Write a Ruby bot to compete in a Bomberman-style arena! Place bombs strategically to destroy walls, collect powerups, and eliminate your opponents.

• The game is played on a grid (default 15x15)
• Hard walls (#) are indestructible and line the perimeter and form a fixed pattern inside
• Soft walls (+) can be destroyed by bombs and may contain powerups
• Empty spaces (.) are walkable

Each turn, your bot can perform ONE action:

• move <direction> - Move one space (up, down, left, right)
• bomb - Place a bomb at your current location
• pass - Do nothing this turn

• Bombs explode after 3 turns
• Explosions extend 2 spaces in all four cardinal directions (up, down, left, right)
• Explosions stop at hard walls but destroy soft walls
• Explosions destroy other bombs, causing them to explode immediately (chain reactions!)
• You can only have 1 bomb active at a time (unless you have powerups)
• You cannot move through your own bombs or other players' bombs

When soft walls are destroyed, they may reveal powerups:

• B - Extra bomb (allows you to place one additional bomb at a time)
• F - Increased blast radius (+1 range)

• Last bot standing wins!
• Bots are eliminated when caught in a bomb explosion
• If multiple bots are eliminated simultaneously in the final explosion, it's a draw

• Win: 3 points
• Draw: 1 point
• Loss: 0 points

Each turn, your bot receives a JSON object via STDIN:

{
  "tick": 42,
  "you": "player1",
  "players": {
    "player1": {
      "x": 1,
      "y": 1,
      "alive": true,
      "bombs_available": 1,
      "blast_radius": 2
    },
    "player2": {
      "x": 13,
      "y": 13,
      "alive": true,
      "bombs_available": 1,
      "blast_radius": 2
    }
  },
  "bombs": [
    {
      "x": 5,
      "y": 5,
      "owner": "player1",
      "ticks_until_explosion": 2,
      "blast_radius": 2
    }
  ],
  "grid": [
    ["#", "#", "#", "#", "#"],
    ["#", ".", "+", ".", "#"],
    ["#", "+", ".", "B", "#"],
    ["#", ".", "+", ".", "#"],
    ["#", "#", "#", "#", "#"]
  ]
}

Your bot must output a single line with your action:

move up
move down
move left
move right
bomb
pass

#!/usr/bin/env ruby
require 'json'

def get_state
  JSON.parse(STDIN.gets)
end

def output_action(action)
  puts action
  STDOUT.flush
end

# Main game loop
loop do
  state = get_state
  me = state['players'][state['you']]

  # Simple strategy: move randomly and place bombs
  if me['bombs_available'] > 0 && rand < 0.3
    output_action('bomb')
  else
    direction = ['up', 'down', 'left', 'right'].sample
    output_action("move #{direction}")
  end
end

• Escape routes: Always plan your escape before placing a bomb!
• Trap opponents: Try to corner enemies with your explosions
• Chain reactions: Destroying walls or triggering other bombs can create devastating combos
• Powerups: Extra bombs and blast radius are powerful - control the center to get more powerups
• Prediction: Smart bots predict where explosions will be and avoid those spaces

Save your bot as bot.rb and make it executable:

chmod +x bot.rb
./bot.rb

The game server will handle communication with your bot via STDIN/STDOUT.

• Test your bot against simple AI opponents first
• Add logging to STDERR (not STDOUT!) to debug: STDERR.puts "Debug info"
• Handle invalid moves gracefully (server will skip your turn if you output invalid actions)
• Keep your bot responsive - you have a 1-second timeout per turn

Good luck, and may your bombs be ever strategic! 💣