An artificial intelligence beat Q*bert by exploiting an unknown loophole

Nothing is off-limits to artificial intelligence — even your favorite old video games. 

An artificial intelligence, developed by researchers from the University of Freiburg in Germany, has beaten the Q*bert arcade game by exploiting glitches in its design. 

In the game, players take the role of cartoon character Q*bert, who hops around a pyramid of 28 cubes. Every time Q*bert lands on a cube, it changes color. Players are tasked with changing every cube's color without being captured by enemies that also roam around the pyramid. 

The AI found two sleazy ways to beat the game. First, it baited an enemy to follow it, then committed suicide by jumping off its pyramid. Though Q*bert lost a life, killing the opponent in the process left the player with enough points to reincarnate and repeat the cycle.  Read more...