From the Project Euler home page, which I found by way of Vincent Knight:

Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve. Although mathematics will help you arrive at elegant and efficient methods, the use of a computer and programming skills will be required to solve most problems.

The motivation for starting Project Euler, and its continuation, is to provide a platform for the inquiring mind to delve into unfamiliar areas and learn new concepts in a fun and recreational context.

The first few problems (as far as I’ve browsed, at least) don’t appear to be particularly difficult from a mathematical point of view, but they do appear to provide enough of a programming/scripting challenge to be worth having a crack at rather than wasting time with the more mind-numbing types of solitaire.