Realms/03 Mathematics

The Cartesian Realm

Prove it, or it didn't happen.

This category tests your mathematical agility, but also your resource management, your logic and your ability to perform under pressure. Maths cannot always be made easy, but it can certainly be made more fun. Forget standard textbook tests. Here maths meets strategy, games, puzzles and creativity. We all know maths, and only a few of us truly connect with it. This is your chance to prove that you do.

Category Head

Muhammad Muaz

Category Co-Head

Abiha Zahid

Rounds

Three rounds and a bonus

Delegate cap

2 to 3 delegates

The rounds

  1. 01

    Project Breakout

    • 2 to 3 delegates
    • Non-elimination. The first six teams advance

    Logic, speed and navigation are your only ways out. Teams are locked in a room and handed a logic puzzle. Crack it and you earn your exit, along with a ciphered clue pointing to a Judge hidden somewhere on campus. Finding the Judge unlocks the next puzzle, which leads to the final stage.

    • Puzzle types: Kakuro, KenKen, Sudoku variants, Slitherlink, Masyu, Hashiwokakero, Nurikabe and Nonograms.
  2. 02

    The Math Auction

    • 2 delegates maximum
    • Elimination. The top 5 teams move to round 3

    Welcome to the trading floor. Teams manage a budget to buy mathematical problems at auction, solve them accurately, and cash them in for points. Every team starts with 1,000 Cartesian Credits in physical event currency. During the preview phase the topic and a glimpse of each question flash on the projector for exactly eight seconds, then the floor opens and teams bid for the envelope.

    • Easy: 100 credits to start, worth 100 points.
    • Hard: 150 credits to start, worth 200 points.
    • Bundle: 350 credits to start, worth 500 points.
    • Unspent credits are worthless at the end of the round.
    • Victory is decided only by points from correctly solved questions.
  3. 03

    Snakes and Ladders

    • 2 delegates
    • The top two teams take Winner and Runner-Up

    What is better than doing maths? Doing maths while navigating a giant board game. Two delegates represent the team: one rolls the dice, the other moves across the board and acts as the primary solver. Questions are triggered by the tile you land on.

    • Ladders: answer correctly to climb, incorrectly to stay at the base.
    • Snakes: answer correctly to stay safe, incorrectly to slide down.
    • Perfect squares: a high-stakes question. Answer correctly to hold your position, incorrectly to move back.
  4. 04

    Bonus: Math Unlocked

    • Independent digital submission
    • Judged entirely separately from the main progression

    Create a video or animation explaining a genuinely complex mathematical concept and its application in real life. You are judged heavily on how simply you can explain it, because breaking down high-level mathematics for a general audience is the real mark of mastery. Teams have all three days to script, edit and render, and the file is submitted at the specified time on Day 3.

    • Complexity of the chosen topic: 10 points.
    • Creativity and visual delivery: 10 points.
    • Simplicity and clarity of explanation: 10 points.
    • The video must be filmed on campus at TCS Ravi.

Syllabus

Heads upThis is a strict zero-technology zone. All mobile phones and smartwatches are collected at the start of each round, and any unauthorised use of technology means immediate disqualification. Calculators are allowed in every round.

Study guide

The full brief for this realm, as a PDF.

Enter The Cartesian Realm

Mathematics. Add it to your delegation's realms when you register.

Register your delegation