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375. Guess Number Higher or Lower II

Description

We are playing the Guessing Game. The game will work as follows:

  1. I pick a number between 1 and n.
  2. You guess a number.
  3. If you guess the right number, you win the game.
  4. If you guess the wrong number, then I will tell you whether the number I picked is higher or lower, and you will continue guessing.
  5. Every time you guess a wrong number x, you will pay x dollars. If you run out of money, you lose the game.

Given a particular n, return the minimum amount of money you need to guarantee a win regardless of what number I pick.

 

Example 1:

Input: n = 10
Output: 16
Explanation: The winning strategy is as follows:
- The range is [1,10]. Guess 7.
    - If this is my number, your total is $0. Otherwise, you pay $7.
    - If my number is higher, the range is [8,10]. Guess 9.
        - If this is my number, your total is $7. Otherwise, you pay $9.
        - If my number is higher, it must be 10. Guess 10. Your total is $7 + $9 = $16.
        - If my number is lower, it must be 8. Guess 8. Your total is $7 + $9 = $16.
    - If my number is lower, the range is [1,6]. Guess 3.
        - If this is my number, your total is $7. Otherwise, you pay $3.
        - If my number is higher, the range is [4,6]. Guess 5.
            - If this is my number, your total is $7 + $3 = $10. Otherwise, you pay $5.
            - If my number is higher, it must be 6. Guess 6. Your total is $7 + $3 + $5 = $15.
            - If my number is lower, it must be 4. Guess 4. Your total is $7 + $3 + $5 = $15.
        - If my number is lower, the range is [1,2]. Guess 1.
            - If this is my number, your total is $7 + $3 = $10. Otherwise, you pay $1.
            - If my number is higher, it must be 2. Guess 2. Your total is $7 + $3 + $1 = $11.
The worst case in all these scenarios is that you pay $16. Hence, you only need $16 to guarantee a win.

Example 2:

Input: n = 1
Output: 0
Explanation: There is only one possible number, so you can guess 1 and not have to pay anything.

Example 3:

Input: n = 2
Output: 1
Explanation: There are two possible numbers, 1 and 2.
- Guess 1.
    - If this is my number, your total is $0. Otherwise, you pay $1.
    - If my number is higher, it must be 2. Guess 2. Your total is $1.
The worst case is that you pay $1.

 

Constraints:

  • 1 <= n <= 200

Solutions

Solution 1: Dynamic Programming

We define $f[i][j]$ as the minimum cost required to guess any number in the interval $[i, j]$. Initially, $f[i][i] = 0$ because there is no cost to guess the only number, and for $i > j$, we also have $f[i][j] = 0$. The answer is $f[1][n]$.

For $f[i][j]$, we can enumerate any number $k$ in $[i, j]$, divide the interval $[i, j]$ into two parts, $[i, k - 1]$ and $[k + 1, j]$, choose the larger value of the two parts plus the cost of $k$,

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class Solution:
    def getMoneyAmount(self, n: int) -> int:
        f = [[0] * (n + 1) for _ in range(n + 1)]
        for i in range(n - 1, 0, -1):
            for j in range(i + 1, n + 1):
                f[i][j] = j + f[i][j - 1]
                for k in range(i, j):
                    f[i][j] = min(f[i][j], max(f[i][k - 1], f[k + 1][j]) + k)
        return f[1][n]

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class Solution {
    public int getMoneyAmount(int n) {
        int[][] f = new int[n + 1][n + 1];
        for (int i = n - 1; i > 0; --i) {
            for (int j = i + 1; j <= n; ++j) {
                f[i][j] = j + f[i][j - 1];
                for (int k = i; k < j; ++k) {
                    f[i][j] = Math.min(f[i][j], Math.max(f[i][k - 1], f[k + 1][j]) + k);
                }
            }
        }
        return f[1][n];
    }
}

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class Solution {
public:
    int getMoneyAmount(int n) {
        int f[n + 1][n + 1];
        memset(f, 0, sizeof(f));
        for (int i = n - 1; i; --i) {
            for (int j = i + 1; j <= n; ++j) {
                f[i][j] = j + f[i][j - 1];
                for (int k = i; k < j; ++k) {
                    f[i][j] = min(f[i][j], max(f[i][k - 1], f[k + 1][j]) + k);
                }
            }
        }
        return f[1][n];
    }
};

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func getMoneyAmount(n int) int {
    f := make([][]int, n+1)
    for i := range f {
        f[i] = make([]int, n+1)
    }
    for i := n - 1; i > 0; i-- {
        for j := i + 1; j <= n; j++ {
            f[i][j] = j + f[i][j-1]
            for k := i; k < j; k++ {
                f[i][j] = min(f[i][j], k+max(f[i][k-1], f[k+1][j]))
            }
        }
    }
    return f[1][n]
}

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function getMoneyAmount(n: number): number {
    const f: number[][] = Array.from({ length: n + 1 }, () => Array(n + 1).fill(0));
    for (let i = n - 1; i; --i) {
        for (let j = i + 1; j <= n; ++j) {
            f[i][j] = j + f[i][j - 1];
            for (let k = i; k < j; ++k) {
                f[i][j] = Math.min(f[i][j], k + Math.max(f[i][k - 1], f[k + 1][j]));
            }
        }
    }
    return f[1][n];
}

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