Homework 2

Introduction

Consider the following variation to tic-tac-toe

Players alternate taking turns placing a piece on a standard tic-tac-toe board
Player 1 is always X, player 2 is always O.
The first player to cause the board to get three pieces in a row LOSES.
If all nine spaces become filled without obtaining 3 in a row the game is a draw.

Instructions

For this homework you should write a program that fits the following requirements

Your code must provide an easy way for me to indicate the current state of the board as a single String. You may assume that the string will be of length 9 and consist of the characters X, O, and - (meaning that position is empty)
You must devise a solution which uses minimax to search for the optimal move for the current player. The definition of optimal here is a little squishy. The base definition is
- a move which makes the win NOW if possible
- a move which makes the win in the future if possible
- a move which avoids losing if possible (a draw)
- a move which causes a lose some time in the future
- a move which causes the game to be lost NOW
When an optimal move is found your code needs to print out the specific move to take and an indication of whether this move will eventually lead to a win, a lose, or a draw. (eg "X in cell 9 will result in a win")

You must also produce a short "read me" file (readme.txt) which explains to me, the tester, how to use your program. This includes:

How do I provide the input? (command line during execution, command line on invocation, hardcoded in the code, etc)
How are you numbering the board? (0-8 or 1-9).
How are you "scoring" the outcomes (1/0/-1, -100 to +100, etc)

Some assumptions you may make to assist with the assignment (although you are not required to do so)

Player 1 is always X and is max
Player 2 is always O and is min
You can determine whose turn it is by considering the state of the board ("XXO------" clearly is a board where it is now min's turn)

Submitting Your Work

Prior to the deadline, use the homework submission system (http://math-cs.cns.uni.edu/~schafer/submit/which_course.cgi) to upload a zip file of all files you have produced. Make sure you submit all of the files needed to use your code.

In addition to online copies, please submit hard copies of this assignment at the start of class on the day it is due.