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Assignment 1 - Connect Four
Overview
This assignment is about practising the programming concepts taught during the first few weeks of
the course. To hone and demonstrate your skills, you will complete a series of steps to implement
the board game Connect Four (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connect_Four) in Java. A program
structure is provided with some incomplete methods for you to fill in. The following three sections
describe the steps you need to complete for a basic, intermediate and advanced solution.
Before you start, please read the following sections below:
• Restrictions
• Marking Criteria
• Submission, late submission & extensions
Setup
This section describes how to download the provided code, create a new project and run the game.
Download the provided code
• Go to Assignments → Assignment 1 (where you also found these instructions).
• Download ConnectFourStarter.zip and unpack the src and saves folders it contains.
Create a new project
• Create a new, empty Java project called “ConnectFour” in IntelliJ (or your preferred IDE).
• Copy the src and saves folders into your project directory (replacing the default src folder).
Explore the packages and classes
• Do not panic! Most of the classes have already been completed for you. Providing code is the
only way of letting you work on a larger, more interesting project before you’ve learned all
required concepts. You do not have to understand how everything works.
• You will only be editing Model.java and TextView.java in the game package. Depending on how
far you get, you will also be working on one or more classes in the players package.
Run the code
• Open ConnectFour.java (in the main package) and press your IDE’s run button. You should be
greeted with a welcome message and a menu. Selecting option 1 starts a new game, but until
you have completed some steps in the basic section, this will enter an infinite loop from which
you have to quit manually.
Basic requirements
This section describes the features required for a basic implementation of Connect Four. A good
solution will allow you to pass, without attempting any of the intermediate or advanced features.
The suggested sequence of steps is intended to guide you towards creating a playable game.
Step 1: Model the state of the board [Relevant file: Model.java]
Think about how to represent the state of the board. Add the appropriate field(s) to Model.java and
initialise these variables in its initNewGame method. This is called every time a new game is started
and should create an empty board. For now, you can ignore the settings parameter and assume a
standard board size with 6 rows and 7 columns. The top row is row 0, with row numbers increasing
downwards. The leftmost column is column 0, with column numbers increasing towards the right
(see illustration below). Next, implement the getPieceIn method to allow access to the state of the
board. It takes row and column indices as its parameters and should return the owner of the piece in
that cell of the board i.e. 1 for player 1 and 2 for player 2. Return 0 to indicate an empty cell.
Step 2: Allow the user to select moves [Relevant file: HumanPlayer.java]
You can already select different players from the main menu (option 4), but all of these players will
just concede the game on their first move. The goal is now to replace this behaviour with something
useful. To allow the user to make a move, implement the chooseMove method of HumanPlayer.java
(in the players package). This is called at the start of a player’s turn and should return the column
index into which the player wants to insert their next piece (or -1 if they really wish to concede). All
you need to do is print out a message asking the user to enter a move and return what they typed in
(use InputUtil.readIntFromUser for this). When you start a game, the program now waits until the
user has entered a move and pressed enter. After entering a few moves, you will realise that you are
still stuck in an infinite loop though. That is because we are not yet reacting to those moves. We will
return to this issue a few steps later. Note that HumanPlayer is selected by default for both players
so you do not need to change the players in the menu every time you start the program.
Step 3: Display the board [Relevant file: TextView.java]
Open TextView.java and complete the displayBoard method to print a text representation of the
board to standard output. Use characters ‘X’ and ‘O’ to represent pieces belonging to players 1 and
2 respectively and use ‘_’ (underscore) for empty slots. You can add a space between each column if
you like, but please do not add any other decorations. You can test this is working by starting a new
game. An empty board should be displayed, see left image below.
Empty board Board after several moves
Step 4: Store the moves in the model [Relevant file: Model.java]
Although the model receives these moves you enter (as the parameter to its makeMove method), it
has not yet been set up to put the pieces onto the board. As long as the moves you make are not
stored in memory, the board will remain empty. Correct this now, making sure each piece is inserted
in the correct row and column. Use the getActivePlayer method to determine the owner of the piece.
