🚀 go-pugleaf

And the folks at Barclay bridge supplies recommend:

"Cybron" [Pegasus Software] -  For IBM PC  ($125.00)
	Claims to soon be availabe for Apple II and Macintosh.
	(from brochure discussing the product)

	...can play from zero to four positions at the table.
	After dealing a random hand or one specified by the user, 
	cybron will bid and then play... cybron will play...without
	cheating

	Bidding conventions: select 4 or 5 card majors, strong or
	weak 2 bids and cue bidding for each partnership.  Also
	set the level of "agressiveness" of bidding.

	Special Deal types: Request any of the following hands:
	random, game strength, slam, notrup, part-score, or opening
	2 bid.  Or request distribution for a particular contract.


I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience
with this program before I consider shelling out that kind of money.

-- 
Neil Rhodes
UC San Diego

neil@ucsd
{ucbvax,decvax}!sdcsvax!neil

>	Bell Labs is developing a Bridge-playing program (reportedly
>over 30,000 lines of source have been written), but it lost to
>"Bridge Baron" in the first annual computer bridge contest.
>
>			-- Chris [stassen@spp2]

Does anybody know who is involved in this? Do they have any reasonably
high-powered bridge talent in on the project? I would be interested in
communicating with anyone associated with the project.

                                        Bill Laubenheimer
----------------------------------------UC-Berkeley Computer Science
     ...Killjoy went that-a-way--->     ucbvax!wildbill

	I got Borland's "Turbo Gameworks" for christmas, and I thought
I'd fill you in on the bridge-playing program.

"Turbo GameWorks" [Borland] - For IBM PC  ($69.95)

	The GameWorks is actually a package of sources for several
games, including a manual on general strategy, and lots of general-
purpose routines.  To my knowledge, it is the first publicly distributed
bridge-playing program that includes source.

	The program itself has its flaws (although you are free to
fix them...).  "cheating"  (peeking) is an option that may be turned
on or off, with a note that the computer plays much better if it
can look at all of the hands.  It plays standard (a la Goren) bidding
only (but, again, you can change that).  Conventions are easy to add.
	The color display and user interface are far and away the
best that I've seen in a bridge-playing program.  It doesn't make
many playing mistakes (it will even make safety plays and such when
necessary), even though the selection algorithm is amazingly simple.

	Unfortunately, it is SLOW.  (Its one drawback).  It takes
about 45 seconds to select an opening lead, and up to 30 seconds
(depending on how many cards are left) to play from any hand.
	Admittedly, that isn't much slower than a human player
would be.  However, all other programs that I've seen and reviewed
give instant responses, and I get used to playing straightforward
hands about as fast as I can type in the cards.  Besides, there are
times when humans don't pause (e.g. when playing the only card they
have of a particular suit), but the program always takes quite a while
to decide.

	All in all, it's a good buy.  (Source for Chess and Go-Moku
computer games is also included).   Coming next:  I'm saving for
the one that costs $150, and everyone recommends.

					-- Chris