Slopfest #23 · Spring 1951 · Vienna

The Machine That Only Played Nim

A computer built for a festival could play exactly one game. The committee related to it deeply.

#23Filed under "Q" for "quality". We never look there.

Child's crayon drawing of rows of Knödel and a grinning girl, captioned in a teacher's hand 'Ich habe gewonnen! SLOPFEST #23'

Museum status: Currently touring. Nobody knows where.

Venue: Messepalast, the east hall
Attendance: 211
Fun fact: 1 game, 612 rounds, 0 committee wins

What happened

In solidarity with a machine in London that could only play Nim, every part of the festival was a game of Nim. Dinner was Nim, played with Knödel. The raffle was Nim. The speeches were replaced by Nim. The committee lost every game to a nine-year-old from Favoriten, who has been undefeated at Slopfest ever since.

Elsewhere in 1951

Ferranti's Nimrod, a computer built only to play the game of Nim, is shown at the Festival of Britain.

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