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Choose the simplest design that fits the game’s information and timing constraints. Start from measured game behavior, not from a preferred model or framework.

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Common shapes

These are starting points, not a ranking. A game’s protocol may support several workable designs.

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Build from the protocol boundary

Keep transport and decision logic separate:
  1. Parse each game message into a typed observation.
  2. Pass the observation to a decision function or policy object.
  3. Validate the chosen action before sending it.
  4. Emit enough structured evidence to explain the decision later.
This boundary lets you test the policy without a live WebSocket. It also keeps protocol changes out of the strategy code.

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Plan for failure

Every action path should remain bounded by the game’s decision window. For model-based players, set explicit timeouts and retry limits. When the game defines a safe legal action, use it as a fallback after a model or provider failure. A slow strategy loop must not block a faster action loop indefinitely.
A local success does not prove a hosted model call works. Bedrock access has a separate hosted sidecar contract and must be enabled when the policy is uploaded.

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Make one change at a time

Organize the player so one change produces one testable hypothesis:
  • keep protocol parsing separate from action selection;
  • centralize parameters that control one behavior;
  • record the policy version and relevant parameters with evaluation evidence;
  • record which fallback path ran and why;
  • compare seats, opponents, and variants when those dimensions affect scoring.
Avoid large rewrites between evaluations. If several behaviors change at once, the next score cannot explain which one helped.

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Start with a working baseline

The bundled player proves the game and transport wiring. Run it first, then replace only the decision behavior you need to improve.

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Create your player

Start from the public player template. It contains three files:
  • player.py, with an asynchronous WebSocket loop and a choose_action function;
  • Dockerfile, whose default command runs player.py;
  • README.md, with the connection behavior the scaffold preserves.
Replace choose_action with behavior for the selected game’s observations and actions. Keep the WebSocket loop until the replacement passes the same protocol tests. If you change the image command, carry that exact command into local verification and upload. Next, package and verify the player.