Alice has a deck of 36 cards, 4 suits of 9 cards each, game with Bob
Source: Tournament of Towns, Junior A-Level Paper, Spring 2020 , p6
June 10, 2020
combinatoricsgame
Problem Statement
Alice has a deck of cards, suits of cards each. She picks any cards and gives the rest to Bob. Now each turn Alice picks any of her cards and lays it face-up onto the table, then Bob similarly picks any of his cards and lays it face-up onto the table. If this pair of cards has the same suit or the same value, Bob gains a point. What is the maximum number of points he can guarantee regardless of Alice’s actions?Mikhail Evdokimov