Measuring Board Game Distance

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method for quantifying similarities between board games using general game concepts within the Ludii system, comparing two distance measures and discussing their interpretative differences.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to measuring board game distances based on shared concepts, highlighting the subjective nature of such metrics.

Findings

Comparison of two distance measures reveals subjective differences.

Discussion on interpretative variability of game similarity metrics.

Framework applicable to diverse board game analyses.

Abstract

This paper presents a general approach for measuring distances between board games within the Ludii general game system. These distances are calculated using a previously published set of general board game concepts, each of which represents a common game idea or shared property. Our results compare and contrast two different measures of distance, highlighting the subjective nature of such metrics and discussing the different ways that they can be interpreted.