kriegspiel-tictactoe

A simple command-line implementation of Zach Weinersmith's proposed game 'Kriegspiel Tic Tac Toe'.

see https://mastodon.social/@ZachWeinersmith/111890121393299096

Basically, the idea is that it's blind tic-tac-toe where you can only see your opponent's spaces if you hit the same space.

I (Pxtl) got carried away gold-plating, so there are 3 notable features:

1. Arbitrary square board size.
2. Arbitrary player count. Players must be unique single-character names.
3. Both hotseat and file-based network multiplayer.

Install and Run

This program is implemented using "csx", which is a single-file variant of C#. It was developed under dotnet Core 8 on Windows but may support older versions or alternate operating systems (I promise nothing).

I am unsure what exact tools are needed to run this. I'm assuming the SDK is necessary. It was developed under Windows, on dotnet core 8.

to install dotnet core 8 SDK on Windows:

winget install dotnet-sdk-8

but possibly dotnet runtime 8 will be sufficient.

winget install dotnet-runtime-8

after that, the command-line runner is needed:

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script

which will allow you to run .csx files.

To execute the file, cd into the directory where you have unpacked the files and run

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx

to run it in basic gameplay (traditional tic-tac-toe but Kriegspiel, hotseat mode).

to see other options for play, run

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx /?

note that dotnet-script will intercept all other variations like -h or --help or -?, WIP. Alternately you can supply any garbage like

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx --justshowmethehelp

and it will insult you but show you the help.

Description:
  This is a simple command-line implementation of Zach Weinersmith's proposed game 'Kriegspiel Tic Tac Toe'

Usage:
  dotnet-script [options]

Options:
  -f, --file <file>        Path to the json file where gamestate is stored.  Will be resumed automatically if you kill
                           the game (ctrl-C).  Use a fileshare for network multiplayer. [default:
                           C:\Users\<yourname>\AppData\Roaming\KriegspielTicTacToe.json]
  -F, --force              Force a new game instead of loading the game at the gamestate file.  Will replace gamestate 
                           file.
  -p, --players <players>  Players mark characters.  Provide them space-separated, eg '-p A B C X Y Z' for a 6-player
                           game. [default: X|O]
  -r, --random             Randomize player order.
  -s, --size <size>        Board size.  Default is 3x3. [default: 3]
  -j, --join <join>        Join as given player char mark. Must match a mark in players list. Hotseat mode if not
                           provided.
  --version                Show version information
  -?, -h, --help           Show help and usage information

So, to start a simple 3-player hotseat game between Alice, Bob, and Carol on a 4x4 screen, the command would be

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx -p A B C -s 4

Conversely, to start a multiplayer game with the default rules (2 players X and O on a 3x3 board) on a fileshare named \\kosmos\storage with random start-player, the command would be

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx -f \\kosmos\storage\temp\ksttt.json -j X -r

And then your friend (on another computer with similar access to \\kosmos\storage\) can join with

dotnet-script .\KriegspielTicTacToe.csx -f \\kosmos\storage\temp\ksttt.json -j O

any game-rule options you pass in when joining an existing game like size, players, or randomization will be ignored.

Contributing

I haven't thought that far ahead.

Bugs

Can't run the same .csx file at the same time

If your .csx file is located on a shared location, you may find that multiple people can't use it at the same time because it generates a .dll and file-locks it. You'll need to copy the file around per-player.

If I do something crazy like have 3 players all running as player X, or join an online game in hotseat mode, the game is broken and bad

Don't do that.

Other Bugs

Infinite. I have no idea. This was a one-evening hackathon.

TODO

Zach's proposal has been fleshed out a bit today, and has some things that aren't included in this game.

Scoring

Zach's KTTT does not end when 3 in a row has been claimed. Rather, a point is scored in that case. The game ends when the board is full.

Multiple boards

Zach's KTTT requires 3 separate tic-tac-toe boards and players may draw on any of the 3. This game as implemented only supports one board of play (but of arbitrary square size).