Life is A Test 2: Test Harder (Quite A Bit Harder)

by Brony_of_Brody

Back to Ponyville, No Longer Smelling Like Barbeque

Just as the ceiling retracts back to its original stance, you catch Fluttershy, having finally caught up tp you and Graham, before scolding the enormous dinosaur for skipping his appointment. To your rather unsurprised disappointment, she doesn't blame Graham for trying to eat you. Her fault, really. Asked for a really delicious sauce on this occasion.

Once Graham has taken his pills/been vaccinated/cured of his irritable bowels, you and Fluttershy make the long trek back through Everfree Forest (making doubly sure to not walk downwind of any hungry manticores). She thanks you for all your hard work, but really, all you want to do at this stage is just head back to the hotel you're staying at, sleep this off, then finally go see what Rainbow Dash wants the next day. Shudder...

But Flutters isn't willing to let you go just yet: she actually has the keys to your room, and Princess Celestia has informed Fluttershy that you first need to solve a rather annoying puzzle before she hands it over, thus confirming Celestia as probably the most heartless and vicious ruler of Equestria, forever cemented in your mind.

Once you arrive back at her cottage, she explains the rules to you. Basically, you and Fluttershy are going to play tic-tac-toe. You scoff at the prospect of playing such a simple game, but Flutters does mention that the game comes with a few clauses.

For starters, you will be blindfolded, and won't be able to see the board or your opponent's moves. You will play by announcing which square you will put your nought, and then Fluttershy will place her cross somewhere, but only she will know. In the event you try to place a nought on an occupied square, you will be told so and must call another square until you reach one that isn't occupied. For Fluttershy to hand over the key, you just need to avoid losing ten times in a row. Fail once, and you sleep outside Fluttershy's cottage in the cold tonight. She'd love to invite you inside, but even she, the ex-holder of the Element of Kindness, has to be cruel to be kind, as Celestia told her before you arrived in Ponyville for your exile.

She will, however, allow you to go first in every game. Just as a sporting token of kindness on her part.

The thought of sleeping out where you could be eaten by anything (even the plants under your hooves) is a rather unsettling one, so better get those grey cells working, and fast. So how can you earn the key back from Fluttershy?

Author's Note:

And that's it. Now I just need to think of what the heck rainbow would need help with...

1. You and Fluttershy will play a modified game of tic-tac-toe.
2. You are blindfolded, and must call a square where you'd like to place your nought.
3. Fluttershy will then place her cross, but only she will know where it is.
4. You will be told if you are trying to play in an occupied square, and must call out squares until you announce an unoccupied one.
5. You get to go first.

PUZZLE: What strategy can you devise to guarantee that you never lose?

Comments

[epiccuttlefish]

I have a feeling that this may help come up with a solution...

[Duckgame4life]

Well this seems easy
call any corner
Fluttershy plays
Call dead center, if she played there call a corner(so that the 3 moves dont make a diagonal)
Fluttershy either blocks if she didnt play center first(witch is followed up by another corner and thats game) or if she did play center first we call the middle of the edge that makes our win with the corners, if taken take the other side of the center witch we follow with one last edge middle, and that ends in a tie

[SisselSandvich]

9385652
Doesn't quite work.
Say you play top left, then center. Fluttershy's second move must be in the bottom right to block, but with two moves in the bag, she may be threatening a win on the bottom row or in the right column, and you have no way of knowing which and are only able to block one. Attempting to make a 50/50 guess 10 times in a row seems less than ideal.
As for a working strategy:
Since you can't see Fluttershy's moves, you can't see any winning threats she makes. That in mind, the key is to limit the number of possible threats she can make as much as possible. Looking at the grid, the center is part of 4 three-in-a-rows, the corners are each part of 3 three-in-a-rows, and the sides are each part of only 2 three-in-a-rows. This means that you should try to force Fluttershy to take one of the sides as one of her first two moves. There are actually three different ways to do this - you could take the center first and then a side, or a side first then the center, or even one corner then an adjacent corner. Whichever strategy you use, Fluttershy could only be making one threat, which you then block in whatever way is available. And after your third move, there will only be one row you do not occupy, so you will block it however you can for your fourth move, and then Fluttershy is unable to win.
Now, what happens if Fluttershy spoils your plans for the second move by taking the space you wanted to take? Fortunately, whatever the case, you will be able to directly force a tie, if not a win. If you play top left and discover Fluttershy took top right, you will then take bottom right, which will force Fluttershy to take center, and after you take bottom left you win, either in center left or in bottom center. If you play center and discover Fluttershy took bottom center, you will then take bottom left, which will force Fluttershy to take top right, and after you take top left you win, either in center left or in bottom right. If you play bottom center and discover Fluttershy took center, you will then take bottom left, which will force Fluttershy to take bottom right, which will force you to take top left, which will force Fluttershy to take left center, which will force you to take right center, and the draw is certain.

[The Real Anonymous Pony]

Basically Take center, choose a side (middle) piece, choose an opposite corner, choose the side piece in the last possible loss spot.

Moves:
You: Center
FS: Anywhere
You: Bottom mid (rotate board 90° if taken)
FS: Top mid (from here on all of her moves are countering
You: Top Left (Top Right if taken)
FS: Bottom Right/Left (counter)
You: Mid Right/Left (Top Right if taken)[Should be right above her previous move]
Rest of the moves don't matter.
Only her first move changes the plan. Guaranteed tie.

The secret is to keep her on the defense and always check to make sure she countered. This way you control where she moves.

[ANW]

For Rainbow Dash,
Daring Do, nuff said.
Hope you have ruin exploring equipment.

[Brony_of_Brody]

9386205
You: Center
FS: Anywhere
You: Bottom mid (rotate board 90° if taken)
FS: Top mid (from here on all of her moves are countering
You: Top Left (Top Right if taken)

This is where it falls down. I simulated a game where I followed it up to this point and Fluttershy would take the middle right square here (assuming she's playing logically). You would then take mid left, and Fluttershy would take top right to win (she started with the bottom right corner in this game).

[The Real Anonymous Pony]

9386959
I kinda gave a confusing explanation.
You choose mid right which is taken and then you would know that she has two in a row and you choose top right. The only reason you would choose mid left is if you had to play top right because she chose top left.

The left side of the slash is if she picked anywhere but the top left, the right side is if she picked the top left. Parenthesis is if she chose the spot on the left side of the slash.

[Brony_of_Brody]

9386996
I think I might understand this a whole lot better through some sort of diagram because I'm completely lost here.

It would probably help you explain it if you assume Fluttershy is not perfectly logical playing the game (basically, try to form a three in a row, then if the one you're attempting isn't possible, make some alternate move)

[The Real Anonymous Pony]

9387065
Here's my 19 page essay explaining why my idea works. Hope it helps!
(Not really an essay, just an explanation with diagrams)
I really hope the link works.