How do you solve Find the Score Difference in a Game on LeetCode?

Find the Score Difference in a Game (LeetCode #3847) can be solved using Brute Force or Optimal Solution. The optimal approach is Optimal Solution with O(n) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Key insight: Track player roles efficiently

What is the time complexity of Find the Score Difference in a Game?

The optimal solution for Find the Score Difference in a Game runs in O(n) time and uses O(1) space. The complexity is linear since we traverse the array once, updating scores in constant time.

What is the brute force solution for Find the Score Difference in a Game?

The brute force approach for Find the Score Difference in a Game is Brute Force, with O(n) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Simulate each game step-by-step, keeping track of scores for both players. This method directly follows the game rules but is inefficient for large inputs. The optimal Optimal Solution approach improves this to O(n).

What algorithm or data structure is used to solve Find the Score Difference in a Game?

Find the Score Difference in a Game uses the following concepts: Array, Simulation. The recommended patterns to study are: Simulation, Array.

What are the interview tips for Find the Score Difference in a Game?

Clarify rules before coding Think about edge cases Explain your thought process while coding

What are common mistakes when solving Find the Score Difference in a Game?

Forgetting to swap roles correctly Incorrectly handling the 6th game condition

#3847

Find the Score Difference in a Game

Medium

ArraySimulationSimulationArray

LeetCode ↗

Approaches

Brute ForceOptimal

Complexity Comparison

	Brute Force	Optimal Solution★
Time	O(n)	O(n)
Space	O(1)	O(1)

💡

Intuition

Time O(n)Space O(1)

Use a single pass to track scores while managing player roles based on game rules. This approach is efficient and straightforward.

⚙️

Algorithm

3 steps

1Step 1: Initialize scores for both players and set the active player.
2Step 2: Loop through the games, updating scores and swapping roles based on conditions.
3Step 3: Return the score difference after processing all games.

solution.py11 lines

1def score_difference(nums):
2    p1_score, p2_score = 0, 0
3    active = 1
4    for i in range(len(nums)):
5        if active == 1:
6            p1_score += nums[i]
7        else:
8            p2_score += nums[i]
9        if nums[i] % 2 == 1 or (i + 1) % 6 == 0:
10            active = 2 if active == 1 else 1
11    return p1_score - p2_score

ℹ

Complexity note: The complexity is linear since we traverse the array once, updating scores in constant time.

1Track player roles efficiently
2Use modular arithmetic for swaps

Solutions and explanations are original Tejav content. Problem titles © LeetCode — use the LeetCode button above for the full problem statement.