About Last Alien Standing

Last Alien Standing is a whimsical simulation inspired by the classic Josephus Problem. In this app, a group of aliens stand in a circle on a distant planet. Following a set pattern, each alien is "beamed up" one by one until only one remains—the last alien standing!

The Josephus Problem is a famous theoretical puzzle in mathematics and computer science that explores elimination patterns in a circle. This app brings the concept to life with a fun, interactive twist, letting you visualize and experiment with different group sizes and step counts.

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The thumbnails below show various stages of the simulation for 10 aliens (N) with a 3 modulus step-count selection (M). The aliens are represented as colorful dots: light blue, waiting; gray, beamed up!, yellow, skipped for now; red, beaming now!

The beaming process is animated to illustrate the elimination sequence. The actual beam may be turned on or off in the controls, and the speed of the animation can be adjusted using the slider. The simulation log provides a detailed account of each action taken during the simulation, including the current alien being beamed up.