(HP32SII) Mastermind game based on HP-41 version by Wouter Peters

[Dave75]

(02-17-2024 09:23 PM)Johnh Wrote:  Nice work! Mastermind is a great logic game and very suitable for coding. I'm not familiar with Hp32 code, but it looks like it wouldn't be too hard to bring it forward to other models such as Hp35s?

I used to play it as a board game in the '70's when it was very popular, but we dont seem to hear of it much these days. The link in the post above explains it.

I wrote a program for it on a TI58, in 1979, and I still have it written out in pencil.

Also, far more crazy, I built a machine to play it in 1977. It used a Sinclair Cambridge calculator (a basic 4-function calc), wired with an umbilical cord of wires to supply power and engage each key. That went to a hardwired logic circuit of TTL chips to feed it key strokes in sequence and display the results. Pointless fun for a young nerd!

Yes, I think it should be translated without any particular issue also for other programmable calculators; the only "special" programming technique involved, I guess, it's the usage indirect store and recall functions, which on HP-41 I've understood it can be done with any register while for example on HP-32SII you can only do it with one specific register (the "i"), so you've to deal with this limitation (and the limited memory!). On the other side HP-32SII has a built in Random number generator so I've been able a whole routine in the original version for HP-41 with just command (1.5 byte instead of 10 bytes I guess).

Yes, me too I've spent a lot of time playing with Mastermind tabletop version of the game with my family in my youth. As you said, I've never seen it around in these days, it's a pity since it's a really funny game.

What you did with the Sinclair Cambridge I bet it has been a lot of fun too!