Description

Assignment 5
Game Playing

Problem Statement: Code a Bot to play the game of Othello in an optimal way, in order to win the game.
Description: In this assignment, you will code a bot to win the game of Othello. Given a board configuration and a turn, your bot will return a valid move. The game ends when neither of the players can make a valid move. The player with the maximum number of coins is the winner.
Programming Language: C++
System specifications: 64-bit Linux distribution
Instructions
Setting up the framework
We will be providing you with a framework (Desdemona.zip) that lets two bots compete against each other.
1. Extract the contents of Desdemona.zip into a suitable directory.
2. Set up the framework by issuing a make command in the root of this directory.
Programming the bot
● You will modify “MyBot.cpp” to return a valid move whenever the function play is called. The file is located in “bots/MyBot”.
● The makefile is also provided at this location. Use it to generate a “.so” file.
● All other source files are to be left untouched.
● You can test your bot against another bot by issuing the command “./bin/Desdemona ./<path to bot1.so >./<path to bot2.so >”
● By convention, the first bot is BLACK and the second RED.
● A random bot (bots/Random Bot) has been provided for testing.
● At the end of the game, a “game.log” file is created that contains the sequence of moves made.
● There should be NO print statements in the code submitted.
● If a bot returns an invalid move, it will be disqualified.
Helper functions
The following functions have already been written to assist you:
● bool OthelloBoard::validateMove( Turn turn, int x, int y )
True if the move (x,y) is valid for the turn, False otherwise
● bool OthelloBoard::validateMove( Turn turn, Move move )
True if the move is valid for the turn, False otherwise
● void OthelloBoard::makeMove( Turn turn, int x, int y )
Updates the board configuration by making the move (x,y); throws an exception if the move is
not valid
● void OthelloBoard::makeMove( Turn turn, Move move )
Updates the board configuration by making the specified move; throws an exception if the move
is not valid
● list<Move>OthelloBoard::getValidMoves( Turn turn )
Returns a list of valid moves that can be made given the turn
● int OthelloBoard::getBlackCount()
Returns the number of black coins on the board
● int OthelloBoard::getRedCount()
Returns the number of red coins on the board
● void OthelloBoard::print( Turn turn )
Prints the turn, the board configuration, and the number of black and red coins. ’X’ is BLACK,
’O’ is RED, and unfilled locations are blank
Time Constraints
Each bot can take at most 2 seconds to return a move. If this time limit is exceeded, the bot causing the timeout will be disqualified.
Submission:
Apply a minimax algorithm to code a bot ( minmax_bot.so) and alpha-beta pruning to code the other
(AB_bot.so). Test the two bots against each other and record the observations.
Evaluation Criteria:
Heuristic Functions: 5
Correctness: 20
Report: 20
Code Quality: 5
Report Format :
1. Brief description of the algorithms
2. Heuristic functions considered
3. Trees to show my particular moves are chosen for any 6 moves given the board configuration. (
3 for each algorithm ) .
4. Compare the two algorithms and justify which is better in terms of
1. Space and Time complexity
2. Winning criteria
NOTE:
2. Submit the following files named with your group number.
a. Code: <group_number>.py
b. Input file if there (input.txt)
<group_number>.pdf
c. Report:(A brief report stating your methodology and iterative improvements.)
d. Readme.txt ( How to execute your program)
3. Mode of submission is moodle.