A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys


I like it fast - 3-wins Ludo - Nov 2015

I like it fast - 3-wins Ludo - Dec 2015

playBunny: Here's a 2015 Ludo "backgammon". This time it's me as the victim.

rod03801, aaru: That's very interesting. One from 2011, one from 2013 and one from 2014, so far. Rare as Fabergé eggs, perhaps, but not as rare as hen's teeth.

playBunny: Back in Jan 2011 (yet not that many posts ago), I asked if anyone had spotted a Ludo "backgammon", defined as the loser having all four pieces still in their base at the end. I'm sure that there must have been a few but I've not seen one myself until this game.

Now what we need is an example of a "perfect  backgammon", where the hapless loser doesn't even get out of their base even once. I think that it could be a long time before we see one of those.

Fwiffo: Make do you mean by "Ludo puzzle" and what makes one good?

Shweena: I'm just being ironic. ;-)

Shweena: Because it's the game that most needs it! ;O)

Has any one suffered a Ludo "backgammon" or inflicted one on their opponent? This is a game where the loser still has all 4 men in the base at the end.

The "gammon" would be where the base isn't full but no man has reached home yet. More likely but still probably a pretty rare occurence.

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys

Late announcement. It starts on Wednesday

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st December 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st November 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st December 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st October 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st November 2010

Snoopy: No bunny butt's gonna be kicked here!

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st September 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st October 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st August 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Sep 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st July 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st August 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st June 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st July 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st May 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st June 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Apr 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st May 2010

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Feb 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Mar 2010

Snoopy: Good to hear it. Welcome

A monthly series of fast-paced Ludo tourneys.


I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Jan 2010

I like it fast - 3 wins Ludo - 1st Feb 2010

AbigailII: So true

The November tourneys are coming to an end. Time for a new one.

3 wins Ludo - "I like it fast" - 1st Feb 2009

Chaosu: Autostart means that you won't have to click until a 6 appears to start the game as the system will roll dice until one of the players gets a 6. Autopass means it skips until you have any move.

Ludo (playBunny, 2008-04-19 00:49:36)

mctrivia: Lol, as a major complainer about the BKR for chance-based games ...... I do know such a formula

mctrivia: I got up2esparts there
values good

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mctrivia: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ';', expecting ',' or ')' in /home/mctrivia/public_html/aigamez/pages/register.class.php on line 32

mctrivia: The Register script has a wee bug. ;-)

mctrivia: Autostart's good. Thanks. :-)

mctrivia: Lol, I'm only teasing about the speed. I know there's nothing you can do to get more oomph out of the server ;-) It's true that the auto's speed it up. Unfortunately it's much harder to control the dice using psychic energy waves if you're not playing roll by roll. .

mctrivia: Heh heh. Your exact words "it runs much faster now"

A 500 ms timer delay won't give at least 1/2 q second but 1/4 of a second on average - occasionally near 1/2, occasionally paractically negligble, mostly inbetween.

mctrivia: Lol. I'm sorry to say that it actually runs slower! You have a delay loop of 500 millisecs which will add, on average, a quarter of a second to the wait.

reloadPage() and its timer loop are redundant. They check to see whether moveDone() has received a response but they aren't needed because if moveDone() receives a response it knows about it. But, because nothing happens until reloadPage() finds out that moveDone()'s been lucky, there's the extra timeOut() delay.

mctrivia: I've been thinking about the name. "Autostart" would probably be more informative and also more accurate if you should change the rules so that a 4, for example, can start as well.

mctrivia: Ah, that would do away with the 50-50 situation at the end as well, where you're both waiting for the one dice to win the game. I think that's part of the fun and frustration of the game, where you're willing your number to come up. As such it has value whereas waiting for either to get a 6 has little suspense, perhaps only when there's one man each in the base.

As this auto option is intended for those who have the other two off because they want to see every play, I think the extra diversity isn't the bonus that it might seem. I'd be happy with autosixes. (Plus it saves the search for a better name for the auto-skip-to-action , although you could have that option as well!).

mctrivia: The current autopass means that the game plays itself while you're stuck. This idea isn't like that. It's only applicable when neither side can move. That's the case at the start of 5/6 games. There's no value in watching non-sixes being rolled at this stage. Putting autopass on would mean missing the start if it's the opponent who gets the 6. They'll charge off around the board without a single view of the board being shown. In the very rare worst case the game ends before you get out and you don't see a thing. In the usual case they get one or two, maybe even three or four, men out.

There's also the situation during a game when both sides have done all that they can (all the pieces that are out have been pushed as far into their home as possible, only the base pieces have any potential) and the players are back to rolling like mad to get a 6. The same deal could be used there. In the game record (if you keep one) you could list all the non-6 rolls and passes but the next page view for the player would be whoever's 6 it was.

