The ritual takes place in the east corner of the gardens, where there are two small flowerbeds surrounded by 16 square stone slabs, laid out in a particular pattern (right).
One of the monks is designated to be the Leaping Monk at random. He must then leap from square to square—but he can only move in the same way as a knight moves on a chessboard. That is, he can jump to a square two squares away horizontally and one square vertically, or two squares away vertically and one square horizontally. So, for example, if the monk is on square H he can leap to any of B, F, K or O.
To perform the ritual, the Leaping Monk must start on square G, and leap in such a way so that he visits every other square exactly once, finally returning to G on his last jump.
Which sequence of squares should the Leaping Monk visit?
Prospect invites you to solve the puzzle and send us the solution. Correct answers will be entered into a draw. Five winners will each receive one copy of Ian Stewart's new book Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities (Profile, £10.99).
Send solutions to answer@prospect-magazine.co.uk by 10th October. The winner will be announced in our November issue.
