Assignment 2: Game of Nim

Assignment Setup

To create your repository go here. Then follow the same accept/import process described in the setup instructions.

Game of Nim

Nim is a game of strategy in which two players take turns removing sticks from a common pile. There are many variations of Nim but we will stick with a simple version. On each turn a player must remove either 1 or 2 sticks from the pile. The goal of the game is to be the player who removes the last stick.

You will design a game in which one human player is competing against a computer. To simplify your work the person will always take the first turn.

While there is a winning strategy for this game, you are only required to create a computer player that makes random, but valid, moves.

Example

Round 0: 7 at start human takes 2, so 5 remain

Round 1: 5 at start computer takes 2, so 3 remain

Round 2: 3 at start human takes 2, so 1 remain

Round 3: 1 at start computer takes 1, so 0 remain

The computer wins / you lose!

Notes

  • Begin by prompting the user for the initial number of sticks. In the example above, it appears that 7 sticks were used in the game.

  • The human (as always in this assignment) made the first move.

  • Clearly, the human could have played better in the above game.

  • The computer randomly removes 1 or 2 sticks, but cannot remove more sticks than are left.

  • The human is prompted at each turn for how many sticks to remove.

Be careful! A human might enter 5 if 5 sticks are left, and if you are not careful, the human could win by “ playing ” in that way. Don’t accept the user’s input if it is illegal. You may assume that they will only enter integers, but you should continue prompting until you get a valid value.

  • Start your work by creating a Nim class in the assignment2 package.

  • Use Scanner to prompt for inputs.

  • Your program must continue play until somebody (computer or human) wins.

  • Your output should resemble the sample output shown above. It should clearly show if the computer or the human wins.

  • When it’s time to demo be prepared to discuss how you would implement a “smarter” strategy for the computer player.

Submitting your work

To submit your work come to office hours or class on an “Assignment day” and sign up for a demo via wustl-cse.help.

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