After I complained about Handmark Scrabble's computer player, Eric left a comment and suggested that I download Niggle, which was the prototype for Handmark Scrabble.
I dragged my feet on it for no reason other than laziness, but I finally got around to downloading it and trying it out. The AI for Niggle is so much better than Handmark's. With the setting on Expert, it kicks my butt all over the place.
So all my theories about Handmark Scrabble's computer player being dumb because of processing speed are kaput. It must be that the makers dumbed it down on purpose; I think they acheived this by putting a too short time limit on its turn, so that it can't find any good plays, especially in the later stages of the game. The Niggle AI takes longer, but never over a minute. I'm also pretty sure that it usually plays the highest scoring play, but I wonder if it plays the best play.
Anyway, whenever I'm itching to play an 1800+ player, I've now got one in my pocket.
My version of Niggle doesn't have the dictionary features (like definitions) that the Handmark Scrabble has. Also, Niggle is black and white and not as pretty as the Handmark Scrabble.
Posted by Mike Waugh at April 27, 2005 05:10 PM | TrackBack