techPortal

We recently wrapped up the first Ibuildings challenge of 2011; a contest to create a virtual gamer able to play Four in a Line (you might also know it as Four in a Row, Connect Four or Find Four). Ibuildings provided the gaming field and the abstract player class that everyone needed to extend, and the competitors provided the rest. This post announces the winners and makes some observations based on the submissions we received.

Tournament key rules

• If a player attempts to make any illegal move, they will automatically lose the match. Illegal moves are trying to insert a disc into a column that's full, or trying to insert a disc into a column that doesn't exist.
• To keep things fair for everybody, we created 3 categories based on your PHP experience (0-2 years experience, 2-4 years experience, 4+ years experience).
• Points were awarded in the following way:
  • 3 points for a win
  • 1 point for a tie
  • no points for a lose

Let the Battle Commence

Four in a Line as game has been mathematically solved and the advantage lies with the player taking the first turn. To level the playing field, we allowed each player to fight against all the others; in this way, any player had the chance to begin with the first move advantage playing against all the other opponents at least once, sharing the elements of luck and making it easier to spot skill. Each game was played on the official 7 x 6 grid on a basis of three rounds per game. At the end of each qualification session only the players with the highest score moved further in the tournament.
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