You should now be able to place some pieces on the board when you play, but since player 1 starts
the game and the active player is never changed, all pieces will be marked as ‘X’.
Step 5: Taking turns [Relevant file: Model.java]
The model also needs to keep track of whose turn it is. Currently, its getActivePlayer method
always returns 1. After putting the first piece on the board, player 2 should become active and
getActivePlayer should return 2. After that it’s back to player 1 and so on. Think about how to
represent whose turn it is and when to switch. In particular, getters (methods that return a value)
should never change anything so that you can call them as often as you like. Make sure player 1
always goes first when a new game starts. Players should now be able to take turns and, after a few
moves, the state of your board should be similar to that shown in the screenshot above on the right.
Step 6: Game over [Relevant file: Model.java]
The game should end either when the board is full or when a player concedes (by entering -1 as
their move). The model’s getGameStatus method is responsible for returning a code that indicates if
the game is still in progress or, if not, how it ended. A zero means the game is ongoing, a 1 means
victory for player 1, a 2 victory for player 2 and 3 indicates a tie. To make programs easier to read,
we often store such codes as special constants. That is why instead of returning 0, getGameStatus
returns IModel.GAME_STATUS_ONGOING. Change this to return IModel.GAME_STATUS_TIE
when the board has been filled up. If player 2 concedes, return GAME_STATUS_WIN_1 and
GAME_STATUS_WIN_2 if player 1 concedes. Hint: Think about what causes the game status to
change and where this should be recorded. Detecting the winner (first player to get four in a row) is
an intermediate feature and not required for a basic solution.
Intermediate features
Once you are satisfied that you have all basic features working, you can enhance your program by
adding the functionality described here. This will allow you to obtain a mark of up to 69% provided
that your code for all the basics is working well.
Variable game settings [Relevant files: TextView.java & Model.java ]
When the user selects “Change game settings” from the menu, the requestGameSettings method in
TextView.java is called. Edit this method to allow the user to enter a board height (number of rows)
and width (number of columns). You should also be able to choose the required streak length, so
you can play Connect X. It is important to ask for the settings in this order (rows, columns, streak).
The user should press enter after typing each value (use InputUtil.readIntFromUser for this).
Now, make any changes required for the model to support the variable game settings. The chosen
settings are passed to the initNewGame method and can be accessed using settings.nrRows etc.
Input validation [Relevant files: Model.java & TextView.java ]
So far, we have trusted the user to enter only sensible values. If they do not, they can crash the
program or make the game impossible to win. Input validation involves detecting and preventing
such issues.
Start by changing the model’s isMoveValid method to return false when the passed in move is
invalid (and true otherwise). Players will then automatically be asked to re-enter rejected moves.
The requestGameSettings method should repeat the request for each setting until an acceptable
value has been entered. The board should have no less than 3 rows or columns and no more than 10
(see constants for this in IModel).
Implement your first AI player [Relevant file: RoundRobinPlayer.java]
Complete the prepareForGameStart and chooseMove methods in RoundRobinPlayer.java in order
to create your first AI player. This player's first move (after a game is started/loaded) is always to
play the leftmost column that is not full. The column index then increases by 1 with each time, until
we reach the last column and return to column 0. A typical sequence of moves would therefore be:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 0, 1, … The only exception is when a column is full. In this case, skip ahead until
a valid column is found. Loading games is an advanced feature that you do not have to implement
here. However, please do not assume the board will always be empty when prepareForGameStart is
called. Your code should be compatible with variable game settings.
To test your AI player, choose option 4 from the game menu and then select one or both players to
be the RoundRobinPlayer (option 2). All combinations of players are possible, including AI vs AI.
Automatic win detection [Relevant file: Model.java]
Write code to detect when the game is won. The getGameStatus method in the model should then
return 1 or 2 to indicate the winner. Again, this should work with variable game settings.
Advanced features
Tasks described in this section are much more difficult and only required for a distinction.
