Computer scientists have used various techniques to explore the strategy spaces of deterministic games like chess and checkers. Less work has been done to find techniques that can explore strategies in tabletop wargames like Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, which mix the spatial movement of chess and checkers with random outcomes.
This research demonstrates that evolutionary computing can differentiate between high- and low-scoring strategies in Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, and can refine high-scoring strategies to further improve their results. It encodes strategic preferences in a chromosome-like structure. Then, it plays thousands of simulated games, using an evolutionary strategy of mutation and selection to find the strategic preferences most fit for survival.
Using a simplified version of the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy ruleset and a test environment based on the published Ignis Sector Assault narrative scenario, this proof-of-concept research finds that evolution consistently converges toward a strategy that prioritizes claiming objectives as quickly as possible, accepting losses to do so. By contrast, it finds that loss-averse strategies are much less successful against a reasonably aggressive opponent.
This research suggests that evolutionary computing is a valuable tool for exploring strategies in tabletop wargames. With further development, the methods used here can become a valuable tool both for those building scenarios and players who want to understand their strategic options.
Author bios
Thomas Sarachan is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wilson College. He earned holds an MFA in game design from the NYU Game Center, part of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is working on a Scouring-era army based on the Raven Guard Deliverers.
Sherri L. Buerdsell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology at Wilson College (Pennsylvania, USA), draws on her two Ph.D.s (Biology and Curriculum and Instruction) to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and transformative teaching. A specialist in plant invasion and community ecology, Dr. Buerdsell’s research has been published in multiple journals.
