THOUGHTS ON ROSHAMBO

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Billings, Darse^{; 1}

Affiliations: Edmonton, Alberta

Note: [1] Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1. Canada. Email: darse@cs.ualberta.ca.

Abstract: This article features observations and technical details from the First International RoShamBo Programming Competition. In this contest, the participating programs competed against each other and a standard set of “dummy bots” in the game of RoShamBo (also known as Roek-Paper-Scissors). The discussion covers certain aspects of game strategy, some of the general techniques used for pattern detection, and the specific algorithms used for the exploitable dummy bots. Using perceived patterns and tendencies to gain an advantage is an easily understood form of opponent modelling. For some games, like poker and RoShamBo, this is an ability which will probably be essential for computer programs to play at a world-class level.

DOI: 10.3233/ICG-2000-23102

Journal: ICGA Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 3-8, 2000