ENDGAME PLAY IN SCRABBLE¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sheppard, Brian²

Affiliations: Concord, MA, USA

Note: [1] This is an adapted and updated version of Chapter 8 of Sheppard (2002).

Note: [2] Sheppard Company, Inc, Concord, MA, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Note: [3] It is assumed that the readers are familiar with the rules of Scrabble. For the precise rules and the notation of moves we refer to www.scrabble.com.

Abstract: Although two-person Scrabble3 as a whole is a game with hidden information, once the bag of tiles is emptied it resolves to a game of perfect information. This phase of the game is called the endgame. The state space of Scrabble endgames is characterized by high branching factors (average 200) and shallow depth (less than 15 plies). Expert endgame play involves move generation and tactical search. The article describes several design alternatives for searching this domain, including one based on Berliner’s (1979) B* algorithm. The most advanced implementation of this algorithm (implemented in MAVEN, a state-of-the-art computer player) achieves almost perfect play.

DOI: 10.3233/ICG-2003-26302

Journal: ICGA Journal, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 147-164, 2003