Connect-4

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Description

This code is a single page desktop and mobile friendly app for playing Connect-4, a popular two player game where each player tries to connect four tokens in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). As Connect-4 is a game of so-called "perfect information," the game engine is implemented via application of the Minimax Algorithm. A brief description of the app can be found on my personal website in the link below.

Author: Chad McKee

• GitHub
• Personal Website
• LinkedIn

Languages and Technologies used

• JavaScript
• jQuery
• HTML
• CSS

Dependencies and Plugins

• Bootstrap
• Google Fonts

App Landing Page

• Play Connect-4 here!

Code Snippets

The Minimax Algorithm with alpha-beta pruning

The following code snippet demonstrates the game's implementation of the Minimax algorithm with alpha-beta pruning.

    function minimax(board, availableMoves, depth, alpha, beta, maximizer) {
        
        var bestValue;
        //Check if the player or cpu has won the game and assign
        //a point value to the game state accordingly.
        var currentValue = evaluateState(board);
        if (currentValue === 1000 || currentValue === -1000) {
            return currentValue;
        }

        //If no moves remain, and no one has won, the game a tie.
        if (availableMoves.length === 0) {
            return 0;
        }
        //If the maximum recursion depth has been reached, call a heuristic
        //function to assign a score to the game state based on who is ahead.
        if(depth === 0){
            return heuristic(board);
        }

        //Find the best move available from the perspective of the cpu.  This
        //corresponds to locating the game state with the highest score.
        if (maximizer) {
            bestValue = -10000;
            for (var i = 0; i < availableMoves.length; i++) {
                var boardCopy = copyBoard(board);
                var availableMovesCopy = copyAvailableMoves(availableMoves);
                updateBoard(boardCopy, availableMovesCopy[i], availableMovesCopy, false);
                bestValue = Math.max(minimax(boardCopy, availableMovesCopy, depth - 1, alpha, beta, !maximizer), bestValue);
                alpha = Math.max(bestValue, alpha);
                if(beta <= alpha){
                    break;
                }

            }
            return bestValue;
        }
        
        //Find the best move available from the perspective of the player.  This
        //corresponds to locating the game state with the lowest score.
        else{
            bestValue = 10000;
            for (var i = 0; i < availableMoves.length; i++) {
                var boardCopy = copyBoard(board);
                var availableMovesCopy = copyAvailableMoves(availableMoves);
                updateBoard(boardCopy, availableMovesCopy[i], availableMovesCopy, true);
                bestValue = Math.min(minimax(boardCopy, availableMovesCopy, depth - 1, alpha, beta, !maximizer), bestValue);
                beta = Math.min(bestValue, beta);
                if(beta <= alpha){
                    break;
                }
            }
            return bestValue;
        }

    }