Grid time

In the center of 2015*2015 grid is placed a common dice with the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 written on its sides, so that two numbers on opposite sides add up to 7.

A move by a player consists of 3 steps:

First step: A player is now allowed to rotate the dice, so that any of its numbers shows top.

Second step: The dice is then moved either left or right, which way, that's up to the player's decision, by the number that shows top from the dice.

Third step: The dice is then moved either up or down, which way is also up to the player's decision, by the number that is hidden underneath the cube.

A move that would lead outside the grid is not legal.

How many points on the grid are possible to reach after a finite number of moves?


The answer is 4060225.

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1 solution

Matt Janko
Mar 21, 2020

Consider the sequence σ 1 \sigma_1 of moves 1 , 6 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 2 \langle -1, 6 \rangle, \langle -3, -4 \rangle, \langle 5, -2 \rangle . Starting from ( a , b ) (a,b) , the path created by σ 1 \sigma_1 is ( a , b ) , ( a 1 , b + 6 ) , ( a 4 , b + 2 ) , ( a + 1 , b ) . (a,b), (a - 1,b + 6), (a - 4,b + 2), (a + 1,b). In other words, following σ 1 \sigma_1 is equivalent to moving one point to the right, and the path does not need much "clearance." If ( a , b ) (a,b) is at least 6 units from the top of the grid, 4 units from the left side, and 1 unit from the right side, we can move one point to the right using σ 1 \sigma_1 . Starting from ( 0 , 0 ) (0,0) and following σ 1 \sigma_1 repeatedly, we will reach all the grid points on the positive x x -axis.

Now consider the sequence σ 2 \sigma_2 of moves 6 , 1 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 5 \langle -6, -1 \rangle, \langle 4, -3 \rangle, \langle 2, 5 \rangle . Starting from ( a , b ) (a,b) , the path created by σ 2 \sigma_2 is ( a , b ) , ( a 6 , b 1 ) , ( a 2 , b 4 ) , ( a , b + 1 ) . (a,b), (a - 6,b - 1), (a - 2,b - 4), (a,b + 1). If ( a , b ) (a,b) is at least 6 units from the left side of the grid, 4 units from the bottom, and 1 unit from the top, we can move one point up using σ 2 \sigma_2 . Starting from ( a , 0 ) (a,0) and following σ 2 \sigma_2 repeatedly, we will reach all the grid points in the first quadrant with x x -coordinate equal to a a .

Now we have shown that we can reach any point ( a , 0 ) (a,0) on the positive x x -axis using σ 1 \sigma_1 , and from ( a , 0 ) (a,0) , we can reach any point ( a , b ) (a,b) in the first quadrant using σ 2 \sigma_2 . By symmetry, we can reach any point on the rest of the grid. Therefore, the number of reachable points is 201 5 2 = 4060225 2015^2 = \boxed{4060225} .

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