Puzzle Nekst 1 2018-2019

Mister J.J. Hoven and Mister J.J. Boske are two notorious pirates. Both have found a big treasure full of golden coins and they both like to gamble! They meet at a sunny, but mysterious  cave located in an island in the Caribbean Sea. In this cave, J.J. Hoven found an ancient wooden, but somehow perfectly square shaped table! He challenges J.J. Boske for a challenge and the latter gladly accepts this, after which they take a seat at this precious table.

J.J. Hoven places a coin on the table and after him, J.J. Boske does this too. Both players keep on doing this with one restriction: coins can not touch each other. Whoever is the last to put a coin on the table – meaning that he fills the last spare room between the other coins – is the winner and he wins all the coins present on the table!

The table is bigger than one coin – otherwise the game is over after the first move – and all used coins should be of identical size and composition.

For one of the pirates, there exists a strategy for which he can always win this game. Who is this: J.J. Hoven, who moves first or J.J. Boske, who moves second? And which strategy does he use?

Please send in your answer at nekst-online.nl.

Among the good answers, a winner will be drawn, who can choose between a crate of beer and a pie as a prize.