Table Of ContentBASIC Game Plans
From the Library of
Birkhiiuser Boston
__P rinting
_~Edition
__R elease Date
(Not for sale)
Riideger Baumann
BASIC Game Plans
Computer Games and Puzzles
Programmed in BASIC
Thomas S. Hansen, Editor and Translator
Donald Kahn, Technical Editor
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Riideger Baumann Thomas S. Hansen Donald Kahn
Lilo-Godenstrasse 16 Department of German P.O. Box 10
2120 Liineburg Wellesley College Colrain, MA 01340
Federal Republic of Germany Wellesley, MA 02181 U.S.A.
U.S.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baumann, R. (Riideger)
BASIC game plans.
Bibliography: p.
I. Computer games. 2. Basic (Computer program
language) I. Hansen, T. (Thomas) II. Title.
GVI469.2.B38 1988 794.8'2 83-27551
CIP-Titelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek
Baumann, Ruedeger:
BASIC game plans : computer games and puzzles programmed
in BASIC / by Ruedeger Baumann. Edited and translated by
Thomas S. Hansen. Techn. ed.: Donald Kahn. -Basel; Boston:
Birkhiiuser, 1988
ISBN 978-0-8176-3366-0 ISBN 978-1-4757-3918-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-3918-3
NE: Hansen, Thomas S. [Bearb.]
Printed on acid-free paper.
Originally published under the title Computerspiele und Knobeleien programmiert in BASIC by Vogel
Verlag, Wiirzburg (German Federal Republic). Copyright 1982 by Springer Science+Business Media
New York
Originally published by Vogel-Verlag, Wiirzburg in 1982.
English translation based on second edition (1983). Copyright of the English translation 1989 by
Birkhiiuser Boston Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or oth
erwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
Text provided in camera-ready form by the editor.
987654321
FOREWORD
The computer is a toy tossed to us by
Nature for diversion and comfort in the
darkness.
d'Alembert
I hate everything which merely instructs
without stimulating me or increasing my own
activity.
Goethe
Let's try to eliminate some misconceptions from the
outset: this book is not a collection of game recipes as
sembled in the form of finished programs which only have to
be typed into the computer and then played. Far from it.
The object is to challenge readers to activate their own
creativity in using computer games. The game concept is
designed to develop into game strategy and this then should
form the basis of computer programming. Programming comput
ers is in itself the game. Or, to put it another way, read
ers can learn programming while playing.
No previous knowledge of programming is assumed of
readers and users of this book -- only the willingness to
accept new ideas and improve upon them independently. While
all the programs in this book have been run and tested, some
are intentionally imperfect. They await the finishing
touches from you, the reader. The additional brainteasers
at the end of the chapters (or, occasionally, after a sec
tion within a chapter) are therefore designed to inspire
your imagination and encourage your independence.
The material is drawn from numerous sources. Martin
Gardner deserves particular mention as his books and his
columns in Scientific American are a great treasure trove of
game ideas. Furthermore, the j ournals Creative Computing
and Jeux et strategies deserve mention. Gardner's influence
can be felt in their pages although he himself also draws
v
upon other writers in this field. Very often it is impos
sible to determine the original inventor of a computer game.
Game playing is as old as the human race; all peoples
and cultures know and promote the activity. In our times
game playing has received new impetus through the so-called
"Third Industrial Revolution," on the one hand because our
leisure time has been increased, and on the other, because
the computer has provided us with a partner and master play
er of remarkable talent and versatility. It is fascinating
to be able to instruct a machine so that it can be taken
seriously as a game opponent. The computer has such univer
sal talent that every game whether a game of survival or
mere entertainment -- can be simulated on the machine or
played against it.
Some people think that games lose their appeal once the
theories behind them are known. For the lover of computers,
however, this is just where things get interesting. Playing
may be fun but programming the game is more so. After all,
one can't play the game until it has been thoroughly under
stood. Game playing is an activity very distinct from work
in that it is practiced for its own sake, or rather, for the
sake of the continuous pleasure it provides -- even (or
maybe especially) in our technologized world. The computer
so often maligned as a force opposed to human values -
is thus contributing to the aesthetic education of mankind.
