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arXiv · 2603.10414

Additive Subtraction Games

Urban Larsson·Hikaru Manabe
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Abstract

We determine the full nim-value structure of additive subtraction games in the {\em primitive quadratic} regime. The problem appears in Winning Ways by Berlekamp et al. in 1982; it includes a closed formula, involving Beatty-type {\em bracket expressions} on rational moduli, for determining the {\mathscr P}-positions, but to the best of our knowledge, a complete proof of this claim has not yet appeared in the literature; Mikl\'os and Post (2024) established outcome-periodicity, but without reference to that closed formula. The {\em primitive quadratic} case captures the source of the quadratic complexity of the problem, a claim supported by recent research in the dual setting of sink subtraction by Bhagat et al. This study focuses on a number theoretic solution involving the classical closed formula, and we establish that each nim-value sequence resides on a linear shift of the classical {\mathscr P}-positions.

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Urban Larsson, Hikaru Manabe. 2026-03-11. Additive Subtraction Games. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10414

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