Your AI Go Coach Just Got Smarter!

Hey Go players!

We've been working hard on making the AI Teacher in our Go Game even more helpful, especially when you're trying to understand why a move might be good or bad. The goal is to not just tell you if a move is a mistake, but to give you a clue about the reason behind it.

Here's what's new with your in-game Go sensei:

🧠 Blunder Explanations: "Oops! Why was THAT a blunder?"

When the AI Teacher flags one of your moves as a major blunder (a big point loss!), it will now try to give you a more specific reason. Instead of just saying "That's a big mistake!", you might see explanations like:

• "⚠️ That move could lose about 7.2 points. 👉 Reason: Your stone at D4 can be immediately captured by the opponent playing at D5. Are you sure?"
• "⚠️ That move could lose about 9.5 points. 👉 Reason: Playing at Q10 allows your opponent to capture that group of 5 stone(s) by playing at R10. Are you sure?"
• "⚠️ That move could lose about 6.0 points. 👉 Reason: Playing at K10 puts your own stones into atari immediately! Are you sure?"
• "⚠️ That move could lose about 8.1 points. 👉 Reason: You missed saving your group around C14! It was in atari, and this move allowed the opponent to capture it at C15. Are you sure?"
• "⚠️ That move could lose about 5.5 points. 👉 Reason: This move allows the opponent to put your group connected to F3 into atari by playing at F2. Are you sure?"

Sometimes, if the reason is very deep or complex, it might give a more general explanation like, "This move allows the opponent to make a strong play at [coord], significantly improving their position." But we're hoping these new tactical insights will help you spot those immediate dangers!

🤔 Nudge Explanations: "Hmm, maybe look here instead?"

For those moves that aren't quite blunders but are still suboptimal (the "nudges"), the AI Teacher will also try to give you a bit more context. When it suggests looking at alternative spots (marked A, B, C on the board), the hint might now include:

• "🤔 That move might lose ~2.5 points. 👉 Hint: Playing at K4 (A) could put more pressure on an opponent's group."
• "🤔 That move might lose ~3.1 points. 👉 Hint: Consider playing at R6 (A); it might be better for building territory or influence along the side."
• "🤔 That move might lose ~2.8 points. 👉 Hint: Playing at C10 might be too close to a strong opponent group. Consider D12 (A) instead."
• "🤔 That move might lose ~2.2 points. 👉 Hint: Playing at F6 forms an 'empty triangle', which is often inefficient. Consider E5 (A)."

If the reason is subtle, it might fall back to a more general hint about the point difference or just encourage you to look at the marked spots.

💡 Hint Button Explanations: "Why is that the hint?"

We've also supercharged the Hint button! When you ask for a hint, not only will it show you the AI's suggested move (marked 'A') and the board evaluation, but it will also try to give you a simple reason why that hint might be a good idea:

• "Current Board Evaluation (B): +3.5 pts (65% Win). 💡 AI Hint: Playing at Q4 (Hint) could put pressure on an opponent's group."
• "Current Board Evaluation (W): -2.1 pts (38% Win). 💡 AI Hint: The move at D16 (Hint) looks good for building territory or influence."
• "Current Board Evaluation (B): +0.5 pts (52% Win). 💡 AI Hint: Playing at J10 (Hint) could help strengthen your group around K11."

Again, if the AI's reasoning is too complex for these simple checks, it will just tell you it's a strong suggested move.

Our Goal: Helping You Learn!

These new heuristic explanations are designed to give you more immediate, tactical feedback to help you learn common pitfalls and good patterns. Go is an incredibly deep game, and while these simple explanations won't capture every nuance of high-level strategy that the AI "sees," we believe they're a solid step towards making the AI Teacher a more valuable learning companion.

Try It Out & Let Us Know!

Enable the "AI Teacher Mode" in Settings (Beginner or Intermediate sensitivity will give more feedback) and see what you think! Does it help you understand the AI's suggestions better? Are there common situations where the explanations are particularly good or could be improved?

We're always looking to make the game better, and your feedback is invaluable.

Happy Pondering!