Maven (Scrabble) on Scrabble. The problem with Alpha Beta is that some Scrabble endgames require 14 moves to play out, and it is not possible to search that deeply. This is not merely a theoretical possibility. When one player is "stuck" with a tile, then playing out all remaining tiles is impossible. In that situation the optimal strategy for both sides is usually to play one tile on each turn. Maven uses a different approach. The B* search algorithm is a selective-depth, progressive-widening algorithm that guarantees to find optimal solutions to two-player games when one can compute upper and lower bounds on
Tile tracking using AI or Artificial Intelligence. While the practice of tile-tracking is considered an acceptable part of Scrabble and sanctioned by NSA and NASPA rules, there is much colloquial evidence to suggest that tile-tracking as both a legitimate technique and a strategic tool is not widely known outside of the Scrabble community. The similarities to the technique to 'card counting' is credited as contributing to some of the confusion among novice players. Zynga's Words with Friends online game includes tile-tracking as a paid feature, known as 'Peeks'. This received some criticism as being a form of "cheating" that the Zynga both