History of computer Hex

Hex has been invented by matematicians and the rules are basic. Therefore it is relatively easy to make a simple artificial intelligence compared to chess for instance. However the branching factor is huge and a brutal approach is not as efficient in Hex than in Chess. This fact is another similarity to Go.

Chronology

• 1942 Invention of Hex.
• In 1953 Shannon and Moore build an electric machine able to play Hex. The board is considered as an electric circuit with one player's (Blue for example) hexas being off switchs and the other's ones being on switchs, the empty hexas are resistances. The machine measures the global resistance of the circuit between Red's edges, tries every move and then choses the one that minimizes the resistance value of the circuit, trying to make it easier to join the two sides.

See also

History of Hex

Computer Hex

References

See paragraphs 2 and 3 for the first Hex playing machine.

Gardner, Martin (1988), Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions: The First Scientific American Book of Puzzles and Games, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-28254-6