Tic Tac Toe Batch Game - batch-file

Question

I'm trying to code a tictactoe game in batch.
But I ran into several problems I can't solve.
After the third move of player 1, the game has to check if player 1 has won.
I tried to do that by making 8 variables of all possible 8 winlines. And then the game checks if any of the winlines equals to XXX or OOO.
The Problem is that the field variables (_f1, _f2, etc.) don't change to X or O. I set them at the beginning of the script by their numbers, but I dont understand why they dont change once a player put a X or O in that field/variable.
The code is very ugly and unnecessarily long. I'm aware of the for command and i can do basic loops, but I cant wrap my head around the syntax if the command gets too complicated. How can I put all the repititions in for loops?
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
title .:TIC TAC TOE:.
mode con: cols=40 lines=20
color 02
cls
goto :main
:check
if !_win1!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win2!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win3!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win4!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win5!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win6!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win7!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
if !_win8!==XXX (
echo END OF GAME
pause
)
goto :eof
:player2turn
choice /c 123456789 /n /m "!_player2!, it's your turn!"
if !errorlevel!==1 (
if !_f1!==1 (
set _f1=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==2 (
if !_f2!==2 (
set _f2=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==3 (
if !_f3!==3 (
set _f3=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==4 (
if !_f4!==4 (
set _f4=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==5 (
if !_f5!==5 (
set _f5=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==6 (
if !_f6!==6 (
set _f6=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==7 (
if !_f7!==7 (
set _f7=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==8 (
if !_f8!==8 (
set _f8=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==9 (
if !_f9!==9 (
set _f9=!_player2symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
goto :eof
:player1turn
choice /c 123456789 /n /m "!_player1!, it's your turn!"
if !errorlevel!==1 (
if !_f1!==1 (
set _f1=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==2 (
if !_f2!==2 (
set _f2=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==3 (
if !_f3!==3 (
set _f3=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==4 (
if !_f4!==4 (
set _f4=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==5 (
if !_f5!==5 (
set _f5=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==6 (
if !_f6!==6 (
set _f6=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==7 (
if !_f7!==7 (
set _f7=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==8 (
if !_f8!==8 (
set _f8=!_player1symbol!
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
if !errorlevel!==9 (
if !_f9!==9 (
set _f9=!_player1symbol!
echo !_win1!
echo !_player1symbol!
pause
goto :eof
) else (
goto :player1turn
)
)
goto :eof
::displaying the map
:map
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo !_f7! ^| !_f8! ^| !_f9!
echo ---------
echo !_f4! ^| !_f5! ^| !_f6!
echo ---------
echo !_f1! ^| !_f2! ^| !_f3!
echo.
echo.
echo.
goto :eof
::setting variables
:setvar
set _f1=1
set _f2=2
set _f3=3
set _f4=4
set _f5=5
set _f6=6
set _f7=7
set _f8=8
set _f9=9
set _win1=!_f7!!_f8!!_f9!
set /a _win2=!_f4!+!_f5!+!_f6!
set /a _win3=!_f1!+!_f2!+!_f3!
set /a _win4=!_f7!+!_f4!+!_f1!
set /a _win5=!_f8!+!_f5!+!_f2!
set /a _win6=!_f9!+!_f6!+!_f3!
set /a _win7=!_f7!+!_f5!+!_f3!
set /a _win8=!_f9!+!_f5!+!_f1!
goto :eof
::player settings
:setup
echo.
set /p _player1=Enter name for Player 1:
echo.
choice /c xo /n /m "!_player1! do you want to play as X or O?"
if !errorlevel!==1 (
set _player1symbol=X
set _player2symbol=O
) else (
set _player1symbol=O
set _player2symbol=X
)
echo.
echo.
set /p _player2=Enter name for Player 2:
echo.
cls
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo !_player1!(!_player1symbol!) vs. !_player2!(!_player2symbol!)
pause>nul
goto :eof
:main
setlocal
call :setup
cls
call :setvar
call :map
call :player1turn
cls
call :map
call :player2turn
cls
call :map
call :player1turn
cls
call :map
call :player2turn
cls
call :map
call :player1turn
call :check
endlocal
goto :eof

