We are really sorry to cancel Sprouts this year. The remainder of this page will remain intact, with cancellation reminders in red. We had already requested (and received) some talk proposals and abstracts from presenters, which we will continue to add to the page as we normally would have, though we are obviously no longer soliciting further talks.
Sprouts is a Combinatorial Games Conference oriented towards undergraduate research, created as a joint collaboration between the University of New England and Plymouth State University. Sprouts is also a combinatorial game that is especially popular in the Netherlands.
Combinatorial Game Theory is the mathematical study of turn-based games ("rulesets") where:
Many nice properties emerge from this, especially when we add games together. This conference is all about playing games, analyzing games, and even creating new games.
Well, you shouldn't this year, but otherwise...
This conference includes talks oriented towards undergrads, sessions for looking at unsolved problems, and both a human and computer game tournament. Prior knowledge of Combinatorial Game Theory is not necessary. (The first talk will cover much of the basics.) Although we expect the topics to be mostly applicable for Math and Computing students, everyone who enjoys abstract games is welcome!
There is no registration fee for Sprouts, and attendees get a nice little notebook. (We might run out if lots of people register late, but we've never run out so far.)
There is no need to register this year, because Sprouts 2020 is cancelled.
There is no cost to register for this conference. Please email Kyle () if you want to attend, so we can plan ahead for you. We'll accommodate as many people as possible. We don't expect more than 30 people.
(Schedule To Not Be Determined)
Abstracts will appear here as they come in and are approved.
This talk covers the very basics of Combinatorial Games, including outcome classes, impartial vs partisan games, and some game values. This is designed to introduce all attendees to CGT.
The conference ruleset remains to be determined. There will be a tournament for human players and another for computer players, with an additional round between the two winners.
Don't actually travel here this year because Sprouts 2020 is cancelled.
The two closest hotels to Plymouth State are the Common Man Inn (.7 miles from campus) and the Fairfield Inn (2.3 miles from campus).
The best parking lot to use is Lot 304 (the "Hyde Lot"), located on the east side of Langdon St between High St and Merrill St. The entrance to the lot is on Merrill St. Maps:
We'll determine whether parking passes are needed.
Thanks to the Plymouth State Computer Science and Technology and Mathematics disciplines for providing us with space for the talks.
