COLONEL BLOTTO: DISCIPULUS_DIDICIT (Xs) vs. RATIONALMADMAN (Os)

Author: oromagi
RM
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DiscipulusDidicit
Colonel Blotto

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#31
oromagi
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Play Colonel Blotto!
The tactical lotto!
Most highest totals:
That is our motto!
ROUNDX GAMEBOARD:

player1=X
player2=O

The starting board is as follows:
________________
ZONE01______+5X
XXXXX
________________
ZONE02_____   +4X
XXXX
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ZONE03______+3X
XXX
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ZONE04______+2X
XX
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ZONE05______+1X
X
_________________
ZONE06_______+1O
O
__________________
ZONE07_______+2O
OO
__________________
ZONE08_______ +3O
OOO
___________________
ZONE09_______  +4O
OOOO
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ZONE10________+5O
OOOOO
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PLAYER1____5 ZONES
___________________
PLAYER2____5 ZONES


Let me know if you think I made any mistake.
you will each deploy FiFTY-FiVE more pawns over the course of the game

Deployment rules are:

1) You can place armies on any of the ten zones.

2) It IS permitted to place zero armies on a certain zone for a round.

2) Once placed, no armies can be moved between zones

3) Both players are allowed to see the new board after each round

4) Ten armies are placed by each player during round one. Nine are places during round two, eight during round three and so on.

5) IMPORTANT - Final winner is determined ONLY by number of zones controlled after final round. Zones controlled between any other rounds are IRRELEVANT for final victory score.
You each have TEN pawns to deploy for round one. You each have FORTY-FIVE pawns that can't be deployed this round but can be deployed in subsequent rounds.

Please submit actions via PM now.


#32
ILikePie5
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@oromagi
what are punnett squares?  
It’s a genetics thing to determine possible genotypes and phenotypes as a result of those.
#33
Ramshutu
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@Discipulus_Didicit
My step-by-step approach is:

1) Look for any place that was +1 for opponent. I can easily place 2 there knowing neither are wasted.

2) Look for any place that is tied. I can easily place 1 there knowing it is not wasted.

The above two steps guarantee 100% efficiency. After that deciding what to do with the leftover is more subjective, though as a rule you should ignore zones that are relatively secure for you and ones that are relatively secure for your opponent.
After working on a bot to play this; one of the things that becomes apparent is that you can only win if your opponent is +2 in at least one zone.

Whatever your opponents advantage in 4 zones is your advantage in the other 6. So if you take the 4 zones in which your opponent is leading in by the most each turn (provided they are +2 or more), you can maintain the numerical advantage in the remaining 6; and as long as you add armies such that your 4 biggest advantage zones add up to at most 2 less than theirs, you’ll have a +3 advantage in the remaining two zones by the last round.
#34
Discipulus_Didicit
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@Ramshutu
one of the things that becomes apparent is that you can only win if your opponent is +2 in at least one zone.
I don't think RM was +2 in any zone at any time in the game he and I just had.It may be possible to formulate a winning strategy like that but saying that is the ONLY way to win... maybe I am misunderstanding.
#35
Ramshutu
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@Discipulus_Didicit
RM was above 3/4/5 in zones 8,9,10 throughout. You were +4/5 in zones 1,2 throughout.

This means you had a +3 advantage in the remaining 5 zones throughout  the game.


#36
Discipulus_Didicit
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@Ramshutu
RM was above 3/4/5 in zones 8,9,10 throughout. You were +4/5 in zones 1,2 throughout.
So you meant "+2 or more" okay, yeah that was pretty silly of me to misunderstand that. My bad.
#37
RationalMadman
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@Discipulus_Didicit
It's actually +3 or more, if you only focus on things below +2 or more you aren't truly playing optimally in that format. If someone has +2 on you, put 1 into it, lessen the lead for 2 turns ahead.

I didn't do this in the games I played and I think it's my biggest hole in the playstyle. Don't contest things equally, put over-pressure to +1 and ties while putting under-pressure to +2.
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#38
oromagi
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If two players are interested in a game using the format from POST #31, I will run it.
#39
RationalMadman
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@oromagi
I'll vs anyone but that map is understood inside-out by most here now. You just aim to be +2 or +1 and maybe +3 in one area only, beyond that, the battle comes down to whether the one ahead maintains their +1 or gets tied, this comes down to reads and knowing whether to perhaps weaken something or over-invest in securing something.
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#40
oromagi
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@RationalMadman
I think the solution is to change up the options every game- number of zones, number of pre-played pawns, number of playable pawns, number of rounds are all variables that I'd prefer to change each game.
#41
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@Discipulus_Didicit
Is it really gonna take 2 days per turn