Arimaa Forum - Print Page


    
      
        Arimaa Forum
        (http://arimaa.com/arimaa/forum/cgi/YaBB.cgi)
      

        Arimaa >> Say Hello >> Hi!
        
(Message started by: Draxamus on Oct 16^th, 2006, 12:06am)

Title: Hi!
Post by Draxamus on Oct 16^th, 2006, 12:06am

So I just came across Arimaa a few days ago. I think I found the link in the wikipedia article about chess. Never really was into chess, but some some reason Arimaa appeals to me. Anyway I've been reading some of the wikibook and playing some bots trying to wrap my head around the game. The first few bots didn't give me too much trouble--I assume just cause they're that easy. I didn't really feel like I had any idea what I was doing in my first few games. The first bots that were giving me trouble were Loc2005P1 and GnoBot2005P1. Although in my last game I beat Loc2005P1. Anyway in that game I felt like I had at least a tiny bit of strategy in mind instead of just randomly moving pieces.

So anyone have any advice on learning the strategy involved? Also, I'm a little confused as to what exactly a "frame" is. Can someone explain that term to me.

And whoever invited me to play a game last night--I accidentally left myself logged in while asleep!

Title: Re: Hi!
Post by 99of9 on Oct 16^th, 2006, 2:43am

Welcome aboard.

At this stage, my main recommendation is to learn to be as safe as possible with your own pieces. Always check that they're not in danger of being swung into an unguarded trap. You'll occasionally manage to pick off a piece or two from the opponent, and as long as you don't lose your own, you'll eventually win!

A frame is when a piece is stuck on a trap, guarded by only one friendly piece, and cannot get off, because it is totally surrounded and can't even push its way off.

on 10/16/06 at 00:06:44, Draxamus wrote:

I accidentally left myself logged in while asleep!

That happens to me all the time :-).

Title: Re: Hi!
Post by RonWeasley on Oct 16^th, 2006, 7:45am

Welcome to the game! To learn strategy there's the Wiki pages on strategy. To see it in action, pick a highly rated player, click on their link and click on Game Record. Choose an opponent and click on one of the numbers to get a list of games. Click on one of the game boards and play through the game and see if you can understand how they force captures, control traps, and force goals.

Look at the commented games and read some comments. Play through games whose comments interest you. Look at some of DorianGaray's bot games for refined strategy against the somewhat predictable bots.

Then try some of the strategies in your own games. If they don't work, replay the game and find out why. Repeat. Then play muggles and see if the strategy works on them. Repeat. Play the touraments. Repeat. Win the tournaments and defend the Challenge Match. Become World Champion.

After this, you might begin to believe you understand arimaa strategy.

Title: Re: Hi!
Post by Fritzlein on Oct 16^th, 2006, 10:10am

Welcome Draxamus! I played a fair amount of chess in high school, but for some reason I never got good at it. Arimaa was a totally different experience for me. For some reason there were features of Arimaa that my mind could latch onto.

I agree with 99of9. The first thing to learn is how to keep your pieces from being captured. Before you send in any move, look to see whether your opponent can capture something on the next move. Once you do that on every move, strategy begins. Conversely, if you don't check to see which pieces are safe and which aren't, any strategy you use will fall apart when your opponent starts picking off your unprotected pieces.

This is not to say that you should always play defensively. You can charge forward with your elephant and other pieces, trying to get a goal, or trying to take over one of your opponent's traps. That's not bad strategy, as long as you always check on every move whether the opponent will be able to take any unprotected pieces of yours.

I prefer to attack with the elephant only, as part of a very defensive style, but that's just my personal preference. It is just as effective to attack with elephant+horse, or elephant+camel+rabbits, or even a double-trap attack. What's important is not which strategy you choose, but how well you execute that strategy.

Feel free to sign up for the World Championship tournament. Since you have just learned the game, you will probably lose two games in a row and be eliminated, but since your entry fee is refunded, what do you have to lose? You might learn a thing or two about strategy. :-)

Even if you don't sign up for the World Championship, be sure to sign up for the prediction contest. There isn't even a registration fee for that, so you can have fun with no obligation, and compete for $100 in free prizes.