Bitboard Methods for Games

Abstract

Bitboards allow the efficient encoding of games for computer play and the application of fast bitwise-parallel algorithms for common game-related operations. This article describes: (1) a selection of bitboard techniques including an introduction to bitboards and bitwise operations, (2) a classification scheme that distinguishes filter, query and update methods, and (3) a sampling of bitboard algorithms for a range of games other than chess, with notes on their performance and practical application.