Reveal Cards In Increasing Order

Updated on 19 June, 2025
Reveal Cards In Increasing Order header image

Problem Statement

You are presented with an array deck which represents a deck of cards, each holding a unique integer. The card at position i has the integer deck[i]. All cards begin in an unordered face-down state.

Your task is to reorder the deck and simulate a process of revealing cards. The process includes two actions repeatedly executed until all cards are revealed:

  1. The top card of the deck is revealed and removed.
  2. If there are still cards in the deck, the new top card is moved to the bottom of the deck.

The challenge is to return a new order for the deck where the sequence of revealed cards will be in strictly increasing order, starting with the lowest integer. Importantly, the first card revealed in your output order should be considered the top of the deck.

Examples

Example 1

Input:

deck = [17,13,11,2,3,5,7]

Output:

[2,13,3,11,5,17,7]

Explanation:

We get the deck in the order [17,13,11,2,3,5,7] (this order does not matter), and reorder it.
After reordering, the deck starts as [2,13,3,11,5,17,7], where 2 is the top of the deck.
We reveal 2, and move 13 to the bottom. The deck is now [3,11,5,17,7,13].
We reveal 3, and move 11 to the bottom. The deck is now [5,17,7,13,11].
We reveal 5, and move 17 to the bottom. The deck is now [7,13,11,17].
We reveal 7, and move 13 to the bottom. The deck is now [11,17,13].
We reveal 11, and move 17 to the bottom. The deck is now [13,17].
We reveal 13, and move 17 to the bottom. The deck is now [17].
We reveal 17.
Since all the cards revealed are in increasing order, the answer is correct.

Example 2

Input:

deck = [1,1000]

Output:

[1,1000]

Constraints

  • 1 <= deck.length <= 1000
  • 1 <= deck[i] <= 106
  • All the values of deck are unique.

Approach and Intuition

To solve this problem, consider the cyclic nature of how cards are handled according to the process stated:

  1. First and foremost, understand the effect of the card reveal and reposition process. During each cycle:

    • The top card is always revealed and not replaced.
    • The following card is moved to the end (if it exists).
    • This rearranging process gradually reveals cards in a specific order from the deck.
  2. Sorting: Start by sorting the array in ascending order. This strategy is necessary because the revealed sequence must be in increasing order.

  3. Simulated arrangement:

    • You can use a queue to simulate the cyclic nature of arranging unrevealed cards.
    • As per the original process described, think backwards:
      • Given the reveal process, you know the relative position of the top revealed card in the final order must initially be the first to be revealed.
      • Subsequent ones follow according to how they get revealed according to the process steps.
  4. Execution:

    • After sorting, begin placing the smallest elements into positions that will be revealed first, considering every second position (due to the card shuffle to the bottom).
    • You might need to manage the indices effectively considering the queue simulation, impacting where each element finally resides.
  5. Back tracking the process:

    • By using a queue structure, you can simulate the placement of each smallest element from the sorted array into its position in the resulting sequence.
    • Consider that each time you place an element, it mimics taking the actual top card out (revealing it in correct order) and shifting the following to the bottom in effective cyclical simulation.

This problem is essentially about correctly mapping the sorted elements into sequential positions, meeting the expected order when the cyclic reveal and shuffle process runs its course.

Solutions

  • C++
  • Java
  • Python
cpp
class Solution {
public:
    vector<int> revealIncreasingOrder(vector<int>& cards) {
        int cardCount = cards.size();
        queue<int> indexQueue;

        for (int idx = 0; idx < cardCount; idx++) {
            indexQueue.push(idx);
        }
        
        sort(cards.begin(), cards.end());

        vector<int> ordered(cardCount);
        for (int j = 0; j < cardCount; j++) {
            ordered[indexQueue.front()] = cards[j];
            indexQueue.pop();

            if (!indexQueue.empty()) {
                indexQueue.push(indexQueue.front());
                indexQueue.pop();
            }
        }
        return ordered;
    }
};

The provided C++ solution simulates the process of revealing cards in increasing order based on the given sequence. The function revealIncreasingOrder accomplishes the task using the following approach:

  • First, retrieve the total number of cards using cards.size() and initialize a queue to hold card indices for processing.
  • Populate the queue sequentially with indices from 0 to cardCount - 1.
  • Sort the cards vector in ascending order to prepare for the correct order of revelation.

