← Nim

Nim: how to play

Nim is a tiny game with a big secret: take turns picking objects off the shelves, and whoever takes the very last one wins. Play it now or go back to the game page.

The idea

Between three and five heaps of treats (macarons, cakes, teacups, croissants, jam) stand on shelves, with one to nine objects in each heap. You and your opponent take turns. There are no draws: someone always takes the last object and wins.

How to play

1. On your turn, choose one heap.
2. Take as many objects as you like from that heap, at least one, up to the whole heap. You cannot take from two heaps in the same turn.
3. Then it is your opponent's turn.
4. Whoever takes the very last object wins.

Controls

• Phone, tablet or computer: tap (or click) an object to pick it together with all the ones above it in the same heap. The button then reads Take followed by the number you picked, for example "Take 3". Press it to make your move. Before you pick anything it says "Pick objects".
• Changed your mind? Just tap a different object before pressing Take.
• The ? button reopens the short How to play card, which also opens by itself the first time you play. The home button at the top left takes you back to the menu.

Opponents and levels

From the New round menu choose Play the computer and a level, or Two players to play against a friend on the same device.

The top of the round shows the level and who moves first. Each round starts from random heaps, and the first move alternates between you and the computer. In Two players the turns are labelled "Player 1" and "Player 2", and nothing is paid.

Coins, Undo, Hint and Restart

You start with 30 coins, and you get a gift of 30 more each day you come back. Three tools help you in a game against the computer:

• Undo, 10 coins: takes back your last move and the computer's replies, so it is your turn again.
• Hint, 15 coins: marks the objects of a winning move. If there is no winning move, it says so and suggests taking one object.
• Restart: starts the same round again. It is free until you have made a second move, then it costs 5 coins.

After a game, Play again starts a new round and Menu goes back to the menu. If you lose against the computer, the end card also offers Undo (10 coins) to take your last move back. In two-player games all the tools are Free. If you do not have enough coins, the game tells you. Losing pays nothing, but it never costs you coins either.

What is saved

The game remembers your coins, your total points, your record (won and lost for each level, and the wins of each player in two-player games) and whether you have seen the how-to-play card. The record is on the menu under Your record. A round in progress is not saved.

Settings

The game follows your language: English or Italian, chosen automatically. Where the game shows a sound button at the top right, tap it to switch sound on and off.

Tips

• Look for balance. Computers beat Nim with a trick: after your move, the heaps should be "balanced", meaning the player who moves next cannot win with perfect play. The Hint marks exactly such a move.
• The easy endgame. With two heaps of the same size, the player to move loses: whatever one takes, the other copies it from the other heap. If you can leave two equal heaps, do it.
• Think about who starts. About half of the rounds start from a position that is already balanced. If you move first there, a perfect opponent wins, so play on and hope for a slip.
• Hard is beatable. It is only unbeatable once the position favours it. If you start from a winning position and find the right move every turn, you win.
• Learn on Easy. Use the Hint a few times to see the pattern, then try to find the move yourself on Medium before spending coins.
• Near the end, if one heap is all that is left, take it all: that wins on the spot.

Questions or problems? Contact us.