Algorithm and data structure for solving the game “Globs”/flood fill/“FloodIt”

Question

Suggest an algorithm and data structure for solving the game Globs (http://www.deadwhale.com/play.php?game=131). It\'s pretty fun in a geeky kind of way.

State t

Answer 1

Another optimization is that there are some color blobs that do not need to be taken right away. There can be leafs in the network distance graph where one color blob does not have a further neighbor. This color blob doesn't need to be taken until the furthest blob of the same color. Using this approach, we can adjust the distance map to get the minimum time at which a color blob must be taken.

For some board positions, we will be able to show that an eligible color does not need to be taken on the next turn. We can avoid that color and reduce the branching factor.