple Camera Angles and Text Overlay WOOT!!!)

[@standupmaths]

Thanks! I do what I can. Probably spent too long on the text overlay. And one day I'll get a better second camera.

[@wobblysauce]

+standupmaths The anticipation at @9:50, flicks the equalizing paddle, and does not give a play through.

[@Anvilshock]

+tejasviization Worlds better than Haran's nauseating wannabe MTV-style action zoom woobly cam.

[@user-zb2st1he2c]

tejasviization

[@jordangraham4817]

At 5:23 - "Um sir, you have 13 coins." 5:25 - *Removes a coin* You were saying?

[@silyu97]

sleight of video cut

[@Bill-vl3np]

Glad someone else saw this

[@DivyanshMMMUT]

Exactly

[@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447]

@@robertgarza301 no it isn't, you need to turn it upside down, and then flip it left/right

[@RichardWinskill]

Periodically this comes back round in my recommendations, and every time for 6 years it frustrates me that Matt never demonstrated beating Dr Nim using the equaliser paddle...

[@johnbeauvais3159]

Wow, that's pretty impressive the level of design of a plastic kids toy in the 1960's, also way to teach kids the system is rigged against them.

[@maxmustermann-ie6ic]

John Beauvais Why? I mean its not like people were any dumber in the past (actually looking at the news I'm starting to think it might be the other way around lol)

[@moon2a379]

max mustermann yeah totally no way this generation is dumber than the 60's why because kids are more intelligent than ever according to study's

[@MrBob-bj6kk]

John Beauva

[@13ivanogre13]

Imagine having the Internet back in the 60's. It would be like having The Library of Congress in your house!

[@vincentlok8894]

Well, you know that in the 1960's they put a man on the moon using sliderules and an onboard computer with less computing power than a digital watch from the 80's. I suppose they also invented computers so, why couldn't they make a clever plastic toy?

[@mikosoft]

From the screenshot I thought Dr. Nim would have some mechanics hidden inside. It's simplicity makes it even more amazing. It's pretty much a mechanical flowchart!

[@vikramkrishnan6414]

And you didn't title the video "The Secret of NIM"?

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

Lol I was thinking of that too. That is one trippy movie for kids, I watched it recently during an acid trip and had my mind blown lol

[@seancascanet3428]

NIHM

[@maulino4036]

@@seancascanet3428 NIMH: national institute of mental health

[@RainingOnMyParade]

dang it I'm 6 months too late

[@jacobw1780]

He shouldn't have

[@nickhersheys2706]

Here is a trick to slip in an extra coin in case you are the first one to play. Or lets say there is a dispute to who plays first. Throw 12 coins on the table .(Not in a straight line. You can place the last coin with dollar bills aside) Now take an extra coin out of your pocket and ask the other player for heads or tails and the winner plays first. If the other player wins the toss, GREAT ! Put the toss-coin back in your pocket and let the game BEGIN !. If YOU win the toss, no problem, casually put the toss-coin in the play to make it 13 coins :) and let the game BEGIN !.

[@klausbrinck2137]

Very cunning! You, sir, own the art of diplomacy...!

[@Rolan7196]

The epitome of "Heads I win, tails you lose"!

[@tilty7522]

I swear to god i counted 13 coins at the start until you demonstrated then there were just 12

[@juan120535]

Mo cu AWP There are 13 at first.

[@MrNex]

At 5:24 the camera changes from 13 coins to 12

[@spectrelex3051]

Mo cu AWP same

[@ahe7320]

NexGenInsanity a

[@LittleBlueTugBoat]

Cringe Master 9000 I quadruple checked and i count 13

[@GuildmasterWigglytuff]

Wow, that is a really well-designed bit of plastic.

[@niklasgransjen684]

You could say... it's fantastic

[@bazinga3160]

Niklas Gransjøen how so?

[@ziggityzoo9681]

James Collier r/woooosh

[@dingusonwheels8672]

Hairline

[@ossi4476]

Niklas Gransjøen no... fanplastic

[@thebakermaker1500]

Thank you PBS Cyberchase for teaching me as a child how to beat this game.

[@nicholasmachado3668]

PBS children unite!

[@salyluz6535]

“🎶PBS Kids!🎶”

[@MyBohemianDreams]

I had Dr. Nim as a child in the 60s and like you I was fascinated by how it worked and the math behind it.

