About the Evaluation Icons...
Evaluation Icons are a way for you to gain quick and easy
information about your possible moves. They are broken up into several
classifications based on what information they can provide you. The
classifications are General, Freedom, Agressiveness/
Defensiveness, and Greediness.
General
This row of icons displays the "general" rank of
each of the columns. It simply evaluates how good the board would be for you (if
you were to move in that column) and subtracts how good the board would be for
the other player after that move. This is what the computer uses to play against
you. The column with "1" under it is the best place for you to move based on this
math. Similarly, the column with "7" under it is the worst. Note that if the moves
in two different columns result in the same evaluation number, there may be two
different numbers under those columns. The coloring behind each of the numbers
is a sort of severity for that move. The bright red background means that move
is one that would be very much to your advantage to take. Similarly, the move
with a black background is one that would be really bad for you. The dull red
backgrounds are "in-between" moves.
Freedom
This indicates
the ratio of your freedoms to your opponant's freedoms. The more 'ooz' in the
beaker, the better it is for you. Freedoms are calculated by totaling up all the
free spaces adjacent to your pieces (horizontally, vertically and diagonally).
If you turn on the numbers, you will see a #/# display. The number on the left
is the number of freedoms you have. The number on the right is the number of freedoms
your opponand has.
Agressiveness/Defensiveness
These icons
represent the most subtle of the tutor displays. A comparison of the immediate
gains to the probable future gains is made. If the immediate gains are small,
a tree is displayed for "passiveness". A broken tree represents an expected loss
after a passive move. A broken tree with an axe represents an expected gain. A
lone, broken shield represents a loss followed by an expected future loss (this
is the worst of the bunch). A sword and a shield indicate a gain and then a loss
(or vise-versa). If the sword is broken, it's bad for you (net loss). If the shield
is broken, it's bad for the opponant (net gain). If neither are broken, then the
net gain is small. Lastly, a sword by its self is the best. This indicates an
immediate gain followed by an expected gain. When in doubt, just look at the '+'
and '-' signes in the lower-left-hand corner. Minus is bad, plus is good. The
bolder versions indicate the extreems.
Greediness
The columns marked by this $ symbol indicate
an immediate gain for you. This ignores what is happening with your opponant entirly.
It may be possible that your opponant has 3-in-a-row and will win next time, but
there is no $ marker on the column. A basic rule of thumb is that, given two columns
are otherwise equal, choose the greedy one. Otherwise, ignore this row.