J-POP: Japanese Puzzles as Optimization Problems

Abstract

Japanese puzzle games such as <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Sudoku</i> and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Futoshiki</i> are familiar recreational pursuits, but they also present an interesting computational challenge. A number of algorithms exist for the automated solution of such puzzles, but, until now, these have not been compared in a unified way. Here, we present an integrated framework for the study of combinatorial black-box optimization, using Japanese puzzles as the test-bed. Importantly, our platform is extendable, allowing for the easy addition of both puzzles and solvers. We compare the performance of a number of optimization algorithms on five different puzzle games, and identify a subset of puzzle instances that could provide a challenging benchmark set for future algorithms.