[@seanhub2243]

Thank you for this explanation. I have a new proffession as a NIM gambler and have won alot of money using this strategy to outwit people on the playground, those year 7s will never see whats coming.

[@sqeechysquuchy9076]

Who says year 7’s

[@ThomasFarquhar2]

@@sqeechysquuchy9076 UK people

[@smoog]

Like you're allowed within 500 yards of a primary school.

[@rehmmyteon5016]

i'm year 7 and that's offensive. i know integral calculus

[@zaeroses1096]

@@ThomasFarquhar2 people in many more places than the UK. I'd imagine most English speaking countries, but I'm not sure. I know that in three out of the four countries I've lived in have been sorted into years like this.

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

I had Dr. Nim as a kid!! The manual was the most detailed, text filled set of toy instructions I ever got (not including model instructions). If I'm remembering correctly, there was a section at the end of the manual which explained computer programming or the logic needed for one. I remember using that info and programming my own Dr. Nim game in HP Basic on a "time share" HP1000 computer. Oh, and, it was saved on lunched yellow paper tape that you had to reload to play.

[@Roflmager]

lol one of the comment replies linked a pdf version. I checked it out and got flashbacks to my math and computer science textbooks

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

Jimmy Yuan Hahahahahahaha!!

[@Nicks_Pix]

Must have been a real pain keeping that little bird fed that lived inside the machine (snicker - I used one of those as well)

[@b0r0din988]

i added the 256 like for the lols (and the binary) :)

[@orbonds3603]

I like pu**y but money comes first...willie d

[@saschaschneider9157]

Cool! Didn't know there was a plastic verstion of nim. Back in the programming lectures at school we developed this game. It was meant as demonstration for us that AI's in games are not really AI's. In our version it were imaginary matchen wich the opponents have to get from the stack. That the "AI" not always wins, we put some randomness into the number it chooses to put the matches.

[@mllive]

S

[@TheTomtaru]

Ah, a recommended video where is hair was still on top of his head instead of on his chin XD

[@felipedeornelas8054]

Which looks much worse

[@compoflask6262]

Dude lmao how is he supposed to control baldness, with a math trick?

[@rezneba101]

@@compoflask6262 Looks like he did actually try to control it.... not a good idea imo

[@okrajoe]

Story of my life - getting beat by a 1950s plastic computer.

[@Vitorruy1]

okrajoe what is the story of your life?

[@yourresume373]

Vitorruy1 They just told you

[@awawpogi3036]

1960s*

[@jessicas6475]

1960

[@ParkourMaster924]

okrajoe 1960’s

[@finn_underwood]

So... to win when you go first, you discretely add a coin? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds an awful lot like cheating...

[@iamchillydogg]

Isn't playing with the knowledge that if you go second you are unbeatable cheating?

[@finn_underwood]

iamchillydogg The game itself isn't inherently rigged. When players use a strategy that never fails, it's not cheating, it's just simple strategy. They aren't changing or breaking rules.Just taking advantage of a winning maneuver. Like going against someone in Tic-Tac-Toe, but they have an actual strategy while you're just randomly filling in boxes. If they win, its because they had a better strategy, not because they were cheating. At least, that's my perspective on it. As long as both players can agree on and follow established rules, anything goes, provided it doesn't break those rules. When being taught the game, the new player would learn that there are twelve coins, and thus it becomes one of the foundation rules. Adding an extra coin is breaking said rule.

[@iamchillydogg]

+Finn Underwood Knowing the second player always wins is the definition of rigging.

[@finn_underwood]

iamchillydogg Rigging isn't necessarily cheating. Besides, this version doesn't break any rules. It could be called strategy in a court of law, and it would have a fair shot of getting out scott free, if you compare it to adding the coin. One of these tactics is subtle, one is not. Adding the coin makes it go from a strategic misdirection and manipulation into downright cheating and lying. Note: I am going off of MY definition of cheating, which is simply breaking rules of a game. Having a strategic advantage is permitable if no rules or regulations are broken. It's not really fair, no; it's playing dirty. Playing dirty is frowned upon, sure, but it isn't breaking any rules.

