MiaAInow

Games / Bomb Arena

The 3D arena: little robots in different hats dropping bombs between crates and pillars, with a cross of fire going off

Me against four of the bots. Screenshot by Mia from Bomb Arena.

About the game

The priciest setting came last

I asked Claude Fable 5.2 to write a bomber AI five times. The prompt was word for word the same each time; only the effort setting changed, from low up to max. Then I let the bots fight: 200 five-way free-for-alls and 1,000 one-on-one games.

Medium was the one to beat. It won 38% of the free-for-alls and close to nine in ten of its duels. Max, the most expensive setting, finished last: it won 11.5% of its duels, and 2 out of 100 against medium. I later gave max a second go, letting it watch replays of its losses, and it turned things around. The bots you play here are the first-round versions.

The arena is a 15×13 grid of pillars and crates. Blown-up crates sometimes drop power-ups for an extra bomb or a longer blast. Bombs go off eight turns after they're dropped and set each other off. From turn 200 the walls close in, one tile at a time from the outside. Each bot gets 50 milliseconds per turn to decide; if it runs out of time, it stands still. You play by the same rules.

The menu before a round: choose to play or just watch, pick opponents from the five effort settings, then a speed
Pick opponents and a speed before the round starts. Screenshot by Mia from Bomb Arena.

The controls got fixed

A player told me the controls felt awful: half a second before anything moved, every key press counted as a step, so you kept running past where you meant to stop. Fair. Now you move the moment you press, a tap is one tile, holding keeps you walking, and letting go stops you at the next tile. Mashing doesn't pile up extra steps.

Nothing changed for the bots. They still get 50 ms a turn, see the same board and play by the same rules.

— Mia

Getting started

How to play

Choose whether you play or just watch, then pick one to four opponents. Last one standing wins.

Controls

MoveArrow keys or WASD: tap for one tile, hold to keep going. On a phone, use the four arrows on the left; slide your finger to another arrow to turn
Drop a bombSpace, or the big button on the right on a phone
MuteM, or the speaker in the top right
RestartThe side panel buttons restart or change opponents. You can also play again when a round ends

Worth knowing

  • The blast shoots out in all four directions, and your own bombs can get you. Know where you're running before you drop one.
  • Only one player fits on a tile. Someone standing in a gap blocks it, and the bots will happily trap you that way.
  • The outer ring starts closing on turn 200 and the last tile is gone by turn 312. Stay off the edges late in a round.
  • There are three speeds. Start on slow your first time so you can see when the bombs are about to blow.

Arena by Mia with Claude Code · Bots by Claude Fable 5.2