Breakthrough is an abstract strategy board game invented by Dan Troyka in 2000 and made available as a Zillions of Games file. (source) The goal is to be the first player to move one of your pieces from your starting row to your opponent's back row or capture all the opponent's pieces.
https://breakthrough-ai.vercel.app
- Players take turns moving one piece per turn.
- Pieces can only move forward one space per turn, either straight or diagonally, in the direction facing the opponent's side.
- Capturing occurs when a player's piece moves diagonally to a tile occupied by an opponent's piece.
- Stacking is not allowed. Only one piece can occupy a space at a time.
The AI player utilizes the following algorithms and techniques:
- Iterative Deepening Alpha-Beta Pruning (Negamax)
- Transposition Table
The AI leverages a sophisticated evaluation function to assess the current game state and guide its decision-making. This function considers various factors, assigning them weights based on their strategic importance:
- Piece Distance to Goal: This evaluates how close each piece is to reaching the opponent's back row.
- Piece Count: The remaining number of pieces for each player.
- Capture Potential: The ability to capture opponent's pieces.
- Diagonal Chain Formation: The potential to create diagonal chains of pieces.
- Near-Win State: When a piece is close to winning and cannot be blocked or captured.
- Center Control: While not the most crucial factor in Breakthrough, maintaining some presence in the center can offer tactical advantages.