[@curtisbrown547]

the game is inherently unfair. trying to say that player 2 is using a "strategy" is nonsense. there is a right way to play the game as player 2 an a wrong way. it's utterly binary. on the other hand there is no correct way of playing player 1's role other than to quit. there is no strategy. there is litteraly correct an incorrect. thus player 2 is already cheating because if he is playing correctly player 1 can't win. no matter what happens. the presumption of playing a game is that you can win. if one player cannot win then that is cheating. if you say it is not cheating then it is not a game. thus if playing for money it is stealing. which is a form of cheating. if not being played for money well it's not longer a game so you can't say it's fairplay because it's not a game. it's a time waster. but it can be argued that your cheating people out of there time if they do not understand the player 2 = winner strategy

[@aaronwalderslade]

Nym is a character from Shakespeare, derived from an old word "nimmer" meaning "thief"

[@OrangeShellGaming]

...which comes from the old English word "to nim" meaning "to take", which is more likely what this game was named after.

[@scepticusverisimillimenonm8450]

In German, you say "Nimm!" For "Take!" ...

[@SkippiiKai]

@@scepticusverisimillimenonm8450 I really like candy, so I'd always lose this game because I'd always take two. :(

[@klausbrinck2137]

@@scepticusverisimillimenonm8450 English derives from celtic but foremost, from german...

[@aztextwistt8024]

yooooo, I remember watching this in 2017 but i forgot about it then I got it in my recommendations. thanks to my recommendations for resurfacing this treasure i lost

[@MyChevySonic]

To beat this, switch it back to your turn and just go again. Then declare computers will never be better than humans and viciously hammer and destroy the game board.

[@obetcampos6585]

Bits of Pulp this is the best.

[@greenaum]

Yeah but these things probably go for a fortune on Ebay, so you lose.

[@waytogopaul5573]

ez clap

[@cryptexify]

This was my data structures project. We make the game of Nim (take 1 or 2) with n number of marbles, the computer generates the decision tree for it, assigns values for each node, then makes a decision on its turn using the MinMax algorithm.

[@standupmaths]

Good work! It's a nice game to decision-tree as the optimal-play strategy is easy to follow.

[@cryptexify]

standupmaths This is particularly true for zero-sum games like Nim. What's interesting about the 1/2 version of Nim is that its tree has a number of nodes that increases according to the Fibonacci sequence (exponential growth in the numberof nodes) as you increase n, which is intuitive since you either take one ball and go one direction in the tree, or two balls and go in the other, so the number of nodes (let's call it V(n)) is: V(n) = V(n-1) + V(n-2) +1. And of course solving this gives you the closed formula for the Fibonacci sequence + a constant.

[@happmacdonald]

@standupmaths Relevant XKCD xkcd.com/832/

[@happmacdonald]

Rule #1 of XKCD club: every situation has a relevant XKCD. Congratulations on being one of today's 10,000 xkcd.com/1053/

[@AshtonSnapp]

Finian Blackett What is XKCD?

[@dreamwolf7302]

i literally had a player in a DnD campaign use this to trick the BBEG out of a world destroying weapon... "I challenge the Warlock to a game of Nim" Warlock (me as DM) rolled a 1 and thus, the Warlock fell for it...and went first... Gotta say, it was a smart move from the party's Barbarian, who was the only one above 1/4 HP...if they had tried to fight it would have been a loss...

[@lextatertotsfromhell7673]

Dream Wolf liar, barbarians aren’t smart enough to know about this

[@dreamwolf7302]

@@lextatertotsfromhell7673 The Barbarian was a bit smarter than most, he was a professional gambler (sleezebag scammer) of course, whenever he lost his temper or lost a match, he just killed the winner...

[@RainingOnMyParade]

@@dreamwolf7302 omg thats amazing. I love it and want to do this in a campaign

[@nicolamasiello2147]

Cool

[@teridactyl1250]

Dream Wolf And the warlock accepted defeat?

[@chip2508]

2:20 "And just to rub it in, as it wins, it puts the lever back over to say it's now my go to suck." *awkward silence*

[@liams923]

I remember playing a game like this with my second grade class called 21, where you could say one, two, or three numbers in a row, and whoever said 21 lost. So, for example, player one goes 1,2 then player two goes 3, player four goes 4, 5, 6. Then if someone had to say 21, they were out and we started again. The last person left won. I remember being very proud of myself for finding out the trick described in the video

[@bobbobby9056]

I played it to back in early 90s

[@bobbobby9056]

+bob bobby *too

[@norinavalkyrie6654]

Ive played it recently. Its called 21 dares. The loser has to do a dare.

