Preliminary

  • Due Date: Friday, December 8 by 12:45
  • This is a partner assignment. Knowing how to collaborate and work on teams is a vital skill that a computer scientist must learn.
  • To avoid losing 15 points, you must complete this assignment with a classmate and you must both submit the same solution to the Portal.
  • To avoid losing an additional 5 points, explain your contributions to the solution in the program comment box.

Dice Game Simulation - 100 points

The purpose of this assignment is to help you gain experience using while loops to solve problems.

For this assignment, you will simulate a simplified game of craps to estimate the percentage of time that the game is won. To play, two six-sided dice are rolled. If they add up to 7 or 11, the game is won. If they add up to 2, 3, or 12, the game is lost. If they add up to any other number, the two dice are repeatedly rolled until either a 7 is rolled (in which case the game is lost) or the original sum is rolled (in which case the game is won).

Example

  • Roll 1: a 6 and 3. Keep rolling!
  • Roll 2: a 1 and 2. Keep rolling!
  • Roll 3: a 4 and 5. You win! (The game is a win since the sum of the two dice, 9, matches the sum of the first roll.)

Sample Output Transcript

This screenshot shows two runs of the program. In the first simulation, the program simulates playing craps 100 times. In the second simulation, the program simulates playing craps 1,000,000 times.

  • Note 1: the program requires the user to enter a number between 100 and 5,000,000. If the user enters a number that is too small or too large, the program asks the user to enter another integer.
  • Note 2: the program does not need to handle the case where something other than an integer is entered.

Requirements and Grading

  • 15 points - A function named simulate_one_game exists (2 points) that has no parameters (2 points). The function returns True (3 points) if a simulated game of craps is won and False (3 points) if it is lost.
  • 15 points - A function named get_integer exists (2 points). Its three parameters indicate the smallest valid integer (1 point), the largest valid integer (1 point), and a custom message (2 points). The function prints the custom message (2 points) and then repeatedly prompts the user for an integer in the desired range until one is entered (5 points) and then returns it (2 points).
  • 30 points - The simulation is correct (10 points per logic error up to 30 points.)
  • 10 points - The output format of the transcript is matched exactly (3 points per type of difference.)
  • 10 points - The Python solution is easy to understand and does not contain unnecessary code (2 points per type of improvement possible).
  • 10 points - Comments are used appropriately (2 points per type of improvement possible).
  • 10 points - The code you write is high quality.

Submission

Place the solution in a file named dice_[firstname].py and submit it in the Portal no later than 12:45 PM on Friday, December 8.