Lua representation of flipflop game

Author: BrianWilkinsFL

36_Flip_Flop/lua/flipflop-game.lua

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+--[[
+Game of FlipFlop
+===============
+
+Based on the original BASIC game of FlipFlop from the 1970s.
+
+This is a faithful recreation of the classic game, maintaining the original gameplay
+while modernizing the implementation for Lua. For example, the original's complex
+trigonometric random number generation has been replaced with Lua's math.random,
+as modern random number generators are more sophisticated than those available
+in 1970s BASIC.
+
+How to Play:
+-----------
+The game presents a row of 10 X's. Your goal is to flip all X's to O's.
+Enter a number from 1-10 to flip that position. The computer will also make
+random moves in response. Special commands:
+- Enter 0 to see the current board again
+- Enter 11 to quit the game
+Try to complete the puzzle in 12 moves or fewer for the best score!
+
+Strategy Tips:
+------------
+- When you make a move, watch how the computer responds. It will often
+  make a predictable counter-move.
+- If you enter the same position twice, the computer will use a different
+  random pattern for its response.
+- Try to work systematically from one end of the board to the other,
+  rather than making random moves.
+- If you get stuck, sometimes starting over (11) is better than continuing
+  with a poor position.
+
+Technical Notes:
+--------------
+- Written for Lua 5.1 compatibility
+- Uses tables for game state management
+- Implements original game logic without goto statements
+- Preserves the original game's move counting and win conditions
+- Maintains the classic text-based interface style
+
+Original BASIC Version:
+--------------------
+The original game used complex trigonometric functions for random number
+generation, likely due to limitations in BASIC's random number capabilities:
+    R=TAN(Q+N/Q-N)-SIN(Q/N)+336*SIN(8*N)
+    N=R-INT(R)
+    N=INT(10*N)
+
+This has been simplified to use Lua's built-in random number generator
+while maintaining the same gameplay experience.
+
+Converted from BASIC to Lua by Brian Wilkins
+March 2025
+]]--
+
+local function showInstructions()
+    print("                    FLIP FLOP")
+    print("              CREATIVE COMPUTING")
+    print("            MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY")
+    print("\n\n")
+    print("THE OBJECT OF THIS GAME IS TO FLIP ALL THE X'S TO O'S.")
+    print("WHEN YOU INPUT A NUMBER, THAT NUMBER AND ALL ADJACENT")
+    print("NUMBERS WILL BE FLIPPED.")
+    print("\n")
+    print("INPUT A NUMBER FROM 1 TO 10 TO START THE GAME. TO QUIT")
+    print("THE GAME AT ANY TIME, TYPE A 0 (ZERO). TO START OVER WITH")
+    print("A NEW PUZZLE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME, TYPE A 11 (ELEVEN).")
+    print("\n\n")
+end
+
+local function printUpdatedBoard(board)
+    print("1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10")
+    print(table.concat(board, " "))
+    print("\n\n")
+end
+
+local function processMove(gameState, position)
+    -- Check if current position is O
+    if gameState.board[position] == "O" then
+        gameState.board[position] = "X"
+        if position == gameState["lastMove"] then
+            -- Generate random position using simplified random logic
+            local R = math.random()  -- between 0 and 1
+            local N = math.floor(R * 10) + 1
+            if gameState.board[N] == "O" then
+                gameState.board[N] = "X"
+            else
+                gameState.board[N] = "O"
+            end
+        end
+    else
+        gameState.board[position] = "O"
+        -- Generate another random position
+        local R = math.random()
+        local N = math.floor(R * 10) + 1
+        if gameState.board[N] == "O" then
+            gameState.board[N] = "X"
+        else
+            gameState.board[N] = "O"
+        end
+    end
+end
+
+local function checkWin(gameState)
+    -- Check if all positions are O's
+    for i = 1, 10 do
+        if gameState.board[i] ~= "O" then
+            return false
+        end
+    end
+    return true
+end
+
+local function initializeGame()
+    local gameState = {
+        board = {},
+        lastMove = nil,
+        moves = 0
+    }
+    
+    -- Initialize board
+    for i = 1, 10 do
+        gameState.board[i] = "X"
+    end
+    return gameState
+end
+
+local function playGame()
+    showInstructions()
+    
+    local gameState = initializeGame()
+    local playing = true
+    
+    print("HERE IS THE STARTING LINE OF X'S.")
+    print("\n\n")
+    printUpdatedBoard(gameState.board)
+    
+    while playing do
+        print("INPUT THE NUMBER")
+        local N = tonumber(io.read())
+        
+        -- Check if input is valid
+        if not N or N ~= math.floor(N) then
+            print("ILLEGAL ENTRY--TRY AGAIN.")
+        elseif N == 11 then
+            playing = false
+        elseif N > 11 then
+            print("ILLEGAL ENTRY--TRY AGAIN.")
+        elseif N == 0 then
+            printUpdatedBoard(gameState.board)
+        else
+            -- Process the move
+            processMove(gameState, N)
+            gameState["lastMove"] = N
+            gameState.moves = gameState.moves + 1
+            
+            -- Show the updated board
+            printUpdatedBoard(gameState.board)
+            
+            -- Check for win
+            if checkWin(gameState) then
+                if gameState.moves <= 12 then
+                    print(string.format("VERY GOOD. YOU GUESSED IT IN ONLY %d GUESSES.", gameState.moves))
+                else
+                    print(string.format("TRY HARDER NEXT TIME. IT TOOK YOU %d GUESSES.", gameState.moves))
+                end
+                
+                print("DO YOU WANT TO TRY ANOTHER PUZZLE? (Y/N)")
+                local answer = io.read():upper()
+                if answer:sub(1,1) == "Y" then
+                    gameState = initializeGame()
+                    print("HERE IS THE STARTING LINE OF X'S.")
+                    print("\n\n")
+                    printUpdatedBoard(gameState.board)
+                else
+                    playing = false
+                end
+            end
+        end
+    end
+end
+
+playGame()