Playing against a computer

leonardo · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 17

I have played a few games against computers, including chess and backgammon, which play at expert and world class levels. When I play chess it is pretty easy to tell that you are playing against a computer—when a computer plays chess it comes up with moves that a human would never think of. However, when I play backgammon against a computer it doesn’t seem that obvious. I wonder if anyone can tell if they are playing against a computer or a human when they are playing backgammon online.

LippedCup · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

Actually, I too think that it’s pretty hard to tell if you are playing against a computer or not. If you are asking because you are worried about people cheating against you by using bots, some people think that a lag or delay in the time it takes for your opponent to make their move could indicate that they are using a bot to help them out. You can also look at the past match analysis of your opponent—if they are rated as expert or world class consistently then maybe you shouldn’t play them for money.

PipCount · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 16

Personally, I have a hard time knowing if I’m playing against a human or a bot. However, when I suspect that a player is playing “too good” to not be analyzing every move with a bot I analyze the match using GnuBG afterwards. If every move comes up as “perfect” then you have reason for concern.