Teach a computer to play a game

For this assignment, you are required to develop the outline of a cognitive system that allows a computer to learn
how to play CandyCrush game. Please go to https://king.com/game/candycrush to learn about the game and how to
play it, that is if you do not know how to play it already. Download the game, either on your iPhone, or other
Smartphone or if you do not have a smartphone, use the on-line at link above to play the game.
Now here is what you want to do.
1. You need to recruit at least 2 people who do NOT know how to play this game. They can be your friends,
family, neighbors, classmates, lovers or whoever.
2. Let each of your recruits have fun with the game for about 30 minutes. Let them explore the game to learn
the rules. Do not help them in figuring out the rules. Let them try it to figure the rules of the game for
themselves.
3. Observe them during these 30 minutes. Write down what they are doing and how are they learning how to
play? What are the exact activities that they are using to learn how to play the game?
4. Once the initial 30 minutes learning phase has passed and they are comfortable playing the game, let them
play as long as they want to have fun on their own. This step is meant to increase their expertise on how to
play the game. You can let them play and come back later to continue with this assignment.
5. Give them a day or so after they have learned the game and have gained enough “expertise”. Then ask them
two broad sets of questions:
a. Ask them to describe how they learned to play the game. Let them describe the process they used in
their own words. Did they use any specific strategies? If so, what were they? How did they come up
with these strategies? Let them explain exactly the steps they used to come up with that strategy? Note
how they articulate that strategy? Are they able to it, or do they have a hard time describing them?
b. Now ask them to describe the rules they have learned about how to play the game. Record their
answers. Do not ask them how they feel about the game rather how they play the game. Make sure they
describe the rules of the game as they understood them. Note how they describe and articulate the rules.
This step is very crucial. Are they specific in describing the rules or vague? Would you consider their
descriptions of the rules useful to some one who does not know how to play the game but wants to
learn, why or why not? Do you remember Polanyi’s paradox: ‘We can know more than we can tell’?
Do you see it in action here?
6. Record what they said in parts 5.a and 5.b. Please comment on the usefulness of what they described as the
basis of developing an algorithm that can be used to program a computer to play this game. Please note that
an algorithm is a set of instructions to the computer that tells the computer exactly and in step by step
detailed instructions what to do in order to solve the problem. A computer cannot understand instructions
that are not exact, they have to be specific and in the right sequence. For example, computers do not
understand if you were to say things like “you know” or “you click here” or “you just do this”. The
instructions must exact and step and step using standard language.
7. Compare the two sets of instructions that you received from your recruits, in parts 5a. and 5b. Grade the two
independently in terms of their usefulness as a training tool for a computer. What criteria did you use to
grade each? Did one recruit grade higher than the other? Why? What role do you think the recruiter’s
background, if any played in their scores?
8. In a written report of at least 5 pages long, describe any specific cognitive processes that were used in this
exercise and comment on the overall machine learning process by which you could use to develop a program
to train a computer to learn something you want it to learn, in this case to play CandyCrush.

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