minmax
Minimize maximum loss
Minmax is a strategy of minimizing potential losses while maximizing potential gains, or vice versa—minimizing one variable while maximizing another.
In game theory, minimax refers to minimizing the maximum possible loss.
In gaming culture, to minmax a character is to optimize stats ruthlessly, often sacrificing balanced play for peak performance in one area: He minmaxed his build for pure damage output.
Cutting vegetation for health
- backtrackingReversing to find alternatives
- recursiveDefined in terms of itself
- heuristicPractical solving shortcut
- chess engineSoftware calculating optimal moves
Balanced gains and losses
- saddle pointStationary point, not extremum
- strategic movePurposeful action for advantage
- adversarialCharacterized by conflict
- optimal playBest possible decision-making
competitive · turn-based · winning strategy · losing position
Limiting condition or rule
- trade-offExchange requiring sacrifice
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
- linear programmingOptimization with straight-line constraints
- boundSecured or destined
upper bound · lower bound · relaxation · worst-case · best-case
pruning
Cutting vegetation for health
- backtrackingReversing to find alternatives
- recursiveDefined in terms of itself
- heuristicPractical solving shortcut
chess engine · ply · cutoff
zero-sum
Balanced gains and losses
- saddle pointStationary point, not extremum
- strategic movePurposeful action for advantage
- adversarialCharacterized by conflict
optimal play · competitive · turn-based · winning strategy · losing position
constraint
Limiting condition or rule
- trade-offExchange requiring sacrifice
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
- linear programmingOptimization with straight-line constraints
bound · upper bound · lower bound · relaxation · worst-case · best-case
normalization
Adjusting to a standard
minmaxmaximin
Maximizing minimum payoffs
hill climbing · profit maximization · satisficing · exploitation · go for broke
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