Multiplayer Board Game Strategies in the Introductory CS Curriculum

研究表明，在环境中学习编程，尤其是在学生熟悉的环境中，可以提高学生的学习动机。这个项目探索了传统桌游的背景。与现代电脑游戏不同，桌面游戏本质上是离散的。棋盘上有固定数量的棋子允许的位置，每个玩家在有限数量的可能移动中进行心理搜索，以决定下一步行动。为棋盘游戏设计自动玩家策略为cs1和cs2中涵盖的基本数据结构和搜索算法提供了自然的背景。在这个项目中，研究人员正在开发软件脚手架，以允许学生实现基于计算机的实际棋盘游戏版本。游戏引擎负责图形用户界面、规则执行和单个玩家策略的循环调用。学生设计和执行玩家策略，与教练提供的基本策略或其他学生提供的更高级的策略竞争。三款游戏引擎正在使用Java和Python编程语言进行开发。合作项目包括一所研究型大学、一所文理学院和一所技术学院。预计至少有400名学生将在项目中使用这些材料。由于材料将在网络上提供，并且在项目的最后一年提供研讨会，以帮助其他机构的教师采用这些材料，因此预计将在项目生命周期之外使用这些材料。项目目标包括学生的动机和表现，由包括三名外部专家在内的评估小组进行评估。

Research has demonstrated that learning to program in context, especially a context that students are familiar with, increases student motivation. This project explores the context of traditional board games. Unlike modern computer games, board games are inherently discrete. The board has a fixed number of allowed positions for the game pieces and each player performs a mental search through a finite number of possible moves to decide the next action. Designing an automated player strategy for a board game provides a natural context for basic data structures and search algorithms covered in CS 1 and CS 2.For this project, researchers are developing software scaffolding to allow students to implement computer-based versions of actual board games. The game engines are responsible for the graphical user interface, rule enforcement and round-robin calling of the individual player strategies. Students design and implement player strategies to compete with a basic strategy provided by the instructor or more advanced strategies provided by other students. Three game engines are being developed in both Java and Python programming languages. Collaborations include a research university, a liberal arts college and an institute of technology. At least four hundred students are expected to use the materials during the project. Use beyond the project lifetime is expected because materials will be available on the Web and workshops are provided in the final project year to help faculty at other institutions adopt the materials. Project goals including student motivation and performance are evaluated by an evaluation team including three external experts.