[@solidsnakeeathe]

what if he said 20? what if somebody take 10/12 coins? I never knew about this game, just want to clarify this

[@solidsnakeeathe]

what if he said 20? what if somebody take 10/12 coins? I never knew about this game, just want to clarify this

[@barslyck]

channel named Stand-up Maths *sits down* me:CLICKBAIT

[@navyntune8158]

I got it

[@romusa10]

I got it too

[@NN-sp9tu]

I got it also

[@hidere4581]

I got it aswell

[@themajordome4108]

I got it either

[@darkfent]

After 5 years, this got recommended again. Welcome back Nim. I think I got it recommended for the stone game in SMT Strange Journey

[@khaozero]

This vid is recommended every year to me.

[@Tytoalba777]

Dr. Nim's AI is to OP, plz nerf

[@temptica7982]

xD It's not rainbow six siege or so xD

[@justinmoody9784]

I don’t know anything about this game other then what he explained but couldn’t you just release two balls immediately after each other so the ‘counter’ sees them as one balls, force the ‘computer’ to loose count. This way the computer will make all the moves to lose without knowing it. It’s a simple contraption and it seems that counting for this computer takes way to long, unless this is explicitly against the rules or the button is designed in a way to prevent this you should theoretically win every time

[@fiftyplus2020]

Justin Moody r/whoosh

[@elcabrondeldariel2291]

Sakurai Plz nerf

[@hardbathsalts3143]

@@justinmoody9784 he said "if you play by the rules you wil always lose." I havent read the manual, but id bet thats against the rules.

[@nnwp9160]

Why does this keep appearing in my recommend list every few months? KZbin keeps forgetting that I've seen this already. Does this happen to anybody else?

[@mitchjohnson4714]

Yes. KZbin assumes I forgot I watched a video and tries to serve it up to me again. It’s so annoying.

[@ethelegend27]

Yeah me 2

[@jochenstacker7448]

You need to beat the game, or else it will keep popping up

[@BestHakase]

Press the menu button, select "not interested", "i saw this before"

[@benjaminnewlon7865]

Yep

[@sagelg]

Idk how many times I’ve seen this video pop up in my recommended tab over the past like 4 years

[@mattjns]

Same. Here we are again!......(I’m totally watching again)

[@raymondc9513]

I'm glad this was in my recommended 5 years later. This is some cool stuff!

[@0x777]

You could simply sum up the strategy in one single sentence: Make sure there's a multiple of 4 tokens on the table when it's your opponent's turn. The game was actually pretty popular with aging con men that didn't have the speed in their hands anymore to swindle money out of people with the three shell game. But the mechanical implementation is really awesome.

[@renyputman7118]

It's 3AM, not sleeping and what am I doing? I'm watching a video about a guy explaining the strategy of a game from the 60s and I'm enjoying it.

[@hardstyledontstop356]

Reny Putman I’m doing it right now

[@Cyba_IT]

Me too. Always find the most interesting stuff at 3am

[@P3DR0877]

Right lol

[@magichands135]

Reads this at exactly 3am

[@michaelb4439]

Well, the Dr. Nim automated version of Nim from the 60s, but the game itself is from the 1500s or (most likely) earlier.

[@SuperSpyMario]

I think this game was the inspiration for creating the mini-game Honey Comb Havoc from Mario Party 2. Which by the way was so fun beating my friends and the CPU at it as I knew how to manipulate them to getting the bee hives.

[@aqueousone]

I loved this toy as a kid.... used it to do my math(s) homework! Ahh that rhythmic three-marble-drop sound of defeat brings back such feelings of failure.

[@Mr.D.C.]

5:20 The mystery of the disappearing coin

[@Mr.D.C.]

6:43 oh there it is. Nice Magic trick Mr. Parker

[@vejymonsta3006]

NIM upside-down is WIN

[@hellodownthere3763]

backwards and upside-down

[@confuzedgraphite]

shawn wicks yes definitely NIM backwards is DEFINITELY win it's not like there's no w or anything

[@hiiroji_5419]

shawn wicks bro.... NIM backwards is MIN with a reversed N..... smh

[@confuzedgraphite]

Ethan Ho okay? What are you trying to get at? If you're saying it like a list, as in 'NIM upside down is win, the same is true if it's backwards' that's incorrect. Or if you're saying it as a movement, as in 'I flipped the letters in NIM backwards and then upside down.' It's still incorrect. If you flipped the letters in NIM in they will not spell win, not unless you had a mirror, but that's cheating.

[@amandab5941]

Ethan Ho, not backwards, just upside down. write it out and flip the paper.

