Sliding Puzzle - 2023

CSC1002 – Computational Laboratory
Sliding Puzzle - 2023

OVERVIEW
In this assignment, you are going to design and develop an interactive sliding puzzle game for both 8 and
15 numbers. An 8-number puzzle has a square-framed board consisting of 8 square tiles, numbered 1 to
8, initially placed in random order, while a 15-number puzzle there are 15 numbered square tiles, from 1
to 15, as shown above respectively. The game board has an empty space where one of adjacent tiles
slides to. The objective of the game is to re-arrange the tiles into a sequential order by their numbers
(left to right, top to bottom) by repeatedly making sliding moves (left, right, up or down). The following
figure shows an example of one 8-number puzzle where “INITIAL” is the starting point of the game, and
the player needs to repeatedly slide one adjacent tile, one at a time, to the unoccupied space (the
empty space) until all numbers appear sequentially, ordered from left to right, top to bottom, shown as
“FINAL”.

 INITIAL FINAL
CSC1002 – Computational Laboratory
CSC1002 – 2020 Winter By Kinley Lam
SCOPE
1. At the start of the game, display a brief introduction about the game.
2. Prompt user to enter 4 letters (a-z), case-insensitive, used for the left, right, up and down
moves. User is free to pick any four letters such as j, k, r, f for left, right, up and down
respectively. Your program must perform appropriate input validation such as repeated letters,
too many or too few letters, non-letter characters and so on.
3. Prompt user for selection of either 8 or 15 puzzle, then generate a randomized, SOLVABLE 8 or
15-tile puzzle accordingly; have it displayed on the screen using simple ASCII characters (0-9).
4. Repeatedly prompt user the tile to slide to the empty location (left, right, up or down) - the
location of the tile relative to the empty location. In the prompt the valid sliding move(s) are
shown together with the designated letter (from step 2 above). For example:
a. Enter your move (left-j, right-k) >
5. After each move, show the updated puzzle on the screen and prompt further move if needed.
6. Inform user when the puzzle is solved (i.e. the numbered tiles are in sequential order, left to
right, top to bottom); then prompt user to continue another game or terminate the program.
7. Track total number of moves made for each game and have it displayed as the puzzle is solved.
8. Validate all input as mentioned above, including whitespaces from the input such as leading and
trailing spaces as well as spaces in between. Your program must not crash and must prompt
user for input again with a friendly message indicating the detected error (if any).
NOTE:
• Keep your entire source code in ONE SINGLE file.
• Use only standard python modules
• In your design stick ONLY to functions, in other words, no class objects of your own.

STARTUP OPTIONS
Not applicable

CSC1002 – Computational Laboratory
CSC1002 – 2020 Winter By Kinley Lam
SKILLS
In this assignment, you will be trained on the use of the followings:
• Functions (with parameters and return) for program structure and logic decomposition
• Input() - Input Validation & Program Robustness
• Standard objects (strings, numbers & lists)
• Control statements to interact with users
• Variable Scope
• String formatting (method style)

DELIVERABLES
1. Program source code (A1_School_StudentID_Source.py)
where School is SSE, SDS, SME, HSS, FE or LHS and StudentID is your 9-digit student ID.
Submit the python file by due date to the corresponding assignment folder under “Assignment
(submission)”
For instances, a SME student with student ID “119010001” will name the program as follows:
• A1_SME_119010001.py:
5% will be deducted if file is incorrectly named!!!
TIPS & HINTS
• Beware of variable scope as you might keep a few variables as global such as puzzle
• Refer to python website for program styles and naming convention (PEP 8)
• Validate all inputs - if incorrect input is detected then display a friendly response and prompt
the input again.


CSC1002 – Computational Laboratory
CSC1002 – 2020 Winter By Kinley Lam
SAMPLE OUTPUT
Welcome to Kinley’s puzzle game, you will be prompted
….. (skipped)
Enter the four letters used for left, right, up and down move > l r u d
Enter “1” for 8-puzzle, “2” for 15-puzzle or “q” to end the game > 1
 1 3
4 2 5
7 8 6
Enter your move (left-l, up-u) > l
1 3
4 2 5
7 8 6
Enter your move (left-l, right-r, up-u) > u
1 2 3
4 5
7 8 6
Enter your move (left-l, right-r, up-u, down-d) > l
1 2 3
4 5
7 8 6
Enter your move (right-r, up-u, down-d) > u
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8
Congratulations! You solved the puzzle in 4 moves!
Enter “1” for 8-puzzle, “2” for 15-puzzle or “q” to end the game> 1
8 1 3
4 2
7 6 5
Enter your move (left-l, right-r, up-u, down-d) >
.
.
CSC1002 – Computational Laboratory
CSC1002 – 2020 Winter By Kinley Lam
.
MARKING CRITERIA
• Coding Styles – overall program structure including layout, comments, white spaces, naming
convention, variables, indentation, functions with appropriate parameters and return.
• Design Documentation if required
• Program Correctness – whether or the program works 100% as per Scope.
• User Interaction – how informative and accurate information is exchanged between your
program and the player.
• Readability counts – programs that are well structured and easy-to-follow using functions to
breakdown complex problems into smaller cleaner generalized functions are preferred over a
function embracing a complex logic with nested conditions and sub-functions! In other words, a
design with clean architecture with high readability is the predilection for the course objectives
over efficiency. The logic in each function should be kept simple and short, and it should be
designed to perform a single task and be generalized with parameters as needed.
• KISS approach – Keep It Simple and Straightforward.
• Balance approach – you are not required to come up a very optimized solution. However, take a
balance between readability and efficiency with good use of program constructs.
ITEMS PERCENTAGE REMARKS
CODING STYLES 15%-20% 0% IF PROGRAM DOESN’T RUN
USER INTERFACE 15%-20% 0% IF PROGRAM DOESN’T RUN
FUNCTIONALITY MAX. 70% REFER TO SCOPE