Quick Details

git

The git repository is listed on The UCC git page as "progcomp2012.git"

Direct Link Here

Mailing List

We will use the same mailing list as last year (progcomp).

irc channel

There is a #progcomp irc channel on the ucc irc server (irc.ucc.asn.au) where you can ask questions or help with setting things up.

Stratego

This site explains what Stratego is.

Short Version: It is a board game in which all pieces have a value that is, initially, unknown to the opponent player. The objective is to destroy all enemy pieces, or capture the enemy "Flag". Pieces with higher values destroy pieces with lower values. There are several special pieces/rules.

Programming Competition

Create an AI to play Stratego.

Programs are written independently and interface through stdin/stdout with a manager program, which queries them on setup and moves.

The Manager Program

The manager program provides the protocol for two seperate AI to play a game of stratego. It has the imaginative name of 'stratego', but I will probably refer to it as 'the manager program' or 'stratego' with absolutely no consistency.

It also aims to assist with AI design by providing options for graphical or terminal output and saving/reading games from files

Human players are also supported, although the interface is minimal, as this feature is meant for testing.

If you just want to play a game, without having to write your own AI, try Probe

Screenshot

Graphical output of 'stratego' manager program.

Protocol

For the sake of simplicity and keeping things in one place, the protocol is now entirely described in the manual page of the manager program. All updates to the protocol will be reflected in that file.

Warning: The accuracy of the above file depends on how recently I pulled it from git. To ensure you get the latest version, find it under "web/doc/manager_manual.txt" in the git repository

Another Warning: AI programs must unbuffer stdin and stdout themselves. This is explained in the manual page, but I figured no one would read it. It is fairly simple to unbuffer stdin/stdout in C/C++ and python, I have not investigated other languages yet.

Long Term Scoring

Several rounds will be played (depending on the number of entries), with contestants given time to improve their entries between rounds.

Each round is a round robin, with every AI playing several games against each possible opponent. A points system is used to score each AI, 3 points for a Win, 2 for a Draw, 1 for a Loss or -1 for an Illegal response (counts as a Win for the opponent). Scores accumulate between rounds.

The winning AI will be the AI with the highest score after all rounds have been played. In the event of a tied score, the two highest scoring AI's will play one more round consisting of three games. If the scores are still tied, the official outcome will be a Draw.

When the competition officially runs, results will appear here. Preliminary test results might occasionally appear there for the next few weeks.

Sample AI Programs

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The following sample programs are currently available (and in a semi-working state - refer to the git repository):

Name Language Moves Considers...
basic_python Python Randomised
basic_cpp C++ Randomised
asmodeus Python Scored Path finding, known combat results, piece values
vixen Python Scored Asmodeus + Probabilities for unknown combat results

It is planned to implement the equivelants of these samples in C++ and Python at least, possibly other languages later.

Submissions

You must submit the full source code, and build instructions or makefile(s) for your program.

Also include the name of the executable or script, the name of the AI, your name, and optionally a description of your AI and its tactics.

Please email matches@ if you have a submission.

Code which attempts to comprimise the host machine, or interfere directly with the functioning of other programs will be disqualified.

Dates

The competition will run in 2012. The exact dates have not been determined. An email will be sent to the list and messages sent to the irc channel.

Involvement

If you want to help set up the competition, email matches@

Last webpage update: 22/12/11