Load saved game states from file [Relevant file: Model.java]
Implement a mechanism by which you can load a game state from a text file and resume play. This
involves implementing initSavedGame in the model. All save files are assumed to be in the “saves”
folder in the project hierarchy. The user is only prompted for the name of the file to be loaded (this
has already been implemented). Each file starts with 4 lines containing one integer denoting the
number of rows, columns, streak length and the active player (in that order from top to bottom). The
board state follows, with one line for each row of the board (top to bottom). Each line is a string
with as many characters as there are columns. Zeroes represent empty cells and filled cells are
represented by 1 or 2 depending on the player who owns the piece. You can assume all save files are
formatted correctly and that saved games are not yet over (there is no winner and the board is not
full). See the “Save.txt” and “AnnotatedSaveFile.txt” in the “saves” folder.
Implement the WinDetectingPlayer [Relevant files: WinDetectingPlayer.java & maybe Model.java]
If the player can win on their current turn, a winning move must be selected. Otherwise, choose
any valid move that does not let the opponent win next turn. If no such move exists, concede. This
player must be able to cope with variable game settings and games being loaded from file.
Implement the CompetitivePlayer [Relevant files: CompetitivePlayer.java & maybe Model.java]
Create the strongest AI player you can come up with. It will compete against a pretty strong AI of
our own. Points are awarded depending on the score over a number of games. Games in which your
AI submits invalid moves or tampers with the game state will be forfeited (i.e. counted as a loss).
This player must be able to cope with variable game settings and games being loaded from file.
Restrictions
Please note that you will only be able to submit the files you have been asked to change ! That
means you should not edit any other files, as your solution must be compatible with the supplied
versions of those files. Going against this can cause the automated tests to fail and will result in
you losing the associated marks!
You are permitted to use the Java API, but you must not use any other/external libraries. You cannot
upload libraries anyway, but you should also not copy library code into your the files you upload.
For your own learning, we recommend you do not use any functional language constructs such as
lambdas or streams. Those were taught in first semester, but this course is about imperative
programming. This is not enforced for assignment 1, but will be for assignment 3.
Assignment 1 - Connect Four
Overview
This assignment is about practising the programming concepts taught during the first few weeks of
the course. To hone and demonstrate your skills, you will complete a series of steps to implement
the board game Connect Four (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connect_Four) in Java. A program
structure is provided with some incomplete methods for you to fill in. The following three sections
describe the steps you need to complete for a basic, intermediate and advanced solution.
Before you start, please read the following sections below:
• Restrictions
• Marking Criteria
• Submission, late submission & extensions
Setup
This section describes how to download the provided code, create a new project and run the game.
Download the provided code
• Go to Assignments → Assignment 1 (where you also found these instructions).
• Download ConnectFourStarter.zip and unpack the src and saves folders it contains.
Create a new project
• Create a new, empty Java project called “ConnectFour” in IntelliJ (or your preferred IDE).
• Copy the src and saves folders into your project directory (replacing the default src folder).
Explore the packages and classes
• Do not panic! Most of the classes have already been completed for you. Providing code is the
only way of letting you work on a larger, more interesting project before you’ve learned all
required concepts. You do not have to understand how everything works.
• You will only be editing Model.java and TextView.java in the game package. Depending on how
far you get, you will also be working on one or more classes in the players package.
Run the code
• Open ConnectFour.java (in the main package) and press your IDE’s run button. You should be
greeted with a welcome message and a menu. Selecting option 1 starts a new game, but until
you have completed some steps in the basic section, this will enter an infinite loop from which
you have to quit manually.
Basic requirements
This section describes the features required for a basic implementation of Connect Four. A good
solution will allow you to pass, without attempting any of the intermediate or advanced features.
The suggested sequence of steps is intended to guide you towards creating a playable game.
