Purpose: Since its creation, the computer
has long been a worth adversary of man. This competition began with
the creation of the first chess program which could easily eliminate human
competitors, and progressed into the monsters that are destroyed, the football
teams that are played against and the empires that must be conquered.
However, the computer is responsible for maintaining randomness and controlling
the game. It is therefore the purpose of this experiment to determine whether
the computer plays a fair game.
Hypothesis: It is the belief of Scientific
AmeriKen that computers only execute its given commands and therefore cannot
develop biases with which to influence game play. Therefore, the hypothesis
of this experiment is that computers play fair and completely random.
Equipment: Used in this experiment was a Nintendo
Entertainment system, Pen, Paper, and a calculator. The game used
in this experiment was Tetris. A similar version of this game can be examined
my clicking here.
Procedure: One purpose of the game of tetris is
to complete 4 lines at once (called a tetris). This can only be
done with the linear piece. Therefore this experiment is performed by keeping
track of the number of straight pieces in the total game, the total number
of pieces that fall in the game, and the number of pieces that fall while
waiting for a straight piece to form a tetris. Average out the latter sum
and compare against the number of lines divided by the total number of
pieces.
Results:
| Trial # |
Total Lines |
Total Pieces |
% lines in game |
Ave. pieces waiting for line |
| Trial 1 |
20
|
145
|
13.8 % (1 for every 7.25)
|
6.7 pieces
|
| Trial 2 |
56
|
405
|
13.8 % (1 for every 7.25)
|
5.7 pieces
|
| Trial 3 |
6
|
57
|
10.5 % (1 for every 9.52)
|
1.0 piece
|
| Trial 4 |
26
|
171
|
15.2% (1 for every 6.58)
|
3.91 pieces
|
| Totals |
108
|
778
|
13.9 % (1 for every 7.20)
Theoretical for lines = 14.3 %
|
5.34 pieces
|
Conclusion: Based on the data, it appears
as though the computer was actually favoring Scientific AmeriKen.
Under conditions where lines were needed, i.e. to complete a tetris,
lines came at a higher percentage. Scientific AmeriKen is
skeptical of these results as it is believed that the Nintendo was aware
that it was being examined. However, based on the results which examine
% lines per game, it is relatively clear that the percentage of lines that
came in a game seem to fit a pattern of randomness. This supports the computer
as a fair game player.
Return
to Scientific AmeriKen
To examine
a printable version of this experiment click here
Right Click here to adjust the sound--->