{"id":4105,"date":"2025-09-01T10:14:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icga.org\/?page_id=4105"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T09:08:26","slug":"computers-and-games-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/icga.org\/?page_id=4105","title":{"rendered":"Computers and Games 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Call for Papers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome to the home page for the<em>&nbsp;Computers and Games<\/em>&nbsp;<em>202<\/em>6&nbsp;conference. This conference is held in even-numbered years (<em>Advances in Computer Games<\/em>&nbsp;is in the odd-numbered years). It originated in Japan and is affiliated with the&nbsp;<em>International<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Computer<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Games<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Association<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Computers and Games conference (CG 2026) will feature cutting edge artificial intelligence technology as applied to computer games. For the first time since 2018, we are organizing this conference to be <strong>on-site<\/strong> again, in <strong>Maastricht<\/strong>, the Netherlands, on <strong>19-20 June<\/strong>, <strong>2026<\/strong>. It will feature&nbsp;outstanding keynote talks and refereed papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The current state of game-playing programs for classic and modern<br \/>board games,&nbsp;card games, puzzles, virtual\/casual\/video games, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>General game playing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Artificial intelligence and machine learning for games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The history of computers in game-based research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New theoretical developments in game-related research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New and enhanced algorithms for search and knowledge acquisition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Automated game design and evaluation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mathematical insights into games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social aspects of computer games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scientific contributions produced by the study of games<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cognitive research of how (and why) humans play games and puzzles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Capture and analysis of game data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tentative<\/strong> schedule (to be finalised):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Time<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Day 1 (Friday, June 19)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">09:15 &#8211; 17:00<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Conference<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8230;<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">&#8230;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">19:00 &#8211; 22:00<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Dinner (Thiessen Wijnkoopers)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Time<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Day 2 (Saturday, June 20)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">09:30 &#8211; 16:30<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Conference<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Register<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may register for the conference using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aanmelder.nl\/cg2026\/subscribe\"><strong>online registration form<\/strong><\/a>. See details on pricing below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table aligncenter\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Registration type<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Early registration <br \/>(deadline: May 4)<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Late registration <br \/>(deadline: June 1)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">SIKS-PhD-student*<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0 euros<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0 euros<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Student**<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">160 euros<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">210 euros<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Regular<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">280 euros<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">350 euros<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>*Due to the cooperation between <a href=\"https:\/\/siks.nl\/\">SIKS<\/a> and the local organisation of CG 2026 there will be a <strong>fixed number of free seats<\/strong> available for <strong>registered SIKS-PhD-students<\/strong>. This option also includes free access to the conference dinner. Applications will be honoured on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you choose to register as a SIKS-PhD-student, we will need to verify that you are indeed enrolled in the graduate school before we can confirm your registration. Your registration may be invalidated if we cannot confirm your status as a SIKS-PhD student, or if the fixed number of seats has already been taken. We will inform you as soon as possible about this.<strong>&nbsp;Note that SIKS-PhD-students are typically only PhD students doing a PhD in informatics\/computer science at a Dutch institution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>**Students can register at a reduced rate, but they will be required to upload valid proof of student status (this may be BSc, MSc, or PhD student status) as part of the registration process. Your registration may be invalidated if we cannot confirm your status as a student. We will inform you as soon as possible about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keynote Speakers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"747\" height=\"513\" src=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3.png 747w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3-300x206.