Post by Steve Draper on Dec 20, 2013 5:28:22 GMT -8
I would like to propose a small rule change for these games on Tiltyard. Specifically to the goal values. Currently its 100 for having more pieces than one's opponent at the terminal state, and 50 for the same number. I would like to suggest that the 100 become 90 and that the full 100 is awarded only if the terminal state is not terminal due to the turn counter reaching 100 (i.e. - capturing all ones opponent's pieces scores higher than simply having more when the game expires).
The reason I suggest this, is that having watched play in a fairly large number of instances, an extremely common pattern is a 20-25 move tactical exchange, resulting in one player getting a material advantage, followed by 70-80 moves of moving a king back and forth to kill time, which is uninteresting (both as a viewer and as an academic exercise in game tree search) and time-consuming. Providing a goal incentive to 'clean up' should make games potentially more interesting, and also allow improved differentiation of the better players.
The reason I suggest this, is that having watched play in a fairly large number of instances, an extremely common pattern is a 20-25 move tactical exchange, resulting in one player getting a material advantage, followed by 70-80 moves of moving a king back and forth to kill time, which is uninteresting (both as a viewer and as an academic exercise in game tree search) and time-consuming. Providing a goal incentive to 'clean up' should make games potentially more interesting, and also allow improved differentiation of the better players.
