The photograph on the left is of a cardboard match box 5cm long x 3,5cm wide x 1.5cm high.
The outer box is a sleeve. The inner box is white. On the inside of the bottom of the inner box are alternating rows of red and blue rectangles.
In the inner box are 16 .4cm long x 9cm wide red and green wooden sticks. These sticks are placed along the side of each rectangle in order to form a matrix.
This is a game for two players. Each player in turn removes a stick and one adjacent to it from any place in the matrix. The process is repeated by each player. The one who gets to remove the last stick is the winner.
This is a very old "matchstick" game, played in pubs, and which may have originated in the Orient. A number of mathematical papers have been published about games of this type known by the name of "Nim".
Last update March 27, 2010