[@ellaquin]

I remember this video from a few years ago, I love watching it again

[@shnob4916]

"Luxury of going first" *laughs in plastic*

[@stefanoatzeni9179]

AHAHAHHAH

[@paulstaker8861]

"it's fantastic"

[@SkiDooRydr]

1960's Game makers hate him!

[@danielholowaty2648]

Click to know how -->

[@alterego2498]

NIM upside down is WIN hmmmm...

[@eodderby3166]

I think you may have somthing there

[@yopedip4048]

hmmmmm

[@dusty4102]

It would be ‘WIN’ if you flipped it as well. Otherwise, NIM upside down would be NIW

[@chewyhirai7166]

HMMMMMMMM

[@matthewreynolds8025]

Just spin it 180

[@melkiorwiseman5234]

I remember seeing a computer version of this Nim game using 21 "matches" (or any other item) where the object was the opposite - to force your opponent into having to take the last match. The strategy was the same, though.

[@aliyah9254]

A slightly different version of this game is played in the 1961 French New Wave film Last Year at Marienbad. The character who plays it uses it as a sort of parlor trick, fascinating all his fellow aristocrats by his unmatched skill. It vaguely serves as a metaphor for this character's controlling and manipulative nature, but it's never demonstrated in the film that it's a hermetically sealed set of forcing moves determined from the outset, so it's very cool to see some of the mechanics behind it.

[@ericdietz1795]

Roger Ebert liked the movie a lot more than I did; neither of us seem to have made much sense of the game.

[@taylorrobin8044]

Hi Matt, love your vids

[@standupmaths]

Thanks! I love your comments.

[@taylorrobin8044]

+standupmaths I loved your book too btw

[@Fematika]

And pi is better than tau. It is as simple as that.

[@Fematika]

Why? What if you want to find the area of a circle/sphere?

[@Fematika]

Yes, but all of the equations using tau, could you not just use 2*pi?

[@Formulka]

rotate NIM upside down and you get WIN

[@TijmenvandenBogaert]

+Simon opdebeeck Did you say COINcidence?

[@CoconutJones_]

+Formulka Also, if you rotate the NIM board upside down when you've finished a round, all the marbles will load themselves back into the top part, ready for the next game. Wins all round

[@ryanzarmbinski7446]

You've cracked the code!

[@adampoultney8737]

Illuminati confirmed

[@JonasC22]

but wont all the marbles fall out?

[@coalcreekdefense8106]

Thank you for syncing the placement of the marbles with the intro music. It made my brain feel good. 😌

[@vinnybonboot]

Would love to see a follow up on the 5-year anniversary of this video! Maybe talking about the multi-pile nim strategies?

[@davincent98]

3:00 You're going to show us the secret of Nim?

[@nutlet1]

I guess it's dr.nim's go

[@MagnusSkiptonLLC]

The secret is there's really a super-intelligent mouse running it inside that's voiced by Eric Idle.

[@slaydgaming1581]

davincent98ko

[@grantdoesanimation9490]

Haha

[@-Zippy2707]

I belidva that the top 3 plastic things control it all. And that it always ends with the last peg open

[@haxorinator8219]

PSA: It was patched last update :/

[@thecommonfool2110]

It works again after patch 1.56

[@AlFredo-sx2yy]

too op and game breaking, pls volvo fix

[@limitlessbeast3867]

Thanks, I missed those notes!

[@uncle_lulu02]

They updated their privacy policy

[@bad_milk9743]

Haxor inator sorry but in patch 2.7 there is a bug where dr. Nim doesn't go.

[@NonisLuck]

Brilliant mechanic system. Great video

[@hiker64]

The first game I remember having when I was little in the 1960s - I had no idea what I was doing. I just liked playing with the marbles.

[@Laurabeck329]

Now we know what the secret of nim is. *cricket sound* I'll just walk myself out.

[@nychold]

+Mihovil Beck I see what you did there.

[@evknucklehead]

+Mihovil Beck Mrs. Frisby would be so proud. Except for the (somewhat necessary) spelling difference...

[@axelfirekirby]

+Mihovil Beck LOL

[@nychold]

ErizotDread Excuse me, pardon me.

[@ErizotDread]

nychold lol...BRIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSBEEEEEEEEEEE...oh no, Auntie Shrew!

[@extrememiner9627]

I have no idea why this was recommended but i watched it anyways for some reason.

