New Software Learns How To Play Chess On The Spot

A new era for artificial intelligence is heralded by the release of the first "universal" board gaming program

BOULDER CREEK, CA -- November 28, 1998 -- Zillions Development today announced the release of revolutionary new Windows software, Zillions of Games. Zillions of Games is the first commercial board game program that can actually be taught how to play new games.

"It's eerie sometimes. You hand Zillions the rules for a new game, maybe one you've just thought up, and it beats you!" says Jeff Mallett, the inventor of Zillions and author of an award-winning engine used in several prominent retail chess programs. "In the past we would spend all our time coding complex algorithms for things like the weakness of an isolated Pawn, but now we let the software work out all those details for itself. Instead of programming, we can spend our time collecting novel game rules, feeding them into Zillions, and just having fun playing."

Zillions of Games works by reading the rules for how to play a game and then devising its own strategies and values for pieces, much as a human game expert might -- only it does it in a fraction of a second. "Since it learns the rules on the spot, if we want to see what Chess would be like if Pawns moved differently, one tiny change in the rules while the program is running and bang, we're playing the new game. And Zillions plays this one just as well as the old one," explains Zillions Development's president Mark Lefler, a chess-programmer himself since 1980.

Zillions of Games ships with the rules for Chess, Checkers, Go-Moku, and nearly three hundred other ancient and modern games and puzzles, ready for use. But that may only be the tip of the iceberg, as Zillions Development is turning their website www.zillions-of-games.com into an Internet resource where more games can be exchanged and downloaded for free. Jeff Mallett points out, "Zillions' infinite expandability means the sky's the limit. This product can literally play millions, zillions of completely different games!"

Mark Lefler and Jeff Mallett are both great interviews. To get more information or schedule an interview please email pr@zillions-of-games.com or call directly: Mark can be reached at 011 49 30 826-4195 (Berlin, Germany) and Jeff can be reached at (831) 338-6324 (Silicon Valley, California).