In the main processing loop:

  • Allocate a new vector ordered to store the cards in the desired output order.
  • For each card in the sorted vector:
    1. Place the current smallest card in the position indicated by the front of the queue.
    2. Remove that index from the queue.
    3. To simulate the process described in the problem (reveal one card and hide the next one), push the next index in the queue to the back and then remove it from the front.

This approach ensures that the cards are revealed in a manner that sorts the results as if they were randomly positioned and then organized in increasing order after several moves. The function finally returns the correctly ordered vector.

The use of a queue to manipulate indices is crucial here, as it mimics the dynamic changes in positions during the reveal process, effectively replicating the stated problem's conditions without manipulating the card array directly more than necessary.

java
class Solution {
    public int[] revealDeckInOrder(int[] deck) {
        int deckSize = deck.length;
        Queue<Integer> indexQueue = new LinkedList<>();

        for (int idx = 0; idx < deckSize; idx++) {
            indexQueue.add(idx);
        }
        
        Arrays.sort(deck);

        int[] orderedDeck = new int[deckSize];
        for (int idx = 0; idx < deckSize; idx++) {
            orderedDeck[indexQueue.poll()] = deck[idx];
            indexQueue.add(indexQueue.poll());
        }
        return orderedDeck;
    }
}

To simulate the process of revealing cards in increasing order from a deck, the given Java solution employs an array sort method combined with queue operations. Follow this structured approach to understand the logic effectively:

  1. Begin by obtaining the size of the provided deck array and initializing a Queue to hold indices of the deck. This queue plays a critical role in determining the order of revealing cards.

  2. Populate the queue with sequential indices, starting from 0 up to deck.length - 1. These indices represent positions in the deck array where sorted values will be placed.

  3. Sort the deck array in ascending order using Arrays.sort(deck). This sorted deck will be used to place cards into their correct final positions.

  4. Initialize an array called orderedDeck to store the cards in the specific order that simulates the 'reveal in increasing order' process.

  5. Utilize a for-loop to iterate through each index of the deck. For each iteration:

    • Remove the first element from the queue (indexQueue.poll()) and place the current card (deck[idx]) at the corresponding index in orderedDeck.
    • Immediately, remove the next index from the queue and re-insert it at the end of the queue. This step is key and emulates the card placement and reveals the process described in the problem.
  6. Once all indices have been processed, return the orderedDeck as the final array. This array reveals the cards in the specific order required.

By adhering to the above structured approach, you effectively simulate the described card revealing game using a combination of sorting and queue operations. This ensures cards are revealed in an incrementally sorted order, accounting for the specific rules of the game.

python
class Solution:
    def orderDeck(self, cards: List[int]) -> List[int]:
        deckSize = len(cards)
        positions = deque()

        # Initialize positions queue
        for index in range(deckSize):
            positions.append(index)
        
        cards.sort()

        # Array to hold ordered cards
        arranged = [0] * deckSize
        for card in cards:
            # Place card in the correct position
            arranged[positions.popleft()] = card

            # Cycle the next position to the end
            if positions:
                positions.append(positions.popleft())
                
        return arranged

In the task "Reveal Cards In Increasing Order", the goal is to rearrange a given deck of cards. Reveal them in a specific order such that they reveal themselves in an increasing manner. Implement this functionality using Python.

  • Start by creating a solution class with a function named orderDeck, taking a list of integers cards representing the deck.

  • Obtain the size of the deck using Python's len() function.

  • Initialize a queue to handle the positions using Python's deque from the collections module. This queue will help in updating and accessing positions efficiently.

  • Populate this queue with indices ranging from zero to the last index of the list.

  • Sort the cards list to arrange the cards in non-decreasing order.

  • Prepare a list arranged of the same length as cards, initialized with zeros. This list will store the ordered cards.

  • Iterate over the 'cards' with a loop:

    • Assign the current card to the position popped from the front of the positions queue.
    • If there are still positions left in the queue, cycle the next index to the end of the queue. This ensures the position index will be available at the correct reveal order in subsequent iterations.
  • Return the arranged list which now contains the cards revealed in an increasing order.

Using deque for position management allows efficient index rotations, and sorting the cards initially sets up for the increasing order exposure. The structure of this solution ensures clarity and efficiency. This approach should work efficiently for any size of the input list, providing a straightforward solution to the problem of revealing cards in a specified increasing order.

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