[@TimothyPeierls]

That really takes me back: We had Dr. Nim growing up in the '60s, along with Digi-Comp I, another plastic educational toy by the same manufacturer (E.S.R., Inc.) that was more like a programmable computer. I think we might also have had a Digi-Comp II. I had started reading Martin Gardner's columns in Scientific American around that time. It was pretty clear that I was going into computer science even then...

[@jakefromstatefarm1405]

Yet again, the great algorithm delivers me a gem of an old video 👍

[@peterholthoffman]

In the mid-1960s, I got an Amazing Dr Nim for my birthday when I was about 8. It was my favorite toy! The manual is really good and gave eight year-old me a lot to think about.

[@codywaller2840]

I remember having to find a way to code this is high school for a final exam, but we called it match sticks. We had to program different difficulties with the hardest being “impossible”, where the program always wins. Looking back I never knew it was anywhere near this deep

[@aryan_kumar]

We used to play this game in primary school but we used to count instead of using marbles and the goal was to NOT say 21 (so it would be like playing this game with 20 marbles since the winning person needs to count to 20). I remember we used to always tell the other person to start first because if the other person started, it meant that you could count until 4, 8, 12, 16 and then at last count until 20 (so that the other person has to say 21 and loses). It quickly died out though because after a few months everyone knew the rule.

[@hhhpestock951]

Still waiting for that video on multi-pile NIM by the way

[@Bradlalb123]

This seems like a board game you would find in an insane asylum

[@epicboomshine6595]

Cue Dr. Ashens staring into a numbers station broadcast with Tetris music while in a straitjacket.

[@nightlydisaster5183]

Wouldn’t board games in an insane asylum try to help people become less insane?

[@casadilla111]

Or put you in one, really.

[@edgeisloveedgeislife5439]

Nah, the plastic pieces are too sharp for that.

[@wintermagpie13]

@@nightlydisaster5183 You'd think, but when I was in hospital one of the only board games in there was a game called "mind trap". Which i though was hilarious, despite the fact that it's very existence was making me paranoid.

[@tupe444]

So this was the original dark souls?

[@av0-cad03]

tupe 12 XD

[@everything9137]

666 likes

[@apokatastasian2831]

Drop 1 ball *Mauled by cougar*

[@MrRandy494]

The slots on the red game board , which allow the marbles or what ever to roll in bring to mind the landscaping in Peru. All those drawings on the earth. Looks like huge dr. NIM game boards.

[@vjchapa1981]

I never heard of this! Thank you very much for sharing. I enjoyed your video very much and also learned something new.

[@mirrimiau]

Nice save with the edit at 5:24. It was about to get awkward with 13 coins! :)

[@mirrimiau]

Also, love your videos! You are an inspiration to us all

[@standupmaths]

Ha, very well noticed! I had accidentally left my bonus coin on the table when setting up.

[@David460]

+Naksahtanut ha, I also noticed that but, by the time it got to the end I forgot :))))) good memory! P

[@MrBob-bj6kk]

Naksahtanu

[@suomidude5707]

Naksahtanut moi

[@lethalbacon3350]

seems like cheating adding another coin

[@theaquaforcegal1067]

Gustavo RockyTNT but they would want you to go first because they figured out the strategy. so now they are in the situation if you take 1 coin.

[@supremecaffeine2633]

Warange1x25 If it's a strategy it's not cheating.

[@TreetopCanopy]

Since it changes the game conditions, it's cheating. It is a sting, though, so it's normal.

[@supremecaffeine2633]

Joseph Engelhardt Changing the conditions of the game is cheating? Well shit, u better go tell weather not to fuck up sporting events. Once a person knows how the game works it only makes sense to trip them up.

[@TreetopCanopy]

"Weather may change" is part of outdoor sporting conditions. Slipping an extra coin in while the other player isn't looking is like deflating a football.

[@AndyMakesPlaylists]

So happy to see this funny and smarter-than-I-am video! I owned a Dr. Nim game when it was new and I was in 5th (and own one now). I've never noticed the guns! I loved the booklet as much as the game because I couldn't believe you could play it on paper to.

[@paulriggall8370]

That was such an enjoyable video. Really clever and simple at the same time.

[@mozartchopin3306]

Thank you for telling us the secret of nim

[@killerkitten7534]

Ha

[@BigSkippy1263]

I see what you did there.

[@b4uc2far95]

Nice!

[@0x777]

Came here for this comment. Wasn't disappointed.

