For Sandholm, a computer scientist with a 126-page C.V., this is the culmination of twelve years of research. Starting in 2004 at Carnegie Mellon University, Sandholm began studying abstract algorithms for sequential imperfect information games. A "perfect" information game is one like chess, for example, where both players see the board and are in a good position to anticipate the opponent's next possible move. An "imperfect information" game is one in which on each players' turn they don't know all the information available in the game - such as the other person's cards.