#185 - Number Mind
The game Number Mind is a variant of the well known game Master Mind.
Instead of coloured pegs, you have to guess a secret sequence of digits. After each guess you're only told in how many places you've guessed the correct digit. So, if the sequence was 1234 and you guessed 2036, you'd be told that you have one correct digit; however, you would NOT be told that you also have another digit in the wrong place.
For instance, given the following guesses for a 5-digit secret sequence,
90342 ;2 correct
70794 ;0 correct
39458 ;2 correct
34109 ;1 correct
51545 ;2 correct
12531 ;1 correct
The correct sequence 39542 is unique.
Based on the following guesses,
5616185650518293 ;2 correct
3847439647293047 ;1 correct
5855462940810587 ;3 correct
9742855507068353 ;3 correct
4296849643607543 ;3 correct
3174248439465858 ;1 correct
4513559094146117 ;2 correct
7890971548908067 ;3 correct
8157356344118483 ;1 correct
2615250744386899 ;2 correct
8690095851526254 ;3 correct
6375711915077050 ;1 correct
6913859173121360 ;1 correct
6442889055042768 ;2 correct
2321386104303845 ;0 correct
2326509471271448 ;2 correct
5251583379644322 ;2 correct
1748270476758276 ;3 correct
4895722652190306 ;1 correct
3041631117224635 ;3 correct
1841236454324589 ;3 correct
2659862637316867 ;2 correct
Find the unique 16-digit secret sequence.
Problem text © Project Euler, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Original: projecteuler.net/problem=185. Published Saturday, 8th March 2008, 01:00 am. Solved by 3,694 members at time of mirroring.
Why this is useful
Optimization. The transferable skill is replacing infeasible enumeration with a mathematical reduction - the core move in calibration and large-scale computation (Phases 10, 13).
We classify relevance honestly - not every Euler problem is a trading application.
Prerequisites
Lessons that prepare you:
17.1 Python for Quants: NumPy, pandas, and Vectorization · 19.14 Computational Complexity, Feasibility Estimation, and Proving Algorithms Correct · 19.7 Dynamic Programming: Memoization and Tabulation · 19.6 Recurrence Relations and Generating Functions · 2.7 Sequences, Series, Convergence, and Power Series
Recommended stepping-stone problems: #605 · #770 · #951
Concepts: game-theory sequences-series brute-force-reduction
Likely techniques: hashing
Learning mode
Pick how much scaffolding you want. Your choice is remembered per problem.
Understand the problem
- What exactly is the input to problem 185? Is it a bound (16), a supplied dataset, or a definition you must generate from?
- What is the required output - restate it precisely: a single exact integer.
- Which objects exactly are in scope, and which are excluded by the wording (strict vs non-strict inequality, 'distinct', 'proper', 'below' vs 'up to')?
- What constraint does the bound 16 impose, and is it inclusive or exclusive?
- What are the edge cases: the smallest legal object, zero/one, ties, and the boundary at exactly 16?
- Why is brute force hard HERE specifically? Estimate the number of candidates implied by 16 and the cost of testing one.
- Which game-theory fact would, if true, collapse the search - and can you state it as a testable claim before you look for a proof?
Predict & plan (before you code)
- Predict the strategy: in one sentence, what will your solution do? (The classification says game-theory / hashing - do you agree, and why?)
- Predict the complexity of your intended method in terms of N = 16, and the wall-clock time you expect. Write both down now.
- Predict the key data structure: what is stored, keyed by what, and how large will it get at full scale?
- Predict the failure mode: what is most likely to break - an off-by-one on the bound, a definition misread, precision, or memory?
- Predict the output of the small case from rung 3 BEFORE running it (the statement says: "For instance, given the following guesses for a 5-digit secret sequence, 90342;2 correct 70794;0 correct 39458;2 correct 34109;1 correct 51545;2 correct 12531;1 correct The correct sequence 39542 is unique.") - then run it. A surprise here is worth more than an hour of debugging later.
Scratchpad
Mathematical notes, formulas, pseudocode, hypotheses, complexity notes. Saved automatically with your progress.
Python workbench
Real Python (Pyodide) in a sandboxed Web Worker - no network, no filesystem, no DOM access. Ctrl/Cmd+Enter runs. Escape leaves the editor. Stop terminates the worker.
Check your answer
Answers are checked against a salted hash held in a separate file - not printed in this page. This prevents accidental spoilers; it is not cryptographic protection (see the build notes).
Progressive hints
Optimization
You have a correct answer. That is the start of the learning, not the end.
- Reduce the time complexity. What is the bottleneck, and what mathematical fact removes it?
- Reduce memory. Can you stream, or keep only the last k states?
- Replace brute force with a closed form, a sieve, a recurrence, or a symmetry argument.
- Prove the optimized version computes the same thing.
- Compare two implementations and time them.
Explain it
Which step of your solution were you least confident about, and what evidence would settle it?
What did you try first, and what specifically made you abandon it - a proof, a timing, or a wrong small-case answer?
Where did the game-theory structure do the real work? Name the single observation that collapsed the search space.
Could you have reached the hashing idea faster? Which words in the statement were pointing at it, and did you notice them?
What was the bug that cost you the most time, and what CLASS of bug was it (off-by-one, definition misread, precision, state under-specified)?
How would your solution change if the bound 16 were multiplied by 1000? Does it survive, or does it need a different idea?
What is the honest complexity of what you wrote (not what you intended), and where is the remaining slack?
Which problem you have already solved is this most similar to, and what is the shared skeleton - is it really 'hashing' underneath?
State the transferable technique in one sentence, without mentioning this problem's story at all.
Self-assess (mastery is not a correct number)
You reach Mastered only when you have solved it, rated yourself at least Solid across the dimensions, and written a real explanation.
Confidence
Low confidence schedules this problem for spaced review, even if you solved it.
Mastery check
- Variation: change the bound (or a rule) in the statement. Does your method still work? What breaks first?
- Constraints: if the limit were 10× larger, which step fails, and what would you replace it with?
- Related problem: #605 · #770 · #951
- Transfer: where else does this technique appear? Name a lesson and a real computational setting.
- Spaced re-attempt: come back after the review interval and re-solve it with no hints.