A decade ago, I embarked on an exciting journey to digitize the ancient South Indian board game as part of my student project. Aadu-Puli-Aatam, by integrating an AI algorithm to simulate strategic gameplay. Using the MinMax algorithm, I built an AI opponent that could think several moves ahead—making for a challenging and engaging player experience.
In this talk, I’ll walk through the process of developing the game, why the MinMax algorithm was the right choice, and how it was implemented in a two-player game of asymmetric strategy. I’ll also dive into how this simple student project shaped my career as a software engineer.
As we revisit this project, we’ll explore how AI in gaming has evolved since then and the lessons learned. Whether you're interested in AI, open-source projects, board games, or gaming, this session will give the audience a blend of practical insights and a look at the intersection of traditional board games and AI techniques before LLMs.