A suggested name for this option would be autosixes. ;-)

mctrivia: Having Autopass off is fine if you want to watch the AI stomping round the track on its way to victory - again! - but, when everyone's at home and there's no 6, it makes no sense to require the player to sit there clicking away with nothing happening (especially when the server's being slow). It would be much better to just flip a coin and give the winner a 6.

mctrivia: should I use javascript to make the pieces move 1 step at a time.

Lol, I guess I'm missing something. Isn't it already one step at a time? (unless you've got the auto-finish-the-game options on)

mctrivia: I'm not quite clear on what you're saying.

playBunny: There is a difference between yours and BrainKing's. Yours seems to give as many sixes as are rolled (I've had [6] x5 + [?] a couple of times) whereas BrainKing limits it to three usable dice ([6] x2 + [?]) as far as I remember.

mctrivia: I've played three 11-wins "matches" against it and won two. Whoopee! But, as the scores were 7-4, 2-9, 6-5 = 15-18, it's ahead of me in games. Booooo!

It's a good player. Your English might be adrift but your programming certainly isn't.

mctrivia: Typo that I will have to fix(Ballet)

Lol, I think you mean ballot, but that's not the right word anyway. A ballot is a vote in a selection process. When you're in a prize draw it's tickets, eg. "Would you like to buy a ticket for the raffle at the church bazaar?"

mctrivia: What on Earth's a "balit"?

mctrivia: With autopass and automove it's possible to do just a couple of moves, wait ages and then a new game starts. It really needs to say who won and lost!

rod03801: Ah, thanks Rod. I remember mention of it now. It's used so that other people can't play using your id (unless you've given them your access code).

mctrivia: 3rdPartyCode?

mctrivia: Ahah. Lol, I looked for Player and Ludo but not AI.

nodnarbo: Thanks, I just wanted to make it clear. "AI Player" suggests a player at BrainKing. ;-)

mctrivia: What AI Ludo Player?

janajana: Thank you. It's very kind of you to say so.

mctrivia: Well, let's just say you'd better stick to the programming for now, and forget that dream job as a marketing man!

Consider what's important to your prospective user.

"Open source program" - Nope. That's not a selling point as it provides no functionality. It's even a sticking point for some. Joe User: "Ooh, it's an open source program. Does that mean I have to do XYZ? Does open source mean it won't run on Windows? Does it mean <other strange ideas>?"

"games on brainking.com were you don't have to think to play". Joe User: "Er, but I have to think in all my games, don't I?"
_________________________________

BrainKing Java Auto Player

What is it?

This is a program which you can run on your computer at home to automatically make the passes and other forced moves for you in certain games.

These are the games that you'd rather not have to waste your time visiting: Ludo, where you need a 6 but don't roll one and have to pass, or where you only have one piece that can move. Backgammon games where you're stuck on the bar but your opponent won't allow the Brainking autopass to work. Or when bearing off and there's only one possible way to do so [If you've implemented that] .. [And another example or two of whichever games apply.]

The program can do automatic clicking for you in all of these games: Ludo, Backgammon, Nackgammon .. [and all the rest]

How does it work?

When you want the program to watch your games and make move for you, you start it running. It'll then log in as you every X minutes and check your game sheet. If there are games which need to be played then it'll check those. If there's a pass or a forced move then it'll click the [Move] button and send the game back to your opponent, saving you the trouble. When it's checked all your games then it'll go to sleep until it's time to check again.

Does it always make moves?

Not always. It won't move if your opponent has left a comment for you to read. The game will be left untouched so that you can read it and respond. It also won't move when .....[whatever conditions]
_________________________________

Etc. Tell the story, spell it out. An hour or two on this stuff will be of more benefit than the same time on a piece of code if it encourages more users. Each user multiplies the value of your coding time.

The privacy reassurance, open sourceness, license information and technobabble are irrelevant until the user knows why they should become interested in them. These things should come after the installation instructions. When they do get that far, put the privacy part in a FAQ section, the license and open sourceness too, but down at the end because most people really don't care. That is, if you change the licence and open sourceness how does it affect your users? Not at all in 99% of cases, so don't bother them with it.

Privacy concerns are interesting. For some people it's reassuring to hear that information. For others it brings to mind something that they may not have thought of - and suddenly they're not sure, despite what you say. I think it's best to have it available but not make an issue of it.

The technobabble should be on a separate page "Programmers this way -->". When there's a whole chunk of Source Code and Archive and other such stuff, it can scare off people who don't know what it's about. If they're concerned that they might have to understand what it's saying and make some decision about it then they might just back off, needlessly.