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 747px) 100vw, 747px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Accepted Papers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Outer-Learning Framework for Playing Multi-Player Trick-Taking Card Games&#8221; &#8211; <em>Stefan Edelkamp<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;WallZero: Mastering the Game of WallGo with Strategic Analysis&#8221; &#8211; <em>Hsing-Yu Chen, J\u00e9r\u00f4me Arjonilla, I-Chen Wu and Ti-Rong Wu<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Building a Large-Scale Open-Source Benchmark Dataset for Computer Chinese Chess&#8221; &#8211; <em>Yu-Han Tseng and Bo-Nian Chen<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Deterministic FEN-Based Chess Complexity: A Present-State Descriptor and Reproducible Cohort Analysis&#8221; &#8211; <em>Ahmet Caglar Saygili<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;For How Long Should We Be Punching? Learning Action Duration in Fighting Games&#8221; &#8211; <em>Hoang Hai Nguyen, Kurt Driessens and Dennis J. N. J. Soemers<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Inter-subjective Gravity: Predicting Synchronization Depth in Asymmetric Interactions&#8221; &#8211; <em>Lulu Gao, Shize Pan and Hiroyuki Iida<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Tri-Othello: A Study of a Hybrid 3-player Search Algorithm Using Stability and Locality Evaluation&#8221; &#8211; <em>Jr-Chang Chen, Hao-Lian Syu, Chun-Yang Wang and Tsan-Sheng Hsu<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Scaling and Validating Set-Based Retrograde Analysis&#8221; &#8211; <em>Isaac Stone, Nathan R. Sturtevant and Jonathan Schaeffer<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;FairKalah Without Empty Captures&#8221; &#8211; <em>Phong Pham and Todd Neller<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Valet: A Standardized Testbed of Traditional Imperfect-Information Card Games&#8221; &#8211; <em>Mark Goadrich, Achille Morenville and \u00c9ric Piette<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Generalized Rapid Action Value Estimation in Memory-Constrained Environments&#8221; &#8211; <em>Alo\u00efs Rautureau, Eric Piette and Tristan Cazenave<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Intuitive Deception Complexity: Quantifying Decision Difficulty in Shogi Positions&#8221; &#8211; <em>Hiroki Taniai, Junichiro Kadomoto and Hidetsugu Irie<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Extracting Knowledge in Deep Learning Models for Riichi Mahjong&#8221; &#8211; <em>Shih-Chieh Tang, Ting-Han Wei, Kiminori Matsuzaki and Shogo Takeuchi<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Value-Only and Policy-Guided Search in 2048&#8221; &#8211; <em>Kiminori Matsuzaki<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;StratFormer: Adaptive Opponent Modeling and Exploitation in Imperfect-Information Games&#8221; &#8211; <em>Andy Caen, Mark H.M. Winands and Dennis J.N.J. Soemers<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Evaluating LLM Capacity for Game State Assessment in RTS Games&#8221; &#8211; <em>Chang Liu<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Program Co-Chairs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dennis Soemers, Maastricht University, the Netherlands (<a href=\"mailto:dennis.soemers@maastrichtuniversity.nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dennis.soemers@maastrichtuniversity.nl<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00c9ric Piette, Universit\u00e9 catholique de Louvain, Belgium (<a href=\"mailto:eric.piette@uclouvain.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eric.piette@uclouvain.be<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Paper<\/strong> <strong>Submission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. Papers must be written in English and can be up to 12 pages in length (including references). Please conform to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springer.com\/gp\/computer-science\/lncs\/conference-proceedings-guidelines\">LNCS style<\/a>. LaTeX preferred (Overleaf template available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.overleaf.com\/latex\/templates\/springer-lecture-notes-in-computer-science\/kzwwpvhwnvfj#.WuA4JS5uZpi\">here<\/a>). Papers can be submitted <a href=\"https:\/\/easychair.org\/my2\/conference?conf=cg2026\">via EasyChair<\/a>. The proceedings will be published by Springer as a volume in their LNCS series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will use a single-blind review process (i.e., author information should already be included in the initial submissions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All authors will be expected to abide by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springernature.com\/gp\/authors\/book-authors-code-of-conduct\">Springer Nature Code of Conduct for Book Authors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For previous editions of CG proceedings, see <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/conference\/cg\">SpringerLink<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><s>Submission due: February 20<\/s> <s><strong>February 27<\/strong>, 2026<\/s><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><s>Notification: April 3, 2026<\/s><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Early registration deadline: May 4, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Late registration deadline: June 1, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conference: June 19-20, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Camera-ready version due: August 10, 2026 <em>(note that this is after the conference takes place, so as to enable authors to incorporate feedback received at the conference)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All deadlines are at 23:59, anywhere on Earth (UTC-12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Program Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Yngvi Bjornsson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bruno Bouzy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tristan Cazenave<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hung-Jui Chang<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lung-Pin Chen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jr-Chang Chen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hsin-Hung Chou<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jeffrey Considine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Louis Falissard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reijer Grimbergen<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Daniel G\u00f6rlich<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Michael