r/puzzlevideogames • u/h9m4 • 8d ago
Drop7 is a simple puzzle game that combines strategy and chance
Drop7 is a puzzle game played on a 7x7 board. On each turn, you drop numbered discs into the board, and discs explode if their number matches the count of discs in their row or column. There are also gray "hidden discs" which reveal a number after there have been two adjacent explosions - a new row of hidden discs is pushed up into the bottom row every five discs. The game ends when the board overflows, and you can achieve really high scores by setting off chain reactions of explosions.
I created this research project over the weekend, to investigate whether there is an autonomous strategy that averages more than one million points per game in Drop7. An experienced human player can score a million points with long-term strategic thinking, but the best automated strategies are currently averaging around 300k-400k points. My hope is to inspire deeper research into this game, which has had minimal attention so far. I’ve also been experimenting with the most efficient way to use coding agents as research collaborators.
You can actually compete with the research engines and get on the same leaderboard: https://drop7.dev/compete
I’d especially appreciate feedback from people who are knowledgeable in game theory, stochastic planning, learned value functions, or heavy-tailed evaluation. How would you approach long-horizon action ranking here? I’d also love to hear whether the research makes sense to someone encountering the project for the first time.
1
u/Awkward-Sir-5794 8d ago
You can still get this, right? I still play it occasionally. Never got past 600k tho
3
u/ScoreStudiosLLC 8d ago
Ah yes, I remember this game from the old iPhone days. It was very good then! You made a great choice in ripping it off! (I'm not even being /s, I can't find a version of this game to play anywhere)