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        Arimaa >> General Discussion >> what does handicap mean?
        
(Message started by: asfaklive on Jan 24^th, 2010, 10:43pm)

Title: what does handicap mean?
Post by asfaklive on Jan 24^th, 2010, 10:43pm

What does the following line mean?

"
While top Arimaa programs have already achieved relatively high level of play, still top
human players are able to defeat them even with big handicaps (e.g. giving the handicap
of a dog, a horse, or even a camel).
"

Basically I want to know about handicap in Arimaa.

Regards.

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by Tuks on Jan 24^th, 2010, 11:25pm

it means that when you start the match you sacrifice your own pieces on the first move and thereby give the opponent an advantage for the rest of the game

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by PMertens on Jan 25^th, 2010, 1:43am

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/twiki/bin/view/Arimaa/BotBashers

here you can see plenty of examples including handicaps that did not involve suiciding your own pieces but other self-restrictions.

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by asfaklive on Jan 25^th, 2010, 2:39am

on 01/24/10 at 23:25:56, Tuks wrote:

it means that when you start the match you sacrifice your own pieces on the first move and thereby give the opponent an advantage for the rest of the game

'on the first move' is confusing to me.

A. Is it the case that one player starts the game with fewer animals than the other?

or

B. Both starts the game with equal number of animals but one player sacrifices his some animals in first few moves by throwing them to traps?

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by Tuks on Jan 25^th, 2010, 2:55am

its B, each player starts with all pieces and one kills his own in the near by trap squares

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by Fritzlein on Jan 25^th, 2010, 3:39am

on 01/25/10 at 02:39:37, asfaklive wrote:

A. Is it the case that one player starts the game with fewer animals than the other?

We would rather do A than B, because that would be a more pure form of the handicap, but it is not technically feasible with the interface we have. Adding the ability to give pure handicaps hasn't been the most urgent feature for Omar to add to the interface.

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by RonWeasley on Jan 25^th, 2010, 10:12am

on 01/24/10 at 22:43:09, asfaklive wrote:

Basically I want to know about handicap in Arimaa.

Or you could play with a camel that has only one hump.

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by Eltripas on Jan 25^th, 2010, 7:20pm

on 01/25/10 at 10:12:29, RonWeasley wrote:

Or you could play with a camel that has only one hump.

So the average arimaa camel is a Bactrian Camel (camel with two humps) rather than a Dromedary (camel with one hump)?

(Yes I know my question is stupid and off topic)

Title: Re: what does handicap mean?
Post by Arimabuff on Jan 26^th, 2010, 2:41pm

on 01/25/10 at 19:20:21, Eltripas wrote:

So the average arimaa camel is a Bactrian Camel (camel with two humps) rather than a Dromedary (camel with one hump)?

(Yes I know my question is stupid and off topic)

Silly me! I thought it referred to the camel's sexual habit. ;D