Is Checkers a Solved Game? Yes Here's What That Really Means
Is checkers a solved game? Is the question asked by many, and the answer is yes, checkers is a solved game which has been played in many cafes, schoolyards, and tournament halls.
Playing checkers online or over the board looks easy because you just jump over opponent pieces diagonally to eliminate them. However, if you are asking if every game can be won, the answer is nope, because a game can end in a draw. Even when you play checkers online, the same rules apply, and you will often find that perfect moves from both sides lead to a balanced standoff rather than a win.
FAQs
- No. Chinook is a perfect player as the game is solved. If you play perfectly, you will draw. You lose in case you make a mistake. In no situation could Chinook commit an error that would give a human an opportunity.
- The sheer number of positions required immense computing power. The project used hundreds of computers running simultaneously over nearly two decades to map out the necessary paths to the draw.
- Only if you are a computer! For humans, the game remains a deep and rewarding challenge. The solution just proves that the game is balanced, making it a fair test of intellect between two people.
- While small games are solved frequently, checkers remains the most complex popular game to be fully solved. Games like 6x6 are solved, but the 8x8 version is still under development.
