# Algorithmic Puzzles

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{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| image             = Algorithmic Puzzles.jpg
| author            = Anany Levitin, Maria Levitin
| pub_date          = 2011
| publisher         = [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press)
| caption           = First edition
}}

'''''Algorithmic Puzzles''''' is a book of puzzles based on [computational thinking](/source/computational_thinking). It was written by computer scientists Anany and Maria Levitin, and published in 2011 by [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press).

==Topics==
The book begins with a "tutorial" introducing classical algorithm design techniques including [backtracking](/source/backtracking), [divide-and-conquer algorithm](/source/divide-and-conquer_algorithm)s, and [dynamic programming](/source/dynamic_programming), methods for the [analysis of algorithms](/source/analysis_of_algorithms), and their application in example puzzles.{{r|gasarch|rosebrock}} The puzzles themselves are grouped into three sets of 50 puzzles, in increasing order of difficulty. A final two chapters provide brief hints and more detailed solutions to the puzzles,{{r|rosebrock}} with the solutions forming the majority of pages of the book.{{r|griffiths}}

Some of the puzzles are well known classics, some are variations of known puzzles making them more algorithmic, and some are new.{{r|narayanan}} They include:
*Puzzles involving chessboards, including the [eight queens puzzle](/source/eight_queens_puzzle), [knight's tour](/source/knight's_tour)s, and the [mutilated chessboard problem](/source/mutilated_chessboard_problem){{r|gasarch|griffiths|narayanan}}
*[Balance puzzle](/source/Balance_puzzle)s{{r|griffiths}}
*[River crossing puzzle](/source/River_crossing_puzzle)s{{r|griffiths|narayanan}}
*The [Tower of Hanoi](/source/Tower_of_Hanoi){{r|narayanan}}
*Finding the missing element in a [data stream](/source/Streaming_algorithm){{r|gasarch}}
*The [geometric median](/source/geometric_median) problem for [Manhattan distance](/source/Manhattan_distance){{r|gasarch}}

==Audience and reception==
The puzzles in the book cover a wide range of difficulty, and in general do not require more than a high school level of mathematical background.{{r|griffiths}}
[William Gasarch](/source/William_Gasarch) notes that grouping the puzzles only by their difficulty and not by their themes is actually an advantage, as it provides readers with fewer clues about their solutions.{{r|gasarch}}

Reviewer Narayanan Narayanan recommends the book to any puzzle aficionado, or to anyone who wants to develop their powers of algorithmic thinking.{{r|narayanan}} Reviewer Martin Griffiths suggests another group of readers, schoolteachers and university instructors in search of examples to illustrate the power of algorithmic thinking.{{r|griffiths}}
Gasarch recommends the book to any computer scientist, evaluating it as "a delight".{{r|gasarch}}

==References==
<references>

<ref name=gasarch>{{citation
 | last = Gasarch | first = William | authorlink = William Gasarch
 | date = December 2013
 | doi = 10.1145/2556663.2556674
 | issue = 4
 | journal = ACM SIGACT News
 | pages = 47–48
 | title = Review of ''Algorithmic Puzzles''
 | url = https://www.cs.umd.edu/~gasarch/bookrev/44-4.pdf
 | volume = 44}}</ref>

<ref name=griffiths>{{citation
 | last = Griffiths | first = Martin
 | date = March 2014
 | issue = 541
 | journal = The Mathematical Gazette
 | jstor = 24496640
 | page = 188
 | title = Review of ''Algorithmic Puzzles''
 | volume = 98| doi = 10.1017/S0025557200001182
 }}</ref>

<ref name=narayanan>{{citation|title=Review of ''Algorithmic Puzzles''|first=Narayanan|last=Narayanan|year=2012|journal=Mathematical Reviews|mr=2866446}}</ref>

<ref name=rosebrock>{{citation|title=Review of ''Algorithmic Puzzles''|first=Stephan|last=Rosebrock|journal=zbMATH|zbl=1233.00005}}</ref>

</references>

{{Authority control}}

Category:Algorithms
Category:Puzzle books
Category:2011 non-fiction books
Category:Oxford University Press books

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Algorithmic Puzzles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_Puzzles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_Puzzles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.