Answer 1

You should research and define your coding approach before write a single line of program. Also, you should learn the language features in order to make good use of its facilities. This applies to any programming language.
This is the way I would do it:
#echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
rem Test for win: Horizontal rows
set "win[1]=%%pos[1]%%%%pos[2]%%%%pos[3]%%"
set "win[2]=%%pos[4]%%%%pos[5]%%%%pos[6]%%"
set "win[3]=%%pos[7]%%%%pos[8]%%%%pos[9]%%"
rem Test for win: Vertical cols
set "win[4]=%%pos[1]%%%%pos[4]%%%%pos[7]%%"
set "win[5]=%%pos[2]%%%%pos[5]%%%%pos[8]%%"
set "win[6]=%%pos[3]%%%%pos[6]%%%%pos[9]%%"
rem Test for win: Diagonals
set "win[7]=%%pos[1]%%%%pos[5]%%%%pos[9]%%"
set "win[8]=%%pos[7]%%%%pos[5]%%%%pos[3]%%"
for /L %%i in (1,1,9) do set "pos[%%i]=%%i"
set "taken=_"
cls
set /P "player[X]=Enter player 1 (X) name: "
set /P "player[O]=Enter player 2 (O) name: "
call :showBoard
set "players=XO"
for /L %%n in (1,1,9) do (
call :playerTurn !players:~0,1!
if !result! equ 1 echo You win^^^! & goto :EOF
set "players=!players:~1,1!!players:~0,1!"
)
echo Game was a draw...
goto :EOF
:playerTurn wichOne
choice /C 123456789 /N /M "!player[%1]!, it's your turn: "
set "choice=%errorlevel%"
if "!taken:%choice%=!" neq "%taken%" echo Bad position & goto playerTurn
set "taken=%taken%%choice%"
set "pos[%choice%]=%1"
call :showBoard
rem Test if win
set "result=0"
for /L %%i in (1,1,8) do if !result! equ 0 (
call set "line=!win[%%i]!
if "!line!" equ "%1%1%1" set "result=1"
)
exit /B
:showBoard
echo/
echo/
echo %pos[1]% ^| %pos[2]% ^| %pos[3]%
echo ---------
echo %pos[4]% ^| %pos[5]% ^| %pos[6]%
echo ---------
echo %pos[7]% ^| %pos[8]% ^| %pos[9]%
echo/
echo/
exit /B
EDIT 2021/12/08: New version added
The original version of this program was simple enough to be understand by the OP. The next version below was written with the purpose of be as efficient and short as possible:
#echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set "win=" & set "out="
for %%a in (1:2:3 4:5:6 7:8:9 1:4:7 2:5:8 3:6:9 1:5:9 3:5:7) do (
for /F "tokens=1-3 delims=:" %%x in ("%%a") do (
set "win=!win! ^!pos[%%x]^!^!pos[%%y]^!^!pos[%%z]^!"
if "!out:~-3,1!" neq "9" set "out=!out!$^!pos[%%x]^! ^^| ^!pos[%%y]^! ^^| ^!pos[%%z]^!"
)
)
set "out=!out:~1!"
:menu
cls
set /P "player[X]=Enter player 1 (X) name: "
set /P "player[O]=Enter player 2 (O) name: "
for /L %%i in (1,1,9) do set "pos[%%i]=%%i"
set "options=123456789" & set "filler=asdfghjkl"
for %%n in (X O X O X O X O X) do (
cls
echo/& echo/& echo %out:$=& echo --+---+--& echo %& echo/& echo/
choice /C !options! /N /M "!player[%%n]!, it's your turn: "
for /F "tokens=1,2" %%e in ("!errorlevel! !filler:~0,1!") do (
set "options=!options:%%e=%%f!" & set "filler=!filler:~1!" & set "pos[%%e]=%%n"
)
set "line=%win%"
if "!line:%%n%%n%%n=!" neq "!line!" echo You win^^^! & goto nextGame
)
echo Game was a draw...
:nextGame
echo/
pause
goto :menu

