What strategy breaks the game?
A search evolves move policies against the CPU rival and keeps the ones that win too often for too little damage. Each result is a degenerate strategy with a seed you can watch in the real game.
Nemotron Nano proposed 32 strategies over 2 generations; the engine played 30 rounds of each against the CPU (960 rounds). Measured: the top strategy's landed hits were SWEEP 117, GROUND 49, BODY_JAB 16, PUNCH 7, KNEE 6. All three strategies exploit the CPU’s tendency to retreat after being hit by sweeps—specifically, the Sweep move triggers the CPU’s decision logic where `if (spammedSweep && dist <= 1.25 && grabReady)` leads to a THROW_PERSON action, but more critically, the repeated use of sweep causes the CPU to enter recovery or block states where it fails to defend against follow-up grabs due to its state-based retaliation rules not accounting for rapid re-engagement after sweep-induced stun or knockdown. The actual damaging move in each case is the ground-based grab or throw (implied by the GROUND hit count), which lands because the CPU, after being swept, enters a RECOVERY or BLOCK state where its decision function prioritizes retreating or parrying over blocking low or defending against throws, especially when `player.state === 'RECOVERY'` leads to a CROSS/SWEEP/ROUNDHOUSE response that misses if the bot is already in grapple range. The guard rule further confirms this: `isGuarding` only blocks low sweeps if the defender is crouching, but the CPU rarely crouches after being hit by a sweep, leaving it vulnerable to standing throws or ground attacks that bypass its high-block focus. Thus, the bot’s sweep spam manipulates the CPU’s memory and state tracking to create openings for unblockable grabs.
| Rank | Strategy | Win rate | Avg hp lost | Landed hits (measured) | Replay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mid Grapple Cheese: Trigger grab when rival is in mid and down for mounting strikes. | 100% | 40.2 | SWEEP ×117, GROUND ×49, BODY_JAB ×16 | ▶ seed 452584 |
| 2 | Flip Cheese: Flip forward then grab or prop when rival is down for massive damage. | 97% | 37.4 | SWEEP ×121, GROUND ×65, BODY_JAB ×11 | ▶ seed 495781 |
| 3 | Prop Toss Bait: Occasionally throw a crate near the rival to force them to dodge, then grab when they land. | 93% | 36.7 | SWEEP ×104, GROUND ×68, BODY_JAB ×15 | ▶ seed 955927 |
| 4 | Grapple Mount Rush: When rival is down, mount them and unleash a rapid series of ground punches for massive damage. | 93% | 49.5 | SWEEP ×121, GROUND ×35, BODY_JAB ×9 | ▶ seed 286473 |
| 5 | Mid Grab Counter: Grab rival when they attempt a kick from mid. | 87% | 43.7 | SWEEP ×100, GROUND ×47, BODY_JAB ×15 | ▶ seed 249947 |
| 6 | Far Prop Bomb: Wait on far distance then toss a crate when rival is idle for easy ranged damage. | 83% | 50.8 | GROUND ×39, SWEEP ×35, ROUNDHOUSE_KICK ×24 | ▶ seed 644770 |
| 7 | Airborne Escape: Jump away when rival is active at far distance to reset spacing and avoid damage. | 83% | 64.3 | GROUND ×58, ROUNDHOUSE_KICK ×31, PUNCH ×19 | ▶ seed 388263 |
| 8 | Close Block‑Parry Combo: Block from close, then parry when rival starts a jab chain. | 83% | 64.9 | JAB ×37, GROUND ×30, ROUNDHOUSE_KICK ×29 | ▶ seed 138382 |