Battle at Traitor’s Castle

Book: Computer Battlegames
Author: Usborne Publishing
Translator: Marcus Medina

Story

The King is waging a fierce and bloody battle against his deadliest enemy – the Traitor Baron. You are one of the King’s crack bowmen, crouched behind the bushes outside the Baron’s Castle. Your mission is to shoot at the Baron’s men as they lift their heads above the battlements. The computer will display a row with eight dots and an “O” representing a target. You must quickly press the correct number (1 to 9) corresponding to the position of “O” before it disappears. How many of the Baron’s men can you hit?

Pseudocode

START
PRINT "TRAITOR'S CASTLE"
SET score (S) to 0
FOR 10 rounds:
    SET an empty string (R$)
    GENERATE a random number (T) between 1 and 9
    FOR each position (L) from 1 to 9:
        IF position matches T:
            ADD "0" to R$
        ELSE:
            ADD "." to R$
    PRINT the row R$


    WAIT for user input (I$) for 12 iterations:
        IF user input matches T:
            PRINT "GOOD SHOT"
            INCREMENT score (S) by 1
            BREAK loop
        ELSE:
            PRINT "MISSED"
    END WAIT


PRINT "YOU HIT", S, "OUT OF 10"
END

Flowchart

graph TD
    Start --> Display[Display 'TRAITOR'S CASTLE']
    Display --> InitScore[Initialize score to 0]
    InitScore --> Rounds[Repeat for 10 rounds]
    Rounds --> GenerateRow[Generate a row with 8 dots and an 'O']
    GenerateRow --> DisplayRow[Display the generated row]
    DisplayRow --> WaitInput[Wait for user input for 12 iterations]
    WaitInput --> Match[Check if input matches the position of 'O']
    Match -->|Yes| GoodShot[Display 'GOOD SHOT' and increment score]
    Match -->|No| Missed[Display 'MISSED']
    GoodShot --> Rounds
    Missed --> Rounds
    Rounds -->|After 10 rounds| DisplayScore[Display 'YOU HIT S OUT OF 10']
    DisplayScore --> End[End]

Code

Pages

Battle at Traitor's Castle, sida 1 — Usborne Computer Battlegames
Battle at Traitor's Castle, sida 2 — Usborne Computer Battlegames

ZX-81 BASIC 
10 PRINT "TRAITOR'S CASTLE"
20 LET S=0
30 FOR G=1 TO 10
40 LET R$=""
50 LET T=INT(RND*9)+1
60 FOR L=1 TO 9
70 IF L=T THEN LET R$=R$+"0"
80 IF L<>T THEN LET R$=R$+"."
90 NEXT L
100 PRINT R$
110 FOR I=1 TO 12
120 LET I$=INKEY$
130 IF VAL(I$) = T THEN GOTO 170
140 NEXT I
150 PRINT "MISSED"
160 GOTO 180
170 PRINT "GOOD SHOT"
175 LET S=S+1
180 NEXT G
190 PRINT "YOU HIT ";S;" OUT OF 10"
210 STOP
C# 
using System;


class TraitorsCastle
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("TRAITOR'S CASTLE");
        int score = 0;


        Random random = new Random();


        for (int round = 1; round <= 10; round++)
        {
            string row = "";
            int targetPosition = random.Next(1, 10);


            for (int position = 1; position <= 9; position++)
            {
                if (position == targetPosition)
                {
                    row += "0";
                }
                else
                {
                    row += ".";
                }
            }


            Console.WriteLine(row);


            bool hit = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++)
            {
                string input = Console.ReadLine();


                if (int.TryParse(input, out int userGuess) && userGuess == targetPosition)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("GOOD SHOT");
                    score++;
                    hit = true;
                    break;
                }
            }


            if (!hit)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("MISSED");
            }
        }


