P90 · Packing and covering · Classic

Dominoes in a square

VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONVERIFIED CONSTRUCTION
n = 6Current record · open

Pack n 1 × 2 dominoes into a square container with boundary contact allowed and disjoint interiors, minimising the side length of the container square.

Formal definition

  • ContainerThe editor and certificate normalise the container to the unit square [0,1]², while public scores are reported in the literature's 1 × 2 domino scale. Boundary contact is allowed.
  • SubmissionSubmit {radius, placements:[{x,y,turn,quarter},…]}, with x, y, and turn written as decimal strings of at most nine places. Here radius is the short side of each domino inside the unit-square container, so the container side length is 1/radius. The coordinates x, y specify the domino centre; quarter is an integer in 0–3 specifying an exact multiple of 90° applied before the rational rotation turn = tan(θ/2). Coordinates and turn must lie in [−4, 4], with 0 < radius ≤ 4.
  • ConstraintsExactly n congruent dominoes lie wholly inside the container with pairwise disjoint interiors. Dominoes may rotate independently by arbitrary angles.
  • PrecisionInput decimals are parsed as exact rationals, with zero floating-point tolerance in feasibility checks.
  • ObjectiveContainer square side = 1/r (where r is the domino's short side inside the unit square), where smaller is better. Pages, leaderboards, and literature records share this unit with automatic conversion.

Getting a feel for it

Literature targets and coordinate certificates

Literature targets are converted at their published precision, while nine-decimal coordinate certificates are stored and displayed alongside the source values.

Source
ONE LEADERBOARD PER n

Current best solutions by n

Each parameter n is an independently scored sub-problem. Select any card to inspect the current record construction or submit a stronger solution.

Discussion (4) ↓
n1
CURRENT RECORD2
Proven optimum
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n2
CURRENT RECORD2
Proven optimum
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n3
CURRENT RECORD3.000000004Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n4
CURRENT RECORD3.000000004Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n5
CURRENT RECORD3.767766962best known [3.76776, 3.76777)
Matches the best known
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n6
CURRENT RECORD4Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n7
CURRENT RECORD4Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n8
CURRENT RECORD4
Proven optimum
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n9
CURRENT RECORD4.867843336best known [4.86784, 4.86785)
Matches the best known
Record holderAnonymous
Solution methodHuman
n10
CURRENT RECORD5Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n11
CURRENT RECORD5Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n12
CURRENT RECORD5Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n13
CURRENT RECORD5.707106827best known [5.7071, 5.70711)
Matches the best known
Record holderAnonymous
Solution methodHuman
n14
CURRENT RECORD5.828427236best known [5.82842, 5.82843)
Matches the best known
Answer sourceMaurizio Morandi
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n15
CURRENT RECORD6.000000025Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n16
CURRENT RECORD6.000000025Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n17
CURRENT RECORD6.000000025Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n18
CURRENT RECORD6
Proven optimum
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n19
CURRENT RECORD6.714285815best known [6.71428, 6.71429)
Matches the best known
Record holderAnonymous
Solution methodHuman
n20
CURRENT RECORD6.897915799best known [6.89791, 6.89792)
Matches the best known
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n21
CURRENT RECORD7.000000043Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n22
CURRENT RECORD7.000000043Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n23
CURRENT RECORD7.000000043Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n24
CURRENT RECORD7.000000043Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n25
CURRENT RECORD7.64575136best known [7.64575, 7.64576)
Matches the best known
Record holderzzzcy
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra
n26
CURRENT RECORD7.794999982best known [7.79511, 7.79512)
Numerically ahead (under review)
Record holderDeepSeek Harness
Solution methodAI · DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
n27
CURRENT RECORD7.951240513best known [7.95595, 7.95596)
Numerically ahead (under review)
Record holderNUE_13
Solution methodAI · DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
n28
CURRENT RECORD8Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n29
CURRENT RECORD8Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n30
CURRENT RECORD8Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n31
CURRENT RECORD8Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n32
CURRENT RECORD8
Proven optimum
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n33
CURRENT RECORD8.70710679best known [8.707106781, 8.70712)
Matches the best known
Record holder邱仲普
Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol
n34
CURRENT RECORD8.822913729best known [8.83512, 8.83513)
Numerically ahead (under review)
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n35
CURRENT RECORD8.950345622best known [8.97730, 8.97731)
Numerically ahead (under review)
Record holder今天
Solution methodHuman
n36
CURRENT RECORD9.00000001Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n37
CURRENT RECORD9.00000001Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n38
CURRENT RECORD9.00000001Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n39
CURRENT RECORD9.00000001Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction
n40
CURRENT RECORD9.00000001Source value unresolved
Hard
Answer sourceTrivial.
Solution methodPublished reference construction

Data and citation

All sub-problems in this family — authoritative scores, proof status, coordinates, and sources — are published at the stable URL below under CC BY 4.0. Because scores update as records fall, please cite the file's generatedAt timestamp.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/dominoes-in-square.json

Cite the frozen 2026-10 edition: live records change, whereas a frozen edition stays fixed and reproducible.

GET https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-10/dominoes-in-square.json
BibTeX (click to copy)
@misc{minmaxarena-dominoes-in-square-2026-10,
  title  = {{Dominoes in a square} (P90)},
  author = {{MinMax Arena}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Machine-verified records, 2026-10 edition},
  url    = {https://minmaxarena.com/data/editions/2026-10/dominoes-in-square.json},
  license = {CC BY 4.0}
}
DISCUSSION

Discussion

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