Henry Ernest Dudeney/Puzzles and Curious Problems/319 - The Ten Cards

Puzzles and Curious Problems by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $319$

The Ten Cards

Place any ten playing cards in a row face up.

There are two players.

The first player may turn face down any single card he chooses.

Then the second player can turn face down any single card or any $2$ adjacent cards.

And so on.

Thus the first player must turn face down a single, but afterwards either player may turn down either a single or two adjacent cards.

The player who turns down the last card wins.

Should the first or second player win?

Sources

• 1932: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Puzzles and Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Crossing River Problem, and Problems Concerning Games and Puzzle Games: $319$. -- The Ten Cards
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Game Puzzles: $478$. The Ten Cards