Board Game Week In Review 1/23/12-1/29/12 

Each week I’ll go through my games played and provide some commentary. Ask me about any of these games for more information.

AscensionAscension 2 games: Still slowing down and still losing. Ugh.

Magic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering 3 games: These were against an AI program called Magarena. It plays a pretty good game.

Can't StopCan’t Stop 8 games: I’ve been writing about my iPad app. Can’t Stop is a fantastic dice game up there with Liar’s Dice. Great design and fast and fun to play.

Battleship GalaxiesBattleship Galaxies 1 game: Quick write up here. Fun light-er weight space combat game. I’m looking forward to giving it another go with some more of the rules.

Blood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card GameBlood Bowl: Team Manager - The Card Game 1 game: Finally got this to the table with the board game crowd at work. It went over pretty well. We only got two out of five rounds in at lunch but I think now that we know the rules we could get a full game in. Very fun with a great theme.

Mage Knight Board GameMage Knight Board Game 1 game: My first win in the solo game BUT, I played with a smaller map and easier cities. A fantastic adventure game and I’m learning more about different strategies each time I play.

Monopoly RevolutionsMonopoly Revolutions 1 game: Cory request and I’ve been wanting to give it another try. Wow is Monopoly a long game. We were playing it straight, auctioning off the properties and no Free Parking bonus. But still an hour-and-a-half later and there were only six houses on the board. We called it a night.

Can’t Stop Code

I put the finishing touches on the game today. Here is the code in case you want to give it a go in Codea. I learned Lua three days ago to get into Codea so I make no claims about how elegant the code is! I’m not sure if there is anything to really learn from this code but the game does work and is fun to play. Rules at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can’t_Stop_(board_game)

-- Can't Stop
-- Mike Houser

-- Use this function to perform your initial setup
function setup()
    max=700
    spacing=116
    transx=260
    dice={0,0,0,0}
    kChoosePlayers = 1
    kTurnStart = 2
    kDiceRolled = 3
    kSpotsPicked = 4
    kBusted = 5
    kGameOver = 6
    gamestate = kChoosePlayers
    playerrect = {{80,350,160,430},{80,250,160,330},{80,150,160,230},{80,50,160,130}}
    playercolor = {{0,0,255,255},{255,0,0,255},{0,255,0,255},{255,255,0,255}}
    offmult = 10
    offset = {{-1,-1},{1,1},{1,-1},{-1,1}}
    numplayers = 0
    currentplayer = 0
    displayMode(FULLSCREEN)
    fontSize(32)
    textMode(CENTER)
    columnsfilled={false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false}
    legalnums = {false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false}
    columnrects = {}
    markers = {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}
    spotrects = {}
    board = {}
    setupSpots()
end

function setupSpots()
    spots = 1
    for x = spacing+4, max, spacing do
        spotrects[spots+1] = {}
        spotrects[13-spots] = {}
        for i = 1, spots*2, 1 do
            centerx = (x / (spots*2+1))*i
            centery = ((x / (spots*2+1))*i) + (max-x)
            spotrects[spots + 1][i] = {centerx+transx,centery,20,20}
            spotrects[13 - spots][i] = {centery+transx,centerx,20,20}
        end
        spots = spots + 1
    end
end

function setupBoard()
    for i = 1,numplayers,1 do
        board[i] = {}
        for j = 2,7,1 do
            board[i][j] = {}
            board[i][14-j] = {}
            for k = 1,((j-1)*2)+1,1 do
                table.insert(board[i][j],false)
                if j ~= 7 then
                    table.insert(board[i][14-j],false)
                end
            end
        end
    end
end

function rollDice()
    for i = 1,4,1 do
        dice[i]=math.random(1,6)
    end
    gamestate = kDiceRolled
    legalnums = {false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false}
    if not columnsfilled[dice[1]+dice[2]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1]+dice[2]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[1]+dice[2]] = true
        end
    end
    if not columnsfilled[dice[3]+dice[4]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[3]+dice[4]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[3]+dice[4]] = true
        end
    end
    if not columnsfilled[dice[1]+dice[3]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1]+dice[3]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[1]+dice[3]] = true
        end
    end
    if not columnsfilled[dice[2]+dice[4]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[2]+dice[4]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[2]+dice[4]] = true
        end
    end
    if not columnsfilled[dice[1]+dice[4]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1]+dice[4]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[1]+dice[4]] = true
        end
    end
    if not columnsfilled[dice[2]+dice[3]] then
        if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[2]+dice[3]] > 0 then
            legalnums[dice[2]+dice[3]] = true
        end
    end
    numlegalnums = 0
    for i=2,12,1 do
        if legalnums[i] then
            numlegalnums = numlegalnums + 1
            break
        end
    end
    if numlegalnums == 0 then
        gamestate = kBusted
    end
end