Step 1: Model the state of the board [Relevant file: Model.java]
Think about how to represent the state of the board. Add the appropriate field(s) to Model.java and
initialise these variables in its initNewGame method. This is called every time a new game is started
and should create an empty board. For now, you can ignore the settings parameter and assume a
standard board size with 6 rows and 7 columns. The top row is row 0, with row numbers increasing
downwards. The leftmost column is column 0, with column numbers increasing towards the right
(see illustration below). Next, implement the getPieceIn method to allow access to the state of the
board. It takes row and column indices as its parameters and should return the owner of the piece in
that cell of the board i.e. 1 for player 1 and 2 for player 2. Return 0 to indicate an empty cell.
Step 2: Allow the user to select moves [Relevant file: HumanPlayer.java]
You can already select different players from the main menu (option 4), but all of these players will
just concede the game on their first move. The goal is now to replace this behaviour with something
useful. To allow the user to make a move, implement the chooseMove method of HumanPlayer.java
(in the players package). This is called at the start of a player’s turn and should return the column
index into which the player wants to insert their next piece (or -1 if they really wish to concede). All
you need to do is print out a message asking the user to enter a move and return what they typed in
(use InputUtil.readIntFromUser for this). When you start a game, the program now waits until the
user has entered a move and pressed enter. After entering a few moves, you will realise that you are
still stuck in an infinite loop though. That is because we are not yet reacting to those moves. We will
return to this issue a few steps later. Note that HumanPlayer is selected by default for both players
so you do not need to change the players in the menu every time you start the program.
Step 3: Display the board [Relevant file: TextView.java]
Open TextView.java and complete the displayBoard method to print a text representation of the
board to standard output. Use characters ‘X’ and ‘O’ to represent pieces belonging to players 1 and
2 respectively and use ‘_’ (underscore) for empty slots. You can add a space between each column if
you like, but please do not add any other decorations. You can test this is working by starting a new
game. An empty board should be displayed, see left image below.
Empty board Board after several moves
Step 4: Store the moves in the model [Relevant file: Model.java]
Although the model receives these moves you enter (as the parameter to its makeMove method), it
has not yet been set up to put the pieces onto the board. As long as the moves you make are not
stored in memory, the board will remain empty. Correct this now, making sure each piece is inserted
in the correct row and column. Use the getActivePlayer method to determine the owner of the piece.
You should now be able to place some pieces on the board when you play, but since player 1 starts
the game and the active player is never changed, all pieces will be marked as ‘X’.
Step 5: Taking turns [Relevant file: Model.java]
The model also needs to keep track of whose turn it is. Currently, its getActivePlayer method
always returns 1. After putting the first piece on the board, player 2 should become active and
getActivePlayer should return 2. After that it’s back to player 1 and so on. Think about how to
represent whose turn it is and when to switch. In particular, getters (methods that return a value)
should never change anything so that you can call them as often as you like. Make sure player 1
always goes first when a new game starts. Players should now be able to take turns and, after a few
moves, the state of your board should be similar to that shown in the screenshot above on the right.
Step 6: Game over [Relevant file: Model.java]
The game should end either when the board is full or when a player concedes (by entering -1 as
their move). The model’s getGameStatus method is responsible for returning a code that indicates if
the game is still in progress or, if not, how it ended. A zero means the game is ongoing, a 1 means
victory for player 1, a 2 victory for player 2 and 3 indicates a tie. To make programs easier to read,
we often store such codes as special constants. That is why instead of returning 0, getGameStatus
returns IModel.GAME_STATUS_ONGOING. Change this to return IModel.GAME_STATUS_TIE
when the board has been filled up. If player 2 concedes, return GAME_STATUS_WIN_1 and
GAME_STATUS_WIN_2 if player 1 concedes. Hint: Think about what causes the game status to
change and where this should be recorded. Detecting the winner (first player to get four in a row) is
an intermediate feature and not required for a basic solution.
Intermediate features
Once you are satisfied that you have all basic features working, you can enhance your program by
adding the functionality described here. This will allow you to obtain a mark of up to 69% provided
that your code for all the basics is working well.
Variable game settings [Relevant files: TextView.java & Model.java ]
When the user selects “Change game settings” from the menu, the requestGameSettings method in
TextView.java is called. Edit this method to allow the user to enter a board height (number of rows)
and width (number of columns). You should also be able to choose the required streak length, so
you can play Connect X. It is important to ask for the settings in this order (rows, columns, streak).
