This is one of the OLD POTM problems

Long version of the problem.

Back to the list of problems.

Short Problem Description

january, 1993

	THE POTM	(Programmer/Puzzle/Problem Of The Month)

The POTM presents a programming problem to the community at large and
 provides a set of criteria on which the entry will be judged.  A deadline
 is set and a winner is deduced from the entries sent.  An award is made
 and the winner becomes famous.

The competition is open to anyone who finds out about the contest.

	(have some fun for a change .....)

(For those of you who are new to POTM, we have found it necessary to be very
 explicit in the rules - people like to find loopholes and exploit them.
 Thus, the description below is inordinately long - at least read the first
 section to figure out if you think this would be fun!)

======================== POTM 93-1 ==================================

TASK:  You must provide a program that plays the following game:

	When provided with a number (say 257), your program may
	subtract one of the digits (either 2, 5, or 7) from that
	number and output the total (in this case 255, 252, or 250).

	Your objective is to avoid having to output zero (0) when
	competing with another similar program.  If you output a zero
	you will lose the game between the programs.