Notes on the FMG. This program was originally written in Apple Basic and I found it in Creative Computing in (I think) the early 1980's. I do not remember the author or have a reference. I've contacted David Ahl (the publisher of Creative Computing) to get a reference, but even he failed. The game uses a simple trick of remembering all previous moves in all previous games and weighting these up or down when it wins or loses. It can do this since there are so few possibilities for moves in a game. This is but one way of simulating intelligence: have a really good memory.
Steven Read of Indiana State University found this link: http://gb64.com/game.php?id=12516&d=45, which attributes the game to Martin Gardner and Alan W. Gardner. Thanks for the information.