[@badcornflakes6374]

An American classic just like the board game

[@shivdini6277]

Does this still apply to patch 2.0.17 ?

[@humanrightsviolation7987]

No, this has been hotfixed apparently. Supposedly, there's someone else who claims they've been doing something similar on the PTR, so we'll have to see once that goes live.

[@sigmundfraud7068]

I was recommended this like a year or two ago, and now I’m being recommended it again

[@MrTwostring]

My friend had one of these back in the day. I'm sure it was old back then. I'd used an Apple II but not many people had one of their own - although I wanted one - and I remember pondering the concept of whether Dr Nim was really a "computer."

[@shadowdragon992001]

my first experience with this game was in Tales of Phantasia on the GBA. computer always picked a random number and would let you pick who goes first, or something. basically giving you the ability to beat him if you were smart enough.. but the game was also timed, so you had to do the math quick. loved it.

[@nathanapplegate5374]

This reminds me of an episode of "Cyberchase."

[@RaulDiaz-mp8ms]

One of the first few episodes. The dragons right?

[@RaulDiaz-mp8ms]

Nathan Applegate The best theme.

[@nathanapplegate5374]

Yes. It was a Japanese Samurai themed episode

[@snugglehyena9171]

the shangra la one right?

[@rockerseven]

OMG I loved that show!

[@Barnaclebeard]

I heard about this 30 years ago but this is the first I've seen it!

[@jamesmiddleton8335]

I worked out how to win this game every time when I was 9. I have always loved working out things like this.

[@Jhet]

it's not a piece of plastic from the 60s it's THE piece of plastic from the 60s

[@maxmustermann-ie6ic]

Jhet_writes But is it - ThePlastic27?

[@silverglxtch]

max mustermann dead

[@maxmustermann-ie6ic]

DasherMega1// xXDarkRoyalsXx Dont care.

[@silverglxtch]

max mustermann ok

[@TheRedEncryption]

LUL

[@Nexxarian]

If you're gambling using this strategy and have to put down a 13th coin so you'll win, you'll get murked by your opponent.

[@romusa10]

Hey you set the rule so you can go second, if they want to change the rule,you can also do it. Besides,if the opponent dont know the secret,you can still win even tho you go first

[@JamesKaplonek]

Just add more coins, so using 21. Let them choose to go first, or if you do. Start off slightly differently by only taking 1 at a time and at some point along the way, just ensure that the remaining coins are a multiple of 4 (4, 8, 12, 16) at the end of one of your turns. Then revert back to using the strategy explained here and you will always win! If they try to outsmart you and say "Ok then whoever takes the last one LOSES not wins" then you can say alright, and do exactly the same but make sure that at the end of your turns the remaining coins are a multiple of 4 plus 1 (5, 9, 13, 17) and then again fall back to watching what they take and always make that up to 4 on your turn. Then you can force them to always take the last coin instead of you taking it. The only danger with that is that if they found out your strategy then they will be able to block you from reaching those multiples, but by this point you've probably played them so many times you can just call it off first or let them win once for the sake of it :D Simple and no cheating :D

[@thriveman]

i remember this board game as a kid... good work....

[@alexanderhahn4398]

Nice touch, casually placing the marbles into place to the beat of your intro theme. It's the little details which are so easily overlooked, but you do them anyway.

[@ThatMarisaPerson]

Basically for a tl;dr Make them go first, make sure 4 marbles/pennies/whatever are taken after you go, being sure 4 are taken after both players go. Do this and you win every time.

[@davidbethke5463]

This might have been clearer if he had used 4 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 4 green ones. Then you'd really see how Nim leaves the "board" at the end of his turns.

[@xilo_infinite7445]

Dam i don't think your speaking English

[@sahibmujabee1177]

UnKnOwN player59 ironic

[@bhatkrishnakishor]

David Bethke useful for teaching kids multiples.

[@KatorNia]

@UnKnOwN player59 -Dam- *Damn* -i- *I* (capital "i") -your- *you're* Add a full stop (period) at the end & you're all set. _I guess you're not speaking English either...?_ ;)

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

I had a Dr. Nim way back when. I actually wrote a BASIC program to play the game on the Time-Shared HP in New Hampshire via TTY based on the game's manual back in 1972.

[@Flippirino]

This was a great throwback recommendation

[@ncot_tech]

A variation of this was given out one year as a GCSE Computer Science programming project. The variation the students had to code had 21 sticks to try and mask the maths needed to always win.