function numMarkers()
    num = 0
    for i = 2,12,1 do
        if markers[i] > 0 then
            num = num + 1
        end
    end
    return num
end

function topColumn(col)
    if col < 8 then
        return ((col-1)*2)+1
    else
        return ((13-col)*2)+1
    end
end

function columnPositionWithMarkers(column)
    if markers[column] > 0 then
        return markers[column]
    else
        for i = #board[currentplayer][column],1,-1 do
            if board[currentplayer][column][i] then
                return i
            end
        end
        return 0
    end
end

function isGameOver()
    numCols = 0
    for i=2,7,1 do
        if board[currentplayer][i][((i-1)*2)+1] then
            numCols = numCols + 1
        end
        if i ~= 7 then
            if board[currentplayer][14 - i][((i-1)*2)+1] then
                numCols = numCols + 1
            end
        end
    end
    return numCols >= 3
end

function pullBackOverColumns()
    for i = 2,7,1 do
        if markers[i] > ((i-1)*2)+1 then
            markers[i] = ((i-1)*2)+1
        end
        if markers[14-i] > ((i-1)*2)+1 then
            markers[14-i] = ((i-1)*2)+1
        end
    end
end

function lockBoard()
    for i = 2,12,1 do
        if markers[i] > 0 then
            if markers[i] < topColumn(i) then
                for j = 1,markers[i]-1,1 do
                    board[currentplayer][i][j] = false
                end
                board[currentplayer][i][markers[i]] = true
            else
                columnsfilled[i] = true
                board[currentplayer][i][topColumn(i)] = true
                for j = 1,topColumn(i)-1,1 do
                    for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                        board[player][i][j] = false
                    end
                end
            end
        end
    end
end

function columnHit(col)
    markers[col] = columnPositionWithMarkers(col) + 1
    if dice[1] + dice[2] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[3] + dice[4]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[3] + dice[4]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[3] + dice[4]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[3] + dice[4]) + 1
            end
        end
    elseif dice[1] + dice[3] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[2] + dice[4]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[2] + dice[4]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[2] + dice[4]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[2] + dice[4]) + 1
            end
        end
    elseif dice[1] + dice[4] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[2] + dice[3]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[2] + dice[3]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[2] + dice[3]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[2] + dice[3]) + 1
            end
        end
    elseif dice[2] + dice[3] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[1] + dice[4]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1] + dice[4]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[1] + dice[4]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[1] + dice[4]) + 1
            end
        end
    elseif dice[2] + dice[4] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[1] + dice[3]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1] + dice[3]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[1] + dice[3]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[1] + dice[3]) + 1
            end
        end
    elseif dice[3] + dice[4] == col then
        if not columnsfilled[dice[1] + dice[2]] then
            if numMarkers() < 3 or markers[dice[1] + dice[2]] > 0 then
                markers[dice[1] + dice[2]] = columnPositionWithMarkers(dice[1] + dice[2]) + 1
            end
        end
    end

    pullBackOverColumns()
    legalnums = {false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false,false}
    gamestate = kSpotsPicked
end

function stopHit()
    lockBoard()
    markers = {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}
    if isGameOver() then
        gamestate = kGameOver
    else
        currentplayer = currentplayer + 1
        if currentplayer > numplayers then
            currentplayer = 1
        end
        gamestate = kTurnStart
        dice = {0,0,0,0}
    end
end

function bustHit()
    currentplayer = currentplayer + 1
    if currentplayer > numplayers then
        currentplayer = 1
    end
    markers = {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}
    gamestate = kTurnStart
    dice = {0,0,0,0}
end

