Paper by Erik D. Demaine

Reference:
Erik D. Demaine and Martin L. Demaine, “2,664 Coin-Sliding Font Puzzles”, in Exchange Book of the 13th Gathering for Gardner (G4G13), Atlanta, Georgia, April 12–15, 2018.
BibTeX
@InCollection{CoinSlidingFont_G4G13,
  AUTHOR        = {Erik D. Demaine and Martin L. Demaine},
  TITLE         = {2,664 Coin-Sliding Font Puzzles},
  BOOKTITLE     = {Exchange Book of the 13th Gathering for Gardner (G4G13)},
  bookurl       = {https://www.gathering4gardner.org/g4g13-exchange-book/},
  ADDRESS       = {Atlanta, Georgia},
  MONTH         = {April 12--15},
  YEAR          = 2018,

  unrefereed    = 1,
  length        = {6 pages},
  webpages      = {fonts/coinsliding},
  category      = {art},
  comments      = {This paper is also available from <A HREF="https://www.gathering4gardner.org/g4g13-exchange-book/">the online exchange book</A>.},
}

Abstract:
We present two font designs, each with 37 symbols (letters, digits, and slash), as grid configurations of the same number of coins. Each pair of symbols (say, A and B) forms a puzzle: re-arrange the first symbol (A) into the second (B) by a sequence of moves. Each move picks up one coin and places it in an empty grid cell that is adjacent to at least two other coins (the “2-adjacency” rule). We also present an online puzzle video game to play all 2,664 of these puzzles, where you can try to set the record on the minimum number of moves.

Comments:
This paper is also available from the online exchange book.

Length:
The paper is 6 pages.

Availability:
The paper is available in PDF (391k).
See information on file formats.
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Related webpages:
Coin Sliding Font


See also other papers by Erik Demaine.
These pages are generated automagically from a BibTeX file.
Last updated January 22, 2026 by Erik Demaine.