Add one matchstick to make an even number. No matchstick may bay be moved.
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In these days matchsticks are increasingly harder to come by for a variety of reasons. Of course it is very good that the number of smokers is falling. Those who still yield to this unhealthy habit seem to prefer other ways to light their cigarettes. Other forms of smoking tobacco such as cigars and pipes have also decreased dramatically, at least in my personal surroundings.
In the home matchsticks were mainly used to light the fire for cooking. The introduction of electric cooking has made them largely superfluous.
Luckily, matchstick puzzles can also be made with other materials such as toothpicks and nails (not the ones on your finger, but the ones you beat into wood). There are a fair number of matchstick puzzles on the web, and here is a small selection:
- http://matchstickpuzzles.blogspot.nl/ – my personal favorite, with over 300 of them, and devoted solely to matchstick puzzles. Also the most extensive one, and contains more puzzles than some of my matchstick puzzle books
- http://blog.aimsedu.org/category/puzzle/toothpick-puzzles/ – an excellent overview with lots of historical info. A mix of logic and math problems, and as far as i know the first to call them toothpick puzzles.
- http://www.puzzles.com/PuzzlePlayground/Matches.htm a nice collection
justpuzzles 