Best Reply Search for Multiplayer Games

This paper proposes a new algorithm, called best reply search (BRS), for deterministic multiplayer games with perfect information. In BRS, only the opponent with the strongest counter move is allowed to make a move. More turns of the root player can be searched resulting in long-term planning. We test BRS in the games of Chinese Checkers, Focus, and Rolit™. In all games, BRS is superior to the max
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algorithm. We show that BRS also outperforms paranoid in Chinese Checkers and Focus. In Rolit, BRS is on equal footing with paranoid. We conclude that BRS is a promising search method for deterministic multiplayer games with perfect information.