Answer 2

#Aacini posted a great answer, so I decided to post my own as well. As they say, there are many ways to skin a cat.
#echo off & Title Tic-Tac-Toe
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion & mode con: cols=40 lines=20 & color 02
for /F %%i in ('echo prompt $E ^| cmd') do set "n=%%iE"
:menu
cls & set gone=. & for %%p in (player[X] player[O]) do set /p "%%~p=enter name %%p: "
for /l %%i in (1,1,9) do set a%%i=%%i
for /L %%i in (1,1,4) do for %%a in (X O) do (
for %%x in (!a1!!a2!!a3! !a4!!a5!!a6! !a7!!a8!!a9! !a1!!a4!!a7! !a2!!a5!!a8! !a3!!a6!!a9! !a1!!a5!!a9! !a3!!a5!!a7!) do (
if "%%x" == "!_h!!_h!!_h!" echo !pl! wins & timeout /t 4 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :menu
)
set "pl=!player[%%a]!" & set _h=%%a
call :play
set "a!ch!=%%a"
if %%i geq 4 echo No winners & timeout /t 4 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :menu
)
:play
cls & echo(
echo !a1! ^| !a2! ^| !a3!%n% ----------%n% !a4! ^| !a5! ^| !a6!%n% ----------%n% !a7! ^| !a8! ^| !a9!%n%
choice /c 123456789 /m "!pl!'s turn"
set ch=!errorlevel!
if !ch! equ 0 exit /b
if "!gone:%ch%=!" neq "%gone%" echo That spot has been taken, try again & timeout /t 3 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :play
set "gone=%gone%!ch!"
goto :eof
And a version for older windows that does not support VT100:
#echo off & Title Tic-Tac-Toe
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion & mode con: cols=40 lines=20 & color 02
:menu
cls & set gone=. & for %%p in (player[X] player[O]) do set /p "%%~p=enter name %%p: "
for /l %%i in (1,1,9) do set a%%i=%%i
for /L %%i in (1,1,4) do for %%a in (X O) do (
for %%x in (!a1!!a2!!a3! !a4!!a5!!a6! !a7!!a8!!a9! !a1!!a4!!a7! !a2!!a5!!a8! !a3!!a6!!a9! !a1!!a5!!a9! !a3!!a5!!a7!) do (
if "%%x" == "!_h!!_h!!_h!" echo !pl! wins & timeout /t 4 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :menu
)
set "pl=!player[%%a]!" & set _h=%%a
call :play
set "a!ch!=%%a"
if %%i geq 4 echo No winners & timeout /t 4 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :menu
)
:play
cls & echo(
echo !a1! ^| !a2! ^| !a3!&echo ----------&echo !a4! ^| !a5! ^| !a6!&echo ----------&echo !a7! ^| !a8! ^| !a9!&echo(
choice /c 123456789 /m "!pl!'s turn"
set ch=!errorlevel!
if !ch! equ 0 exit /b
if "!gone:%ch%=!" neq "%gone%" echo That spot has been taken, try again & timeout /t 3 /NOBREAK >nul & goto :play
set "gone=%gone%!ch!"
goto :eof

Answer 3

I got the solution
All i had to do was to set the win variables later, when checking the winlines.

Answer 4

For the task of testing, string substitution can be used with variables to test a list of winning cell combinations concisely.
#Echo off & CHCP 65001 > nul
Set LF=^
%= Above empty line required =%
For /l %%i in (1 1 9)Do Set c%%i=_
Set Screen=Player: !Player!!LF!!LF! [!c7!][!c8!][!c9!]!LF! [!c4!][!c5!][!c6!]!LF! [!c1!][!c2!][!c3!]!LF!
Set state=!c1!!c2!!c3!,!c1!!c4!!c7!,!c1!!c5!!c9!,!c4!!c5!!c6!,!c7!!c8!!c9!,!c7!!c5!!c3!,!c3!!c6!!c9!,!c2!!c5!!c8!
Set "p1=X" & Set "p2=O"
Set /A "choices=123456789","Move=0","p%p1%%p1%%p1%=1","p%p2%%p2%%p2%=2"
Setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion & For /l %%m in (1 1 9)Do (
Set /A "player=((%%m-1) %% 2)+1"
cls & Echo(%Screen%
For /f "Delims=" %%e in ('Choice /n /c:!choices!')Do (
Set "choices=!choices:%%e=!"
For %%i in (!player!)Do Set "c%%e=!p%%i!"
)
cls & Echo(%Screen%
If %%m GTR 4 (
Set "test=%State%"
For %%i in (!p1!!p1!!p1! !p2!!p2!!p2!)Do if not "!test:%%i=!"=="!test!" (
Echo(player !p%%i! won
Goto:Eof
) ) )
Echo(draw & Endlocal