AI finally conquers stratego after decades of challenges

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon, MIT, New York University, and Stanford University has developed an AI named Ataraxos that has successfully beaten Pim Niemeijer, considered the best Stratego player of all time. The AI won 15 out of 16 games, with four draws. This marks a significant breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence, as Stratego had previously resisted AI advancements due to its complex nature. Stratego is a turn-based strategy game where players use 40 pieces representing military ranks, bombs, and a flag. The game's unique challenge lies in its imperfect information structure, where players do not know the identities of their opponent's pieces until they collide in battle. Eugene Vinitsky, a researcher at NYU and co-author of the study, highlighted the game's distinctive feature: the massive amount of hidden information that unfolds over a long time scale. The AI was trained using just 16 GPUs and a few thousand dollars, showcasing the potential of modern AI techniques in tackling complex strategic games.