Bingo Game Programming Project

In this programming project, which follows up on the Bingo Game Lab, you will add more functionality to your Bingo Game.

Programming Project: Improving the Bingo Game Program

The program needs several enhancements to act like a real Bingo game. One problem is that the card should be initialized with a different set of random numbers every time the game is played; instead, this version places the same pre-defined numbers in each column every time. (Another difference is that a real game would have multiple cards, but our game still has only one card.) There are a variety of patterns that could be considered a winning pattern in Bingo, such as a complete diagonal of marked numbers, marked numbers in the four corners, marked numbers in a postage stamp pattern etc. Each of these could be considered a separate strategy for winning.

Add column headings to the Bingo card.

• Modify the BingoCard class to add the letters that spell out the word "BINGO" as column headings on the top of your Bingo card, as in the picture below. Your code should use a loop that iterates over all of the entries in the first row; it should not add each letter individually. The substring method of the String class will be useful for retrieving the individual letters from the BINGO variable. If this is coded correctly, your program should work just as well if the line:

  private static final String BINGO = "BINGO";
  

  is replaced with the line:

  private static final String BINGO = "BINGOLO";
  

  (Stop and Think: What color should the Bingo letters be? Is it a color given by the user or a color you define? Which class knows what color the heading should be? Notice that the Bingo Card doesn't know about the Bingo GUI. We can still access methods in the BingoGUI class that are static methods by using BingoGUI.staticMethodName().) Adjust other code in your program that steps through the rows of values on the card (such as findCellContaining and your column-winning strategy) as necessary. Compile and run your program, comparing your expected and actual results.
• Implement the indicateCardWon method to "mark" the letters in the column headings.

Initialize Card with Random Numbers

• Modify the initCol and getUnusedRandomNumber methods to initialize the cells on a Bingo card with unique random numbers from the correct range in each column, as in the picture above. That is, the "B" column might contain five different random numbers in the range of 1 .. 15, the "I" column should have five different random numbers in the range of 16 .. 30, etc. (The "B" range should actually go from 1 to the subrange size, in case the subrange size is a number other than 15.)

  You will use the numUsed instance variable to make sure that the same number is not added to the card more than once. An entry in the numUsed array should be true if the corresponding number has already been selected, and false otherwise. For example, if you randomly pick the number 45, and if numUsed[45] has the value true, then 45 has already been used and you can't use it again. If numUsed[45] has the value false, then you can put a 45 on your card. (Don't forget to set numUsed[45] to true.)

  Use the comments for the numUsed instance variable and the comments provided in the methods to guide your implementation.

• Compile and run your program, comparing your expected and actual results.

Add additional winning strategy options.

• Add at least 3 additional winning strategy options to your program, such as those in the list below. Compile and run each new strategy, singly and in combination, as you implement it.
  • Win if all values on a diagonal have been marked.
  • Win if all 4 corner values have been marked.
  • Win if all values on the card have been marked ("cover all").
  • Win if values in a 2x2 area have been marked ("postage stamp"). The picture below shows a postage stamp win near the lower-right corner with the values 60, 62, 55, and 74.

Optional: Add one or more "free" spaces to your card.

• Modify the BingoCard constructor to add one or more "free" spaces to your card. A free space is one that starts out as marked when the game begins. A common pattern is to have a single free space in the center of the card, but it is also possible to create cards with multiple free spaces. You should represent free spaces with a value that would not be used as one of the normal values on the card (e.g., "0" or "F"). When you place the random values on the card, be sure to first check that there is not already a "free space" value in that location.
• Compile and run your program, comparing your expected and actual results.
• Additional Option: Add "hard-way" row and column winning strategy options to your program. A "hard-way" strategy requires that the winning row or column not include a free space, making free spaces a disadvantage rather than an advantage.

Submit your modifications.

• Be sure you have updated the class documentation for all classes and interfaces you created or modified. Also be sure to update the information that appears in the Help menu and the README file. Remember that the latter should accurately describe the purpose and behavior of the class from a user's perspective; in other words, focus on what the program does, rather than how it does it.
• Submit all classes and interfaces that you created or modified, as well as the README file.