MathDB

m

boys and

n

girls (

m>n

) sat across a round table, supervised by a teacher, and they did a game, which went like this. At first, the teacher pointed a boy to start the game. The chosen boy put a coin on the table. Then, consecutively in a clockwise order, everyone did his turn. If the next person is a boy, he will put a coin to the existing pile of coins. If the next person is a girl, she will take a coin from the existing pile of coins. If there is no coin on the table, the game ends. Notice that depending on the chosen boy, the game could end early, or it could go for a full turn. If the teacher wants the game to go for at least a full turn, how many possible boys could be chosen?
Hendrata Dharmawan, Boston, USA

Problem Statement