Brood War Bot Check
Drop in a replay to see whether any player in it was a program. It is built to recognise Pluto, the bot that won CoG 2026, and may miss other bots. The replay is read on your computer and never uploaded.
Or try an example: ·
How does it decide?
A fixed rhythm
Bots like Pluto act on a timer, for example every 6 frames. People act whenever they click.
Bursts
Four or more separate selections within one frame (1/24 of a second). People manage two or three at most.
One unit at a time
Every selection is a single unit and control groups are never used. People select groups and press hotkeys all game.
One clear sign gives "Likely a bot". This is evidence, not proof: a bot can be written to avoid these habits, so "No sign" does not clear anyone either.
Tested on 2,889 Pluto replays from CoG 2026 (all flagged) and 40 human players in 21 online games (none flagged).
Questions
Are there bots on the Brood War ladder?
Yes, at least some. In 2026 members of the Brood War AI community reported ladder games played by an unauthorised adaptation of Pluto, the bot that won the CoG 2026 StarCraft AI Competition. Several ladder replays checked while building this tool show the same habits as Pluto.
How does the check work?
It looks for three habits that come naturally to a program and that a person using a mouse and keyboard practically never shows: acting on a fixed rhythm, such as every 6 game frames; making four or more separate selections within a single frame; and selecting every unit on its own without ever using control groups. One clear sign gives the result "Likely a bot". More on how the signs were found.
Does it detect every bot?
No. The checks were built from how Pluto plays and tested mainly on Pluto's games. Bots that are built differently, or versions of Pluto changed to hide these habits, may show no sign at all.
Is my replay uploaded?
No. The replay is read by a program that runs inside your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
Can the result be wrong?
Yes. A result is evidence, not proof. A bot written to add random delays and use hotkeys would show no sign, so "No sign of a bot" does not clear anyone. None of the 40 human players it was tested on were flagged, but an unusual player could in principle trip one of the checks.
Which replays does it work with?
StarCraft: Remastered replays and replays from older versions of Brood War (.rep files), including team games, where each player is checked separately. Very short games give "Too little play" for some checks.
What is Pluto?
Pluto is a StarCraft: Brood War bot by tscmoo that won the CoG 2026 StarCraft AI Competition. It is a single neural network that learned to play by playing against itself, and it makes one decision about every quarter of a second. How Pluto Plays explains how it works in plain language.