Hartisch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tsuyoshi Hashimoto<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tsan-Sheng Hsu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chu-Hsuan Hsueh<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kuo-Chan Huang<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hiroyuki Iida<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nicolas Jouandeau<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tomoyuki Kaneko<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jakub Kowalski<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kiminori Matsuzaki<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Martin Mueller<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Todd Neller<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mark J. Nelson<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diego Perez Li\u00e9bana<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alexander G. Padula<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jonathan Schaeffer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nathan Sturtevant<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shogo Takeuchi<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Michael Thielscher<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Graham Todd<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>H. Jaap van den Herik<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jonathan K. Vis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jean-No\u00ebl Vittaut<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mark H. M. Winands<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ti-Rong Wu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I-Chen Wu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Varduhi Yeghiazaryan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kazuki Yoshizoe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Venue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conference will be held at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maastrichtuniversity.nl\/research\/department-advanced-computing-sciences\">Maastricht University&#8217;s Department of Advanced Computing Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Address: Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1, 6229 EN Maastricht, the Netherlands<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Note that the main entrance of the building is located at the address &#8220;Gaetano Martinolaan 10&#8221;.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The main entrance requires climbing a few steps. Side entrances to the building are more accessible, but require a Maastricht University student or employee card to open. Please contact the organisers for more information about accessible entrance if necessary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The venue is close to the Maastricht-Randwyck train station. Note that this is a different station from the Maastricht Central station (but they are connected).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find further information on how to find the venue <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maastrichtuniversity.nl\/about-um\/faculties\/science-and-engineering\/contact\">online<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Accommodation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two examples of hotels close to the venue are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nh-hotels.com\/nl\/hotel\/nh-maastricht\">NH Maastricht<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotelvandervalkmaastricht.nl\/\">Van der Valk Maastricht<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that hotel availability may be low due to the 2026 IEEE WCCI event starting the day after CG 2026. The conference venue is close to the Maastricht Randwyck railway station, which in turn can be reached easily from the city centre. Hence, you may also consider accommodation in the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Events<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immediately before and after CG 2026, other events that may be of interest to a similar audience will take place in Maastricht. On June 17 and 18, the <a href=\"https:\/\/gametable.network\/\">GameTable COST Action<\/a> will organise a meeting. On June 21-26, Maastricht will host the <a href=\"https:\/\/attend.ieee.org\/wcci-2026\/\">2026 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sponsors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siks.nl\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"774\" height=\"292\" src=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4171\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2.6506639014852693;width:520px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.png 774w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-768x290.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufl.nl\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"571\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4173\" style=\"width:514px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2.png 571w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2-300x126.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.maastrichtuniversity.nl\/research\/department-advanced-computing-sciences\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"770\" height=\"138\" src=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4172\" style=\"width:515px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png 770w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1-300x54.png 300w, https:\/\/icga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1-768x138.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Call for Papers Welcome to the home page for the&nbsp;Computers and Games&nbsp;2026&nbsp;conference. This conference is held in even-numbered years (Advances in Computer Games&nbsp;is in the odd-numbered years). It originated in Japan and is affiliated with the&nbsp;International&nbsp;Computer&nbsp;Games&nbsp;Association. The Computers and Games &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/icga.org\/?page_id=4105\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4105","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4105"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4186,"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4105\/revisions\/4186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icga.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}