[TEA-T3] IDC4U Inter ...

Icebreaker Activity: The Chilli Game (20 minutes)

Objective: Introduce strategic thinking and problem-solving through a game with AI support.

Setup:

- Items: total chocolates: 13 + a "chilli").

- Players: 2.

- Rules: Each player takes 1, 2, or 3 chocolates per turn. The player who eats the chilli (last chocolate) loses.

Activity Steps:

1. Explain the rules and demonstrate one round.

2. Divide students into pairs to play multiple rounds.

3. Discuss strategies: “What is the optimal way to win?”

4. Use ChatGPT to explain the algorithm behind the game.

5. Ask: “Do you agree with ChatGPT’s explanation? Why or why not?”

In a BBC documentary The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms, professor tells us about a game involving 13 chocolates and a chili. I understand the solution provided by the professor, however, I want to know how can I formulate it?

Basically to understand how are we solving this problem using math? Do we make an algebraic equation? Or is it a combinatorics problem? Or is it just "an algorithm"

Problem Thirteen candies and one hot pepper are placed into a jar. Two people play with the objective to avoid being stuck eating the chili pepper. Each person is allowed to take 1, 2, or 3 candies out of the jar at a time. Turns out the solution is to think mathematically, breaking down the thirteen candies into four even groups. There is a single candy leftover. To win, a person picks one candy first. They wait for their opponnent to pick 1, 2, or 3 candies. It doesn’t matter how many their opponent draws.

Solution As long as the person takes four candies minus how many their opponent took in their turns, they will win. Say the opponent picks three candies, so the person will take only one. In that round, a total of four candies are removed from the jar. This is the winning strategy. By far, this was my favorite segment of the documentary because now I know how to game the system and never have to stoop to eating a whole chili raw.