Mobile Python: Rapid Prototyping of Applications on the Mobile Platform

4.5. SMS Game Server

We have already covered a number of new concepts in this chapter. We have learnt how to use the standard user interface framework, how to manipulate strings and how to read and receive SMS messages. In the concluding example, all these features will be put to good use.

The application is an SMS game server with a user interface. It implements the classic game of Hangman, which is described by Wikipedia as follows:

One player thinks of a word and the other tries to guess it by suggesting letters. The word to guess is represented by a row of dashes, giving the number of letters. If the guessing player suggests a letter which occurs in the word, the other player writes it in all its correct positions. The game is over when the guessing player completes the word or guesses the whole word correctly.

Note that our implementation omits the drawing part of the game. Adding graphics to the game would be an interesting exercise after you have read Chapter 5, which introduces the required functions.

You are the game master who runs the server. You can input the word to be guessed by way of the user interface. Other players send text messages to your phone, either to guess individual characters (e.g. 'GUESS a'), or to guess the whole word (e.g. 'WORD cat'). After each guess, a reply message containing the current status of the word is sent back to the guesser. There is no limit to the number of players.

This application provides a fully working example of how to build ...