Game Complexity
Shogi has the distinctive feature of reusing captured pieces. Therefore shogi has a higher branching factor than other chess variants. The computer has more positions to examine because each piece in hand can be dropped on many squares. This gives shogi the highest number of legal positions and the highest number of possible games of all the popular chess variants. The higher numbers for shogi mean it is harder to reach the highest levels of play. The number of legal positions and the number of possible games are 2 measures of shogi’s Game complexity.
| Game | Board Size | Number of Pieces | Number of Different Pieces | Legal Positions | Possible Games | Average Game Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess | 64 | 32 | 6 | 1047 | 10123 | 80 |
| Xiangqi | 90 | 32 | 7 | 1048 | 10150 | 95 |
| Shogi | 81 | 40 | 8 | 1071 | 10226 | 110 |
| Wei-qi | 361 | Up to 360 | 1 | 10171 | 10360 | 150 |
Read more about this topic: Computer Shogi
Famous quotes containing the words game and/or complexity:
“Hollywood held this double lure for me, tremendous sums of money for work that required no more effort than a game of pinochle.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“In times like ours, where the growing complexity of life leaves us barely the time to read the newspapers, where the map of Europe has endured profound rearrangements and is perhaps on the brink of enduring yet others, where so many threatening and new problems appear everywhere, you will admit it may be demanded of a writer that he be more than a fine wit who makes us forget in idle and byzantine discussions on the merits of pure form ...”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)