Solitaire Yahtzee Advisor and Proficency Tester
========= ======= ======= === ========== ======

Our Optimal Solitaire Yahtzee Advisor and Yahtzee Proficiency Test
have been on-line since August 1999.  The current preferred address is
<http://www.win.tue.nl/~wstomv/misc/yahtzee/>.

This functionality is now also available for a stand-alone PC
under MS-Windows.   No Internet connection needed.

Package contents:

  ReadMe.txt
  bin\
    YahtzeeTrainer.exe
  gstbl\
    TablesReadMe.txt

Separate download for the tables:
  gstbl\
    OptEScore-Official.gstbl
    OptEScore-Official-V.gstbl

The current version (1.2.1 beta) provides the basic
functionality.  It may be extended in the future (see below).
Feedback is welcome on <mailto:yahtzee@win.tue.nl>.

Notes
-----
Loading of the two 6MB tables takes a little time (depending
on your PC configuration); there is no progress bar.  If the
tables cannot be found in the default location (in ..\gstbl\
from the directory of the executable), then you can set a new
location via the Settings item in the Tables menu.
The new location is remembered for the next run in
YahtzeeTrainerSettings.ini.

The tables can be created ("from scratch") via the Settings
item in the Tables menu.  Note however that this is a
time-consuming operation.  On Virtual PC 6 (running
Windows 98 under Mac OS X 10.2 on a 400 MHz PPC), creating
OptEScore-Official.gstbl takes a little over 2 hours,
and OptEScore-OfficialV.gstbl (the variances) takes
well over 8 hours.  There is a progress bar during these
operations, but they cannot be interrupted, nor can you
do anything else while the tables are computed.

The program creates a log file (possibly useful for bug reports)
in the bin folder under the name YahtzeeTrainer.log.

The program is written in Delphi (Version 6 Personal Edition).

Changes in 1.2.1 beta
------- -- ----- ----
When the tables are created from scratch, the program no
longer needs to be restarted to use the tables.

Only one warning message is shown when both tables cannot
be found.

The web address has been updated, to prepare for a move
of our entire Yahtzee site.

Changes in 1.2 beta
------- -- --- ----
The problem with the limited path length has been solved.
The tables are now also found when the length of their full
path name exceeds 80.

The directory for the tables can be set through Tables->Settings.
Click ... next to the directory path to get a select directory
dialog.  You can also create a new directory.

The tables can be created from scratch; see Tables->Settings.
Each table has 786432 entries.  The expected final score
is 254.5896... with a variance of (59.6117...)^2.  These
numbers can be confirmed through the info button.

The Update button in the Yahtzee Advisor window now also
triggers a new analysis (as if you clicked Analyze after it).

Future plans
------ -----
Open source under GPL
Linux version (possibly Mac OS X version)
Manual dice
Manual entry on Score Card (like the web site)
Configurable parameters (for rule variations; in particular:
  1 to 5 rolls per turn; 0 to 63 point threshold for
  Upper Section Bonus; size of Upper Section Bonus and
  Extra Yahtzee Bonus; yes/no Jokers)
Statistics over multiple games (also from stored game
  recordings; therefore saving games is useful)
Additional automated strategies (next to the
  OSYP = Optimal Solitaire Yahtzee Player)
Analysis and exploration of strategies
Multi-player games (including automated players)

The program already contains most of these features,
but they lack a graphical user interface.

Enjoy,

Tom Verhoeff