        Console.WriteLine($"YOU HIT {score} OUT OF 10");
    }
}
Python 
import random


print("TRAITOR'S CASTLE")
score = 0


for _ in range(10):
    row = ""
    target_position = random.randint(1, 9)


    for position in range(1, 10):
        if position == target_position:
            row += "0"
        else:
            row += "."


    print(row)


    hit = False
    for _ in range(12):
        try:
            user_guess = int(input("Your guess: "))
            if user_guess == target_position:
                print("GOOD SHOT")
                score += 1
                hit = True
                break
        except ValueError:
            pass


    if not hit:
        print("MISSED")


print(f"YOU HIT {score} OUT OF 10")
Java 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;


public class TraitorsCastle {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("TRAITOR'S CASTLE");
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random random = new Random();
        int score = 0;


        for (int round = 0; round < 10; round++) {
            StringBuilder row = new StringBuilder();
            int targetPosition = random.nextInt(9) + 1;


            for (int position = 1; position <= 9; position++) {
                if (position == targetPosition) {
                    row.append("0");
                } else {
                    row.append(".");
                }
            }


            System.out.println(row);


            boolean hit = false;
            for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++) {
                String input = scanner.nextLine();
                try {
                    int userGuess = Integer.parseInt(input);
                    if (userGuess == targetPosition) {
                        System.out.println("GOOD SHOT");
                        score++;
                        hit = true;
                        break;
                    }
                } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
                    // Ignore invalid input
                }
            }


            if (!hit) {
                System.out.println("MISSED");
            }
        }


        System.out.printf("YOU HIT %d OUT OF 10\n", score);
    }
}
Go 
package main


import (
  "fmt"
  "math/rand"
  "time"
)


func main() {
  fmt.Println("TRAITOR'S CASTLE")
  rand.Seed(time.Now().UnixNano())
  var score int


  for round := 0; round < 10; round++ {
    row := ""
    targetPosition := rand.Intn(9) + 1


    for position := 1; position <= 9; position++ {
      if position == targetPosition {
        row += "0"
      } else {
        row += "."
      }
    }


    fmt.Println(row)


    hit := false
    for i := 0; i < 12; i++ {
      var userGuess int
      fmt.Scan(&userGuess)
      if userGuess == targetPosition {
        fmt.Println("GOOD SHOT")
        score++
        hit = true
        break
      }
    }


    if !hit {
      fmt.Println("MISSED")
    }
  }


  fmt.Printf("YOU HIT %d OUT OF 10\n", score)
}
C++ 
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <ctime>


using namespace std;


int main() {
    cout << "TRAITOR'S CASTLE" << endl;
    srand(time(0));
    int score = 0;


    for (int round = 0; round < 10; round++) {
        string row = "";
        int targetPosition = rand() % 9 + 1;


        for (int position = 1; position <= 9; position++) {
            if (position == targetPosition) {
                row += "0";
            } else {
                row += ".";
            }
        }


        cout << row << endl;


        bool hit = false;
        for (int i = 0; i < 12; i++) {
            int userGuess;
            cin >> userGuess;
            if (userGuess == targetPosition) {
                cout << "GOOD SHOT" << endl;
                score++;
                hit = true;
                break;
            }
        }


        if (!hit) {
            cout << "MISSED" << endl;
        }
    }


    cout << "YOU HIT " << score << " OUT OF 10" << endl;
    return 0;
}

Explanation

This game simulates an archer defending a castle. The program generates a random position for a target in a row of dots. The player has to guess the position of the target before it disappears. The game counts and displays the total number of hits after 10 rounds.

Challenges

  1. Increase Difficulty: Reduce the time available to input the guess.
  2. Add Features: Introduce different types of targets with varying points.
  3. Customize: Allow the player to adjust the number of rounds or the speed of the game.

These programs are adaptations of the original Usborne Computer Guides published in the 1980s. The books are free to download for personal or educational use from Usborne’s Computer and Coding Books. Programs and adaptations may not be used for commercial purposes.

Return to Computer Battlegames.