Have two players create a 4×4 grid of squares (sixteen squares total). Split the grid into four 2×2 sub-grids (four squares in each). To start, Player 1 places one of the numbers {1, 2, 3, 4} in any of the sixteen squares. Next, Player 2 can place one of the numbers {1, 2, 3, 4} in any of the fifteen remaining squares provided that it abides by the rules of Sudoku, i.e., the same number can not appear more than once within any sub-grid, row, or column. Play proceeds between Players 1 and 2 until no more legal moves may be made; the player to make the last legal move is the winner.
This is the game we started the October GBM with, prompting discussion on winning techniques and methods to determine the minimum number of plays needed before the last legal move is made.
After this icebreaker, we went over upcoming October events (including another personal development workshop collaboration with SIAM, following up on our September one on LaTeX) and a volunteer opportunity with the Boys x Girls Club of Worcester (part of an activity collaboration with the Bioinformation and Computational Biology Club).
The GBM ended with general conversation about A-Term experiences and department happenings.