LeetCode #1823 — MEDIUM

Find the Winner of the Circular Game

Move from brute-force thinking to an efficient approach using array strategy.

The Problem

Problem Statement

There are n friends that are playing a game. The friends are sitting in a circle and are numbered from 1 to n in clockwise order. More formally, moving clockwise from the i^th friend brings you to the (i+1)^th friend for 1 <= i < n, and moving clockwise from the n^th friend brings you to the 1^st friend.

The rules of the game are as follows:

Start at the 1^st friend.
Count the next k friends in the clockwise direction including the friend you started at. The counting wraps around the circle and may count some friends more than once.
The last friend you counted leaves the circle and loses the game.
If there is still more than one friend in the circle, go back to step 2 starting from the friend immediately clockwise of the friend who just lost and repeat.
Else, the last friend in the circle wins the game.

Given the number of friends, n, and an integer k, return the winner of the game.

Example 1:

Input: n = 5, k = 2
Output: 3
Explanation: Here are the steps of the game:
1) Start at friend 1.
2) Count 2 friends clockwise, which are friends 1 and 2.
3) Friend 2 leaves the circle. Next start is friend 3.
4) Count 2 friends clockwise, which are friends 3 and 4.
5) Friend 4 leaves the circle. Next start is friend 5.
6) Count 2 friends clockwise, which are friends 5 and 1.
7) Friend 1 leaves the circle. Next start is friend 3.
8) Count 2 friends clockwise, which are friends 3 and 5.
9) Friend 5 leaves the circle. Only friend 3 is left, so they are the winner.

Example 2:

Input: n = 6, k = 5
Output: 1
Explanation: The friends leave in this order: 5, 4, 6, 2, 3. The winner is friend 1.

Constraints:

1 <= k <= n <= 500

Follow up:

Could you solve this problem in linear time with constant space?

Step 01

Brute Force Baseline

Problem summary: There are n friends that are playing a game. The friends are sitting in a circle and are numbered from 1 to n in clockwise order. More formally, moving clockwise from the ith friend brings you to the (i+1)th friend for 1 <= i < n, and moving clockwise from the nth friend brings you to the 1st friend. The rules of the game are as follows: Start at the 1st friend. Count the next k friends in the clockwise direction including the friend you started at. The counting wraps around the circle and may count some friends more than once. The last friend you counted leaves the circle and loses the game. If there is still more than one friend in the circle, go back to step 2 starting from the friend immediately clockwise of the friend who just lost and repeat. Else, the last friend in the circle wins the game. Given the number of friends, n, and an integer k, return the winner of the game.

Baseline thinking

Start with the most direct exhaustive search. That gives a correctness anchor before optimizing.

Pattern signal: Array · Math

Example 1

5
2

Example 2

6
5

Step 02

Core Insight

What unlocks the optimal approach

Simulate the process.
Maintain in a circular list the people who are still in the circle and the current person you are standing at.
In each turn, count k people and remove the last person from the list.

Interview move: turn each hint into an invariant you can check after every iteration/recursion step.

Step 03

Algorithm Walkthrough

Iteration Checklist

Define state (indices, window, stack, map, DP cell, or recursion frame).
Apply one transition step and update the invariant.
Record answer candidate when condition is met.
Continue until all input is consumed.

Use the first example testcase as your mental trace to verify each transition.

Step 04

Edge Cases

Minimum Input

Single element / shortest valid input

Validate boundary behavior before entering the main loop or recursion.

Duplicates & Repeats

Repeated values / repeated states

Decide whether duplicates should be merged, skipped, or counted explicitly.

Extreme Constraints

Upper-end input sizes

Re-check complexity target against constraints to avoid time-limit issues.

Invalid / Corner Shape

Empty collections, zeros, or disconnected structures

Handle special-case structure before the core algorithm path.

Step 05

Full Annotated Code

Source-backed implementations are provided below for direct study and interview prep.

// Accepted solution for LeetCode #1823: Find the Winner of the Circular Game
class Solution {
    public int findTheWinner(int n, int k) {
        if (n == 1) {
            return 1;
        }
        int ans = (findTheWinner(n - 1, k) + k) % n;
        return ans == 0 ? n : ans;
    }
}

// Accepted solution for LeetCode #1823: Find the Winner of the Circular Game
func findTheWinner(n int, k int) int {
	if n == 1 {
		return 1
	}
	ans := (findTheWinner(n-1, k) + k) % n
	if ans == 0 {
		return n
	}
	return ans
}

# Accepted solution for LeetCode #1823: Find the Winner of the Circular Game
class Solution:
    def findTheWinner(self, n: int, k: int) -> int:
        if n == 1:
            return 1
        ans = (k + self.findTheWinner(n - 1, k)) % n
        return n if ans == 0 else ans

// Accepted solution for LeetCode #1823: Find the Winner of the Circular Game
impl Solution {
    pub fn find_the_winner(n: i32, k: i32) -> i32 {
        if n == 1 {
            return 1;
        }
        let mut ans = (k + Solution::find_the_winner(n - 1, k)) % n;
        return if ans == 0 { n } else { ans };
    }
}

// Accepted solution for LeetCode #1823: Find the Winner of the Circular Game
function findTheWinner(n: number, k: number): number {
    if (n === 1) {
        return 1;
    }
    const ans = (k + findTheWinner(n - 1, k)) % n;
    return ans ? ans : n;
}

Step 06

Interactive Study Demo

Use this to step through a reusable interview workflow for this problem.

Custom checkpoints (one per line)

Press Step or Run All to begin.

Step 07

Complexity Analysis

Time

O(n)

Space

O(1)

Approach Breakdown

BRUTE FORCE

O(n²) time

O(1) space

Two nested loops check every pair or subarray. The outer loop fixes a starting point, the inner loop extends or searches. For n elements this gives up to n²/2 operations. No extra space, but the quadratic time is prohibitive for large inputs.

OPTIMIZED

O(n) time

O(1) space

Most array problems have an O(n²) brute force (nested loops) and an O(n) optimal (single pass with clever state tracking). The key is identifying what information to maintain as you scan: a running max, a prefix sum, a hash map of seen values, or two pointers.

Shortcut: If you are using nested loops on an array, there is almost always an O(n) solution. Look for the right auxiliary state.

Coach Notes

Common Mistakes

Review these before coding to avoid predictable interview regressions.

Off-by-one on range boundaries

Wrong move: Loop endpoints miss first/last candidate.

Usually fails on: Fails on minimal arrays and exact-boundary answers.

Fix: Re-derive loops from inclusive/exclusive ranges before coding.

Overflow in intermediate arithmetic

Wrong move: Temporary multiplications exceed integer bounds.

Usually fails on: Large inputs wrap around unexpectedly.

Fix: Use wider types, modular arithmetic, or rearranged operations.