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  <resource>
  <id>2872</id>
  <path>/www/nrich/html/content/id/2872/</path>
  <resourceTypeID>2</resourceTypeID>
  <last_published>2011-02-01T00:00:01</last_published>
  <indexXML>&lt;mdoxml version=&quot;1.0&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Before playing this game, you might like to have a go at the simpler version, &lt;a href=&quot;http://nrich.maths.org/public/viewer.php?obj_id=2871&amp;amp;part=index&quot;&gt;Board Block&lt;/a&gt; .&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;/content/id/2872/circleAngles.swf&quot;&gt;Full Screen Version&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;mdo:flash height=&quot;400&quot; width=&quot;550&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot; value=&quot;true&quot; &gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;/content/id/2872/circleAngles.swf&quot; &gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;flashplayerversion&quot; value=&quot;7&quot; &gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;/mdo:flash&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
This version is also for two players and can be played on the interactive version of the pegboard, or a real circular pegboard if you have one.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
Firstly, choose the number of pegs on your board.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
Decide what shapes you will be allowed to make.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
You could allow:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;triangles and quadrilaterals&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;triangles, quadrilaterals and pentagons&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;triangles, quadrilateral, pentagons and hexagons&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons and...&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Take it in turns to add a band to the board to make any of the shapes you are allowing.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
A band can share a peg with other bands, but the shapes must not overlap (except along the edges and pegs).&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
A player loses when they cannot make a shape on their turn.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
For your choice of shapes, how does the winning strategy change as you increase the number of pegs on the board?&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
If you keep the number of pegs fixed, how does the winning strategy alter as you change the shapes you are permitted to make?&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
How is the game affected if you play to lose?&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
Perhaps you can invent some of your own games using the pegboard? &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:nrich@maths.cam.ac.uk&quot;&gt;Email&lt;/a&gt; us if you&amp;#39;d like to share your ideas.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt;
 &lt;/p&gt;

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  <solutionXML/>
  <noteXML/>
  <clueXML/>
  <canonXML/>
  <end_user_role>2</end_user_role>
  <difficulty>5</difficulty>
  <keystage1>0</keystage1>
  <keystage2>1</keystage2>
  <keystage3>0</keystage3>
  <keystage4>0</keystage4>
  <keystage4plus>0</keystage4plus>
  <title>Board Block Challenge</title>
  <description>Choose the size of your pegboard and the shapes you can make. Can
you work out the strategies needed to block your opponent?</description>
  <spec_group>Using, Applying and Reasoning about Mathematics
    <specifier>Games</specifier>
  </spec_group>
  <spec_group>2D Geometry, Shape and Space
    <specifier>Other polygons</specifier>
  </spec_group>
  <spec_group>Mathematics Tools
    <specifier>Pinboard/geoboard</specifier>
  </spec_group>
  <spec_group>Information and Communications Technology
    <specifier>Interactivities</specifier>
  </spec_group>
</resource>