Brian Schröäer wrote: > It is possible to approximate knapsack (see scaled knapsack). But in > this case we have a fixed and low number of cards, so it is possible to > simply take on the combinatorial explosion and enumerate every solution. > > The simplest implementation that uses only constant memory takes > around three minutes for six cards on my machine. I need a faster computer or a faster brain. I've got a brute force algorithm that appears to work, but it won't complete in anything like three minutes. I guess I won't reveal the number until tomorrow, but my count of the distinct calculation expressions you can form with six numbers and four operators (not accounting for commutativity) is uhh... big. Steve