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Monte-Carlo Tree Search

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Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games

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Synonyms

MCTS; Monte-Carlo Tree Search; UCT

Definition

Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) (Coulom 2007; Kocsis et al. 2006) is a best-first search method that does not require a positional evaluation function. It is based on a randomized exploration of the search space. Using the results of previous explorations, the algorithm gradually builds up a game tree in memory and successively becomes better at accurately estimating the values of the most promising moves. MCTS consists of four strategic steps, repeated as long as there is time left (Chaslot et al. 2008b). The steps, outlined in Fig. 1, are as follows:

Fig. 1
figure 1

Outline of Monte-Carlo Tree Search (adapted from Chaslot et al. 2008b; Winands et al. 2010)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Mark H. M. Winands

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  1. Mark H. M. Winands
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Correspondence to Mark H. M. Winands .

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  1. Newton Lee Laboratories, LLC, Tujunga, California, USA

    Newton Lee

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Winands, M.H.M. (2015). Monte-Carlo Tree Search. In: Lee, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_12-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_12-1

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