Improve Game Strategy with LISP Function Help | Random Stone Placement

[Adam]

Got a problem with this function. It is part of a heuristic thing for a game. If I can't get a winning row of five stones, or block a winning row from the opponent, or blah blah blah, I want it to place a stone at some random point adjacent to the opponent's last move. Basically think of a tic-tac-toe grid but larger. A 3x3 array, 0 to 9. If opponent places a stone in 4, then I want it to place randomly in 0 to 3 or 5 to 9. At the moment it almost works, but freezes if the stone is placed on the left edge of the board.

(defun rndplyr ()
  (if (null (get-history))
      (list 0 0 )
    (let ((hist (get-history))
          (lm (car (get-history))))
   
      (do ((row (+ (car lm) (+ (random 3) -1 ) ))
           (col (+ (cadr lm) (+ (random 3) -1 ) )))
          ((score (list row col) (get-board))
           (list row col)))))
  )

Any hints?

 

[Hurkyl]

Your code doesn't seem to error check to see if your value for row and col lie on the board... I surmise that the score function isn't written to handle illegal values and gets itself caught in an infinite loop.

 

[ravenprp]

One possible issue could be the use of random numbers to determine the placement of the stone. Since the function is only looking at the opponent's last move, it may not be considering the overall game strategy. Instead of using random numbers, you could try implementing a logic-based approach where you consider the current state of the game and make a decision based on that.

For example, you could analyze the board and determine if there are any potential winning rows for either player. If there are, then you can prioritize blocking those or creating your own winning row. If there are no potential winning rows, then you could use the random placement as a last resort.

Another possible issue could be the use of a 3x3 grid for a larger game board. Depending on the size of the board, this may not be an effective strategy. You could consider expanding the grid or implementing a different data structure to better represent the game board.

Overall, it may be helpful to break down the function into smaller, more manageable parts and test each part separately to identify where the issue may be occurring. Additionally, seeking feedback from other players or experts in game strategy could also provide valuable insights and improvements for the function.