function touched(touch)
    if touch.state ~= ENDED then
        return
    end
    if gamestate == kChoosePlayers then
        for i = 1,4,1 do
            if touch.x > playerrect[i][1] and touch.x < playerrect[i][3] then
                if touch.y > playerrect[i][2] and touch.y < playerrect[i][4] then
                    numplayers = i
                    currentplayer = 1
                    gamestate = kTurnStart
                    setupBoard()
                    markers = {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}
                    break
                end
            end
        end
    elseif gamestate == kTurnStart or gamestate == kSpotsPicked then
        if touch.x > 0 and touch.x < 230 then
            if touch.y > 530 and touch.y < 720 then
                rollDice()
            end
        end
        if gamestate == kSpotsPicked then
            if touch.x > 55 and touch.x < 182 then
                if touch.y > 461 and touch.y < 530 then
                    stopHit()
                end
            end
        end
    elseif gamestate == kBusted then
        if touch.x > 55 and touch.x < 182 then
            if touch.y > 461 and touch.y < 530 then
                bustHit()
            end
        end
    elseif gamestate == kGameOver then
        if touch.x > 55 and touch.x < 182 then
            if touch.y > 461 and touch.y < 530 then
                setup()
            end
        end
    elseif gamestate == kDiceRolled then
        for i = 2,12,1 do
            if legalnums[i] then
                if touch.x > columnrects[i][1] and touch.x < columnrects[i][1] + columnrects[i][3] then
                    if touch.y > columnrects[i][2] and touch.y < columnrects[i][2] + columnrects[i][4] then
                        columnHit(i)
                    end
                end
            end
        end
    end
end

-- This function gets called once every frame
function draw()
    background(0, 0, 0, 255)
    strokeWidth(5)
    stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
    fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
    ellipseMode(CENTER)

    -- draw board
    if gamestate > kChoosePlayers then
        spots = 1
        for x = spacing+4, max, spacing do
            fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
            stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
            for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                if board[player][spots+1][topColumn(spots+1)] then
                    stroke(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                end
            end
            line(x+transx,max,0+transx,max-x)
            stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
            for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                if board[player][13-spots][topColumn(13-spots)] then
                    stroke(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                end
            end
            line(max+transx,x,transx+(max-x),0)
            stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)

            for i = 2,12,1 do
                for j = 1, #spotrects[i], 1 do
                    stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
                    fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
                    for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                        if board[player][i][topColumn(i)] then
                            stroke(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                        end
                    end
                    ellipse(spotrects[i][j][1],spotrects[i][j][2],spotrects[i][j][3], spotrects[i][j][4])
                    if markers[i] == j then
                        fill(255, 255, 255, 0)
                        stroke(167, 157, 157, 255)
                        rect(spotrects[i][j][1] - 19,spotrects[i][j][2] - 19,spotrects[i][j][3] + 20, spotrects[i][j][4] + 20)
                    end
                    for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                        if board[player][i][j] then
                            fill(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                            stroke(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                            ellipse(spotrects[i][j][1] + offset[player][1]*offmult,spotrects[i][j][2] + offset[player][2]*offmult,25,25)
                        end
                    end
                end
            end
            font("Arial-BoldMT")
            fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
            for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                if board[player][spots+1][topColumn(spots+1)] then
                    fill(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                end
            end
            text(tostring(spots+1),x+transx+30,max+30)
            columnrects[spots+1] = {x+transx+6,max+5,50,50}
            if legalnums[spots+1] then
                fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
                stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
                rect(x+transx+6,max+5,50,50)
                fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
                text(tostring(spots+1),x+transx+30,max+30)
            end
            if markers[spots+1] == (spots*2)+1 then
                fill(255, 0, 0, 0)
                stroke(167, 157, 157, 255)
                rect(x+transx+6,max+5,50,50)
            end
            fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
            for player = 1,numplayers,1 do
                if board[player][13-spots][topColumn(13-spots)] then
                    fill(playercolor[player][1],playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
                end
            end
            text(tostring(13-spots),max+30+transx,x+30)
            columnrects[13-spots] = {max+6+transx,x+6,50,50}
            if legalnums[13-spots] then
                fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
                stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
                rect(max+6+transx,x+6,50,50)
                fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
                text(tostring(13-spots),max+30+transx,x+30)
            end
            if markers[13-spots] == (spots*2)+1 then
                fill(255, 255, 255, 0)
                stroke(167, 157, 157, 255)
                rect(max+6+transx,x+6,50,50)
            end
            spots = spots + 1
        end

