Happy 23rd of December!
Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of Christmas, Hannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…
We’re getting to the business end of this advent calendar now and the puzzling is getting serious. High stakes stuff today, as Santa needs help getting into that iconic costume…
Two levels of challenge…
Merry:
And Mayhem!
(For the advanced puzzle, note that not every path starting and ending in A involves a complete circuit of the pole. For example, if Santa follows the path ABCDBA, he has not completed a circuit.)
Each time you enter a room, you MUST follow all of the instructions written there.
For extra credit, try to find Santa’s shortest possible path in each case. And for extra extra credit, prove that your path really is the shortest.
Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes.
The answers for these two puzzles won’t be available until Boxing Day, so you have an extra couple of days to think about them.
And join us tomorrow for the final day of the Impossible Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar!
