This week Mike & Brian play Checkers, one of the oldest games around. Things we discuss in this episode include Woolly Mammoth Antiques, Oddities & Resale located in Andersonville, the terrific podcast How Much Do We Love… and Brian’s childhood crush on Shaun Cassidy.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:27 — 15.2MB)
Hey guys, great podcast! Listened to it while on a long train ride to Chicago’s ‘burbs.
Did you know that checkers is a solved game? There is a mathematically correct way to play that ensures you no worse a fate than a draw (like taking 3 corners in your first 3 turns in tic-tac-toe). I’m not totally sure on how to play a perfect game because I haven’t studied it (yet), as I don’t have access to the study and am not smart enough to figure it out on my own.
If you’re interested, the study is:
Checkers Is Solved
Schaeffer et al.
Science 14 September 2007: 1518-1522
DOI: 10.1126/science.1144079
According to Wikipedia, other solved two-player games include Connect 4, Maharajah and the Sepoys (my favorite Chess variant), Tic-Tac-Toe, and Awari.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solved_game
That’s good info Goose. I don’t think we are smart enough to figure it out either.