        --draw dice
        stroke(252, 252, 252, 255)
        fill(182, 175, 175, 255)
        rect(30,650,80,80)
        rect(130,650,80,80)
        rect(30,550,80,80)
        rect(130,550,80,80)
        fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
        if dice[1] > 0 then
            text(tostring(dice[1]),70,690)
            text(tostring(dice[2]),170, 690)
            text(tostring(dice[3]),70,590)
            text(tostring(dice[4]),170,590)
        end

        for i=1,numplayers,1 do
            if gamestate == kGameOver then
                if i == currentplayer then
                    drawplayer(i)
                end
            else
                drawplayer(i)
            end
        end

        if gamestate == kSpotsPicked then 
            drawStopSign()
        elseif gamestate == kBusted then 
            drawBusted()
        elseif gamestate == kGameOver then
            drawNewGame()
        end
    else
        strokeWidth(5)
        fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
        font("Arial-BoldItalicMT")
        text("Choose # of Players",159,468)
        for i=1,4,1 do
            drawplayer(i)
        end
    end
end

function drawplayer(player)
    stroke(playercolor[player][1], playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
    if player == currentplayer then
        fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
        rect(playerrect[player][1]-10, playerrect[player][2]-10, 100, 100)    
    end
    fill(playercolor[player][1], playercolor[player][2], playercolor[player][3], playercolor[player][4])
    rect(playerrect[player][1], playerrect[player][2], 80, 80)
    if player < 4 then
        fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
    else
        fill(0, 0, 0, 255)
    end
    font("Arial-BoldMT")
    text(tostring(player), playerrect[player][1] + 40, playerrect[player][2] + 40)
    if player == currentplayer then
        fill(0, 0, 0, 0)
        stroke(157, 157, 157, 255)
        if numMarkers() < 1 then
            rect(playerrect[player][1] - 40, playerrect[player][2] + 64, 25, 25)
        end
        if numMarkers() < 2 then
            rect(playerrect[player][1] - 40, playerrect[player][2] + 28, 25, 25)
        end
        if numMarkers() < 3 then
            rect(playerrect[player][1] - 40, playerrect[player][2] - 8, 25, 25)
        end
    end
end

function drawStopSign()
    stroke(255, 0, 0, 255)
    fill(255, 0, 0, 255)
    rect(55,461,127,69)
    font("Arial-BoldMT")
    fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
    text("STOP",121,494)
end

function drawBusted()
    stroke(255, 0, 0, 255)
    fill(255, 0, 0, 0)
    rect(55,461,127,69)
    font("Arial-BoldMT")
    fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
    text("BUST",121,494)
end

function drawNewGame()
    stroke(255, 255, 255, 255)
    fill(255, 0, 0, 0)
    rect(55,461,127,69)
    font("Arial-BoldMT")
    fill(255, 255, 255, 255)
    text("WIN!",121,494)
end

Can’t Stop for iPad Using Codea - Day 1 

I’m tired of waiting for a Can’t Stop app to appear on the App Store and I’ve been wanting to play with Codea for a while so I’m going to do it. I’ll post some screen shots and short blurbs on the development along the way.

Can’t Stop is a classic dice game of pushing your luck from the great designer Sid Sackson and I’ve been playing on yucata.de. It would be a great, quick game on the iPad. I’m not going to worry about AI until I get the game working as I want to play with my kids.

The first issue is learning Lua - which turns out to be pretty straightforward. Some interesting syntax choices but every language has those. I like that the table construct handles both the list and dictionary functionality from Python. I wrote some simple command-line programs and then dove into Codea yesterday and this morning. I knew I was hooked when I got the board drawn in less than an hour.

Can't Stop

At that point I stopped and started to think through the various game states that the game could be in and moved to programming the first which is choosing the number of players.

Can't Stop

That’s where I am. The program is 108 lines long and it’s off to a fun start.

Board Game Week In Review 1/16/12-1/225/12 

Each week I’ll go through my games played and provide some commentary. Ask me about any of these games for more information.

I was traveling on business this week so not much time for games.

AscensionAscension 4 games: Only played four games and I’m now 5 under .500. I’m not starting and new games now, just doing rematches and trying to concentrate on my moves a bit more.

Loot and ScootLoot and Scoot 1 game: I got this for the iPad and finally gave it a try. Pretty fun little game. Definitely not your usual dungeon crawl. The biggest frustration is having to roll a six to succeed in an attack. The game is all about have a party that rolls lots of dice but of course sometimes you just don’t get the six. The iPad implementation is well done.

Can't StopCan’t Stop 1 game: This is the classic push your luck game that I’ve heard about but never played. They have it on yucata.de so I have a few games going. It’s fun and probably the best of the genre I’ve played.

20 Questions20 Questions 2 games: It was my son’s 9th birthday party today and I warmed the crowd up with this. I didn’t use the actual board game of course. It turns out that “mailbox” was the wrong move for a crew that was guessing “giant robot chicken”.

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