Discovering Complex Othello Strategies through Evolutionary Neural Networks

An approach to develop new game playing strategies based on arti cial evolution of neural networks is presented. Evolution was directed to discover strategies in Othello against a random-moving opponent and later against an search program. The networks discovered rst a standard positional strategy, and subsequently a mobility strategy, an advanced strategy rarely seen outside of tournaments. The latter discovery demonstrates how evolutionary neural networks can develop novel solutions by turning an initial disadvantage into an advantage in a changed environment.