CPS 108, Spring 2001, Boggle
See ~ola/cps108/joggle on acpub
or
Joggle Code
For information on the network client front end, see
JoggleFE.java and
the
javadoc.
Boggling and Joggling
Boggle is a trademark of Parker Brothers. Joggle is the Java version of
Boggle (note: there are many versions of Boggle/Joggle in Java on the
internet. You can do better than these, especially if you're re-using
common game classes/code as part of the game project in CPS 108).
Boggle is a word game. Sixteen cubes (dice) have letters on each side.
These are tossed, and a 4 x 4 grid provides the playing field for
Boggle. Words are formed by connecting cubes that are adjacent either
horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. For example, a board is shown
below on the left with the word TRADES shaded in the
board on the right.
In the basic version of Boggle, a letter cannot be re-used within a
word. For example, the word SET can be formed in the
board above, but the word SETS cannot be formed since
the S cannot be re-used.
You are to write an application (and optionally an applet) that allows
the user to play boggle "against" the computer. For extra credit your
program should be able to connect to a Joggle Server to allow several
people to play against each other. The specifications of the Joggle
Server will be made available later.
Requirements
Your program will read a dictionary of legal words, roll the letter cubes, and
allow a user to type/enter words. All words formed by the user should be
added to a scrollable list box. A timer should inform the user how much
time is left, initially allow two minutes to play the game, but this
should be configurable. When the game is over, all words that the user
missed should be shown in another listbox. If the user clicks on a word
in either listbox, the letters that are used to form that word should be
highlighted, or in some manner made more "visible".
You can also implement a text-based version of the game in either C++ or
Java or both. The text-version should have the same functionality
(basically) as the graphical version.
Options
You can optionally add the following features which will earn extra
points.
- Letter Re-use. Allow a letter to be used more than once within a
word (this should be selectable).
- Allow 5 x 5 boggling instead of just 4 x 4 boggling.
- Attach to the Boggle Server to allow several users to play the game
at once (more information on this later).
Details
A C definition for an array of Boggle cubes is shown below. This shows
the actual cubes from a Boggle game (note: the 'Q' cube has a u with it
that isn't shown below).
<![CDATA[
static char * cubes[] = {
"forixb",
"moqabj",
"gurilw",
"setupl",
"cmpdae",
"acitao",
"slcrae",
"romash",
"nodesw",
"hefiye",
"onudtk",
"tevign",
"anedvz",
"pinesh",
"abilyt",
"gkyleu"
};
]]>
To find all the words on a Boggle board, the easiest method is to look
up every word in the dictionary on the board (this may seem backwards,
but it's easier to code and faster.) There will be more details on this
as necessary. There are some hints on one method for finding words in
the Tapestry book, see exercise 12.8 on page 637.
You will be given a compressed boggle dictionary to use in your final
program. However, initially you'll need to make your own dictionary of
legal words. You may find /usr/dict/words a useful source.
You might, for example, take the 3, 4, 5, and 6 letter words from it to
use as your dictionary. The boggle dictionary and reading code
will be made available at a later date.
Grading
You can earn up to 40 points for this game. Points are shown
below. Points are earned as shown for functionality, the same number of
points can be earned for documentation/design in each category (so
20+20=40). If you implement the same architecture/game in C++ and Java
you can earn 50% more points (for the C++ version).
| Feature | Points |
| Text Boggle | 3 |
| Graphic Boggle | 6 |
| Applet Boggle | 3 |
| Networked Boggle | 4 |
| Extra Stuff | 4 |
Owen L. Astrachan
Last modified: Mon Mar 19 23:23:23 EST 2001