# Mastering the Game of Guandan with Deep Reinforcement Learning and Behavior Regulating

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.13582 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.13582/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in RL for games and combinatorial optimization, one of 15 directions in Deep reinforcement learning methods.
- Builds on 9 of its 30 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Feb 2024.

## Placed in

- Deep reinforcement learning methods / [RL for games and combinatorial optimization](https://mlsanity.com/deeprl/rl-for-games-and-combinatorial-optimization/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Asynchronous Methods for Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.01783/) (2016)
- [Mastering Atari, Go, Chess and Shogi by Planning with a Learned Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.08265/) (2019)
- [Dota 2 with Large Scale Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.06680/) (2019)
- [DeepStack: Expert-Level Artificial Intelligence in No-Limit Poker](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.01724/) (2017)
- [Mastering Complex Control in MOBA Games with Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.09729/) (2019)
- [Deep Reinforcement Learning from Self-Play in Imperfect-Information Games](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1603.01121/) (2016)
- [DouZero: Mastering DouDizhu with Self-Play Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.06135/) (2021)
- [Suphx: Mastering Mahjong with Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.13590/) (2020)
- [DanZero+: Dominating the GuanDan Game through Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02561/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Mastering Da Vinci Code: A Comparative Study of Transformer, LLM, and PPO-based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12801/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Games are a simplified model of reality and often serve as a favored platform for Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. Much of the research is concerned with game-playing agents and their decision making processes. The game of Guandan (literally, "throwing eggs") is a challenging game where even professional human players struggle to make the right decision at times. In this paper we propose a framework named GuanZero for AI agents to master this game using Monte-Carlo methods and deep neural networks. The main contribution of this paper is about regulating agents' behavior through a carefully designed neural network encoding scheme. We then demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework by comparing it with state-of-the-art approaches.