The user should press enter after typing each value (use InputUtil.readIntFromUser for this).
Now, make any changes required for the model to support the variable game settings. The chosen
settings are passed to the initNewGame method and can be accessed using settings.nrRows etc.
Input validation [Relevant files: Model.java & TextView.java ]
So far, we have trusted the user to enter only sensible values. If they do not, they can crash the
program or make the game impossible to win. Input validation involves detecting and preventing
such issues.
Start by changing the model’s isMoveValid method to return false when the passed in move is
invalid (and true otherwise). Players will then automatically be asked to re-enter rejected moves.
The requestGameSettings method should repeat the request for each setting until an acceptable
value has been entered. The board should have no less than 3 rows or columns and no more than 10
(see constants for this in IModel).
Implement your first AI player [Relevant file: RoundRobinPlayer.java]
Complete the prepareForGameStart and chooseMove methods in RoundRobinPlayer.java in order
to create your first AI player. This player's first move (after a game is started/loaded) is always to
play the leftmost column that is not full. The column index then increases by 1 with each time, until
we reach the last column and return to column 0. A typical sequence of moves would therefore be:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 0, 1, … The only exception is when a column is full. In this case, skip ahead until
a valid column is found. Loading games is an advanced feature that you do not have to implement
here. However, please do not assume the board will always be empty when prepareForGameStart is
called. Your code should be compatible with variable game settings.
To test your AI player, choose option 4 from the game menu and then select one or both players to
be the RoundRobinPlayer (option 2). All combinations of players are possible, including AI vs AI.
Automatic win detection [Relevant file: Model.java]
Write code to detect when the game is won. The getGameStatus method in the model should then
return 1 or 2 to indicate the winner. Again, this should work with variable game settings.
Advanced features
Tasks described in this section are much more difficult and only required for a distinction.
Load saved game states from file [Relevant file: Model.java]
Implement a mechanism by which you can load a game state from a text file and resume play. This
involves implementing initSavedGame in the model. All save files are assumed to be in the “saves”
folder in the project hierarchy. The user is only prompted for the name of the file to be loaded (this
has already been implemented). Each file starts with 4 lines containing one integer denoting the
number of rows, columns, streak length and the active player (in that order from top to bottom). The
board state follows, with one line for each row of the board (top to bottom). Each line is a string
with as many characters as there are columns. Zeroes represent empty cells and filled cells are
represented by 1 or 2 depending on the player who owns the piece. You can assume all save files are
formatted correctly and that saved games are not yet over (there is no winner and the board is not
full). See the “Save.txt” and “AnnotatedSaveFile.txt” in the “saves” folder.
Implement the WinDetectingPlayer [Relevant files: WinDetectingPlayer.java & maybe Model.java]
If the player can win on their current turn, a winning move must be selected. Otherwise, choose
any valid move that does not let the opponent win next turn. If no such move exists, concede. This
player must be able to cope with variable game settings and games being loaded from file.
Implement the CompetitivePlayer [Relevant files: CompetitivePlayer.java & maybe Model.java]
Create the strongest AI player you can come up with. It will compete against a pretty strong AI of
our own. Points are awarded depending on the score over a number of games. Games in which your
AI submits invalid moves or tampers with the game state will be forfeited (i.e. counted as a loss).
This player must be able to cope with variable game settings and games being loaded from file.
Restrictions
Please note that you will only be able to submit the files you have been asked to change ! That
means you should not edit any other files, as your solution must be compatible with the supplied
versions of those files. Going against this can cause the automated tests to fail and will result in
you losing the associated marks!
You are permitted to use the Java API, but you must not use any other/external libraries. You cannot
upload libraries anyway, but you should also not copy library code into your the files you upload.
For your own learning, we recommend you do not use any functional language constructs such as
lambdas or streams. Those were taught in first semester, but this course is about imperative
programming. This is not enforced for assignment 1, but will be for assignment 3.