Nim: the clay crayon strategy game

About Nim

At Challenge Square, the Backyard Town gang has lined up clay crayons in rows on a wooden tray, and the challenge is one of the oldest strategy games around: Nim. On your turn, you take as many crayons as you like, but only from one row; then it's your opponent's turn. Whoever takes the last crayon on the table loses. There are nine levels, each with its own setup: in the first three you play Scribble, who's more about fun than strategy; in the middle three, Nino, who sometimes finds the winning move; and in the last three, Granny Quelonia, who almost never slips up. On level 7, the classic 1-3-5-7 setup, Granny goes first. Every level can be won with the right moves, and HINT lights up the crayons for a winning move. When Granny wins, she teaches you the trick to the game: thinking in groups of 4, 2 and 1. Lost a round? The same level starts over, no penalty. Winning on your first try without a hint earns 3 stars. The game remembers where you left off, and your points for the whole game go to the site TOP 5.

In Selminha's words

“Some say Nim began in China, played with pebbles, and more than a hundred years ago an American professor figured out the secret math for winning. I wanted ours made with clay crayons and the Backyard Town gang across the table, so kids learn the trick while they play.”

How to play Nim and the trick to winning

1. Tap or click a crayon to lift it and the ones to its right in the same row. To change your pick, tap another crayon in that row.
2. Tap TAKE, or tap the same crayon again, to take the crayons you picked. You can take as many as you like, but always from one row only.
3. On your opponent's turn, you'll see them thinking in the frame at the top; the crayons they pick lift up before leaving the table. Whoever takes the last crayon loses.
4. HINT makes the crayons for a winning move glow amber; with a hint, the level is worth 2 stars at most. On a computer, the ↑ ↓ arrows pick the row, ← → how many crayons, Enter or Space takes them and H shows a hint; on a controller, use the D-pad, A to take and B for a hint.
5. Granny's trick: split each row into groups of 4, 2 and 1 and always leave an even number of groups of each size. At the end, when only rows with 1 crayon are left, leave an odd number of them for the other player.

The rules

Your move

On your turn, take as many crayons as you like, from 1 up to the whole row, but always from one row only.

Taking turns

After your move, it's your opponent's turn. The crayons they pick lift up before leaving the table, so you can see the move.

Who loses

Whoever takes the last crayon on the table loses. This is the most common version of Nim.

Lost a round?

The same level starts over, no penalty. There are no lives.

The hint

HINT lights up the crayons for a winning move. If there's no winning move at that moment, it tells you.

Saved game

The game remembers which level you are on. When you come back, you can keep going or start over.

The nine levels and the opponents

Scribble (levels 1–3)

The crayon puppy is more about fun than strategy. Setups of 2 and 3; 3 and 5; and 1, 3 and 4 crayons.

Nino (levels 4–6)

The gang's board game whiz sometimes finds the winning move. Setups of 2, 4 and 5; 3, 4 and 6; and 1, 3, 5 and 6 crayons.

Granny Quelonia (levels 7–9)

She almost never slips up. On level 7, the classic 1-3-5-7 setup, she goes first; then come the 2-4-6-7 and 3-5-6-7 setups.

Always winnable

On every level, the player who makes the right moves wins. Each setup was checked one by one.

Controls on phone and computer

Computer

Tap or click a crayon to lift it and the ones to its right, then TAKE or the same crayon again · ↑ ↓ arrows or W S pick the row · ← → or A D, how many crayons · Enter or Space takes · H hint · P or Esc pauses · M sound · F full screen · controller: D-pad, A takes, B hint, Start pauses.

Touch

Phone held upright, in full screen; on a tablet, the game follows the way you're holding it; on a computer, it's landscape. Tap the crayons directly: each row has a big tap area, so little fingers don't miss. HINT and TAKE sit at the bottom, just above where your thumb rests. Your game is saved on the device.

Stars, points and the trick

Stars

Won on your first try without a hint: 3 stars. With a hint, or after losing once: 2. After losing twice or more: 1.

Points

Each star is worth 100 points on level 1, 200 on level 2 and so on, up to 900 on level 9. A whole game is worth up to 13,500 points.

Leaderboard

After the ninth level, your points for the whole game go to the site TOP 5.

Granny's trick

Split each row into groups of 4, 2 and 1 and always leave an even number of groups of each size. At the end, when only rows with 1 crayon are left, leave an odd number of them.