Road Sign Math

Since the first day that we launched Road Sign Math we have wanted to include constant signs. It seems completely crazy to have a game that is about the fun of mathematical relationships while driving and exclude such great constants like Pi. However, incorporating constants into the game has proven harder than expected. Constant signs were intended to be really rare. They were supposed to be something truly special. A gem that you would treasure for years to come. However, they have become completely common and far too easy to achieve.

The original example of a constant sign was

this has an elegance to it that is lost in the multitude of approximations that we have seen proliferating on Road Sign Math.

In fact, a quick count shows that a full 12% of all winning signs currently on the site are constants. A huge number of these are Pi winners using the ever common

Indeed we had to remove many trigonometry functions because they allowed constants to be approximated far too easily. The most recent solution to cause a huge problem with the rules as stated is

Thus any sign that you can get to 98, you can get to Pi. This is simply too easy and violates the spirit of the game.

Solution

To solve this problem, we are going to alter the rules for constant sign winners to keep it in accordance with the original intent. We understand that this rule change will make constant signs much harder to find, and that is indeed the desired impact. Here are the modifications.

1. The only constants that you can solve for are Pi (3.14159…) and Euler’s constant (2.718…).
2. You can use any math allowed by the rules to solve for the constant, and you must match to at least 2 decimal places.
3. The solution must match exactly for all decimals returned in the equation. You cannot truncate any decimals.

Example

To illustrate this let’s look at a solution for Pi that works to 4 decimal places.

Odds & Ends

Existing constant winners will be grandfathered in as is stated in the rules. We are going to consider changing the scoring values for future constant signs to account for the difficulty in achieving them.

This is a difficult change and we expect some will be frustrated by it. Please leave your comments here, we are interested in hearing them. However, we feel strongly that this rule change will improve the game play of the site and will make the constant sign the special gem that it was intended to be.

Remember,