A box cover of the board game "Arimaa" featuring stylized animal chess pieces on a game board, with the Z-Man Games logo and text stating a $10,000 programming challenge.
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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.

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