How AI can help us play better

We all know that AI technology can be incredibly helpful in our professional lives, but what about in our leisure time? As it turns out, AI can also help us play better (or cheat).

Over the weekend, I was introduced to the board game Codenames. If you're not familiar with the game, it's a popular board game where two teams compete to identify all of their own "agents" on a grid of words, using only one-word clues given by a "spymaster". The spymaster's goal is to give a clue that connects multiple words on the grid, while avoiding words that might lead their team to choose the opponent's agents, or a neutral word. It's a fun and challenging game that requires strategic thinking and teamwork.

During my first game of Codenames, I immediately thought that an AI like ChatGPT would be great at this game. So, I conducted a simple test using a sample board from https://codenames.game/. I asked ChatGPT to look at my words in blue and come up with single-word clues linking at least 2 words together, while avoiding clues that might lead my teammate to guess the opponent's card, neutral words, or the bomb.

After analysing the board, ChatGPT gave me a list of clues I could use. Some of the highlights included "Government" for Embassy and Force, and "Rest" for Sleep and Crash. Overall, the AI did a decent job, although it did tend to focus on the word "Organ" a bit too much.

Here is the full list of the clues ChatGPT came up with:

• "Government" = Embassy, Force

• "Measurement" = Volume, Organ

• "Rest" = Sleep, Crash

• "Wetland" = Swamp, Mine

• "Energy" = Force, Mine, Organ

• "Container" = Bowl, Mine

• "Accident" = Crash, Mine, Organ

• "Dinnerware" = Bowl, Organ

• "Sleep aid" = Sleep, Organ

Next, I asked ChatGPT to come up with clues for my opponent. This time, the AI did an even better job, coming up with clues like "Animals" for Goat, Buffalo, and Elephant, and "Smooth" for Grace and Butter.

• "Animals" = Goat, Buffalo, Elephant

• "Smooth" = Grace, Butter

• "State" = Alaska, Rust

• "Deception" = Trick, Grace

• "Rustic" = Buffalo, Rust

• "Food" = Butter, Pepper, Duck

• "Large" = Elephant, Buffalo

• "Graceful" = Grace, Elephant

• "Northern" = Alaska, Buffalo, Elephant

Where to from here? To go full ‘Spymaster’, we will need to integrate with Ray Ban Smart Glasses. With this technology, players could receive real-time AI assistance while playing, giving them an even greater advantage.

Who knows, maybe one day we'll all be playing games with the help of our own personal AI assistants!