Arimaa (2002)

Arimaa

Arimaa is a two-player strategy board game that was designed to be playable with a standard chess set and difficult for computers while still being easy to learn and fun to play for humans. It was invented between 1997 and 2002 by Omar Syed, an Indian-American computer engineer trained in artificial intelligence. Syed published the rules to Arimaa in 2002 and announced a $10,000 prize for the first computer program to defeat a human world champion at the game.

Why is Arimaa Popular?

Arimaa is significant because it is designed to be difficult for computers to play at a high level, while still being accessible and enjoyable for humans. This makes it an interesting challenge for computer programmers and artificial intelligence researchers. Additionally, the game has a strong community of players and has been recognized with several awards.

Game Components of Arimaa

– Standard chess set
– Arimaa board (8×8 squares)
– Pieces: 16 rabbits, 4 cats, 4 dogs, 2 horses, 2 camels, and 1 elephant per player

Game Setup of Arimaa

The board is set up with the four trap squares (C3, C6, F3, F6) occupied by the player’s own pieces.

Gameplay Mechanics of Arimaa

Players take turns moving one piece per turn, with the goal of pushing one of their rabbits to the opponent’s home row. Pieces have different movement abilities, with rabbits being the weakest and elephants being the strongest. Players can also move their own pieces onto trap squares, which immobilizes the piece until it is pushed off by an opponent’s piece.

Game Objective of Arimaa

The objective of Arimaa is to push one of your rabbits to the opponent’s home row.

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