UFOs in the game SET: Looking for Airplanes and Spaceships

Summary

The mathematics of the popular card game SET has been extensively studied. Recently, planets were introduced as two-dimensional sets. We take this one step further by introducing spaceships, a three-dimensional set. We study the properties of spaceships along with the related concepts of UFOs and airplanes in SET. Finally, we determine how many red cards are needed to guarantee the existence of a spaceship.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jonathan Needleman

Jonathan Needleman ([email protected]) is an associate professor of mathematics at Le Moyne College. He loves using recreational mathematics to excite people about the world of mathematics, and then, when they are least expecting it, showing them what they have been working on has connections to research mathematics. In his free time Needleman plays a lot of board games, but does not see this as any different from his day job.

Felicia Sciortino

Felicia Sciortino ([email protected]) is a recent graduate from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. While studying mathematics with minors in philosophy and biology, she kept herself busy with classes, club meetings, and work, but always found time for a game of SET. Since graduating, Sciortino cannot play as much as she used to, but chooses to spend her time as a Jesuit Volunteer at St. Charles Mission School in Pryor, Montana. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and walking.