R. Baumann Lueneburg (West Germany)
If you would like a 5 1/4 inch, Commodore compatible disk
ette for the programs in this book, please send $5.00 to:
Donald Kahn
P.O. Box 80
Colrain, MA 01340
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword ...............•............................... v
A Word to the User ..................................... ix
Introduction ........................................... xiv
1. Rules of the Game: Playing with and Against Computers
1.1 Which hand? ................................ 1
1. 2 Addition Warm-ups .......................... 4
1.3 Too high -- too low........................ 7
1.4 Target 100 ................................. 10
1.5 Match the Partners .......................... 13
2. Learning Games
2.1 The Alphabet Game ......................... 21
2 . 2 Number Sensor.............................. 22
2.3 Total Recall............................... 24
2 . 4 Card Shark's Memory........................ 28
2.5 Math Practice.............................. 32
2.6 State Your Terms........................... 34
2.7 Driver's Ed ................................ 38
3. Games with Graphics
3.1 starting with the Screen .................. 45
3.2 Sonar Sensing (The Bat).................... 56
3.3 Star Hunt.................................. 59
3.4 The Lizard's Snack ........................ 63
3.5 Balloons 66
3.6 The Maze .................................. 70
3.7 Back from the Klondike..................... 78
3.8 Melody Maker ............................... 86
3.9 Game of Life .............................. 89
4. Games of Searching and Guessing
4.1 Mathlete (Nichomachus) ..................... 105
4.2 Guess the Number .......................... 107
4.3 Guess the Word ............................ 109
4.4 Scrambled Words ............................ III
4.5 Crack the Code ("Super Brain") ............. 113
4.6 Spy Ring .................................. 116
4.7 LAP ....................................... 120
5. Games of Chance
5.1 SixHex •.•..•..•.•..•.•................... 130
5.2 Crap Shoot ..•.•..•......................... 134
5.3 Penny Toss ••••••...••.•.•..............•... 138
5 . 4 Twenty-one................................. 143
5.5 Roulette ......•......•..................... 150
5.6 One-armed Bandit •....•.•................... 157
6. Games of Strategy
6. 1 Nim •••.••.••••.•.••.•..•.•................ 172
6.2 Bowling ••.•....•.••••.•.•..•..•........... 182
6 • 3 Queen in the Corner •..•................... 187
6.4 Tic Tac Toe ••.•....•.•..•.•............... 195
6.5 Bridge Builder .•......•..•................ 208
6.6 Mini Chess ..•....•........................ 215
6.7 Four is the Winner •........................ 228
7. Varied Strategies
7.1 Choose Up for Pennies .•.•.•................ 235
7.2 Guess the Card ..••.•.•..•.•..•............. 244
8. Puzzles
8.1 Magic Squares •..•.•..•..................... 255
8.2 Too Many Queens .•.•..•..................... 268
8.3 Knight Errant .•....•....................... 276
8.4 Fifteen Blocks •.•..•.•..................... 282
8.5 The Pouring Puzzle •.•..•................... 294
8.6 Rubik's Cube .•.••.•..•......•.............. 299
9. Mixed Brainteasers
10. Appendix
The Programming Language BASIC ................. 317
viii
A WORD TO THE USER
The computer programs in this book were originally
conceived for the Commodore PET. Nowadays few readers still
have access to this famous machine that helped to revolutio
nize the world of personal computing. Its popular succes
sors that are more frequently found in private use include
the Commodore 64, the Apple II, and the IBM PC (and compati
ble machines). This book and its programs have been revised
for users of such modern hardware. These three quite dif-
ferent computers still have much in common. For example,
they share common languages, of which BASIC is one, although
there are differences between the various versions of BASIC
when run on different machines. Furthermore, each machine
is different internally, so the use of POKE (or PEEK) can be
slightly different. All such details are explained in full
below so that you will be able to write and run the BASIC
programs in this book on your own machine.
In keeping with the spirit of the rest of the book,
instructions and technical information are provided, but the
implementation is, for the most part, left to the reader.
PET BASIC
There are only a few differences between Commodore
BASIC and Apple and IBM BASICs which affect the programs ih
this book. The GET A$ command is replaced on the IBM PC
with A$=INKEY$. Also, IBM PC BASIC does not allow you to
omit GO TO following an IF ..• THEN statement. The Commodore
variable TI reads a clock in the Commodore; the IBM's clock
is read with TIMER, but the Apple II requires an add-on card
for this function. Reseeding the Commodore random number
generator is accomplished most randomly with RND(-TI). Use
RANDOMIZE TIMER on an IBM PC. Those of you with Apples may
need to use your imagination to most randomly reseed.
ix
PET Graphics
The computer programs in this book use two methods of
display, PRINTing and POKEing. (All programs may be assumed
to be in text mode.) The table below indicates the meaning
of PRINTing the eight CHR$ codes which represent screen
control commands, as well as the closest equivalent commands
for the Apple and the IBM.
Function Commodore AppleSoft II IBM BASIC
PRINT command command
Clearing CHR$(147) HOME CLS
the screen
Cursor to CHR$(19) VTAB 1: LOCATE 1,1
home (upper HTAB 1 or
left.) PRINT CHR$(ll)
Right CHR$(29) HTAB or PRINT CHR$(28)
cursor PRINT II II
Left CHR$(157) HTAB PRINT CHR$(29)
cursor
Down CHR$(17) VTAB PRINT CHR$(31)
cursor
Up CHR$(145) VTAB PRINT CHR$(30)
cursor
Reverse CHR$(18) INVERSE COLOR x,y
on
Reverse CHR$(146) NORMAL COLOR y,x
off
Also, moving the cursor around the screen may be ac
complished by POKEing. In the Apple II, address 36 contains
the cursor's horizontal position, and address 37 contains
the cursor's vertical position.
x
