Function Name: WAR % Inputs (2): - (char) A string containing Player 1\'s cards

Question

Function Name: WAR

% Inputs (2): - (char) A string containing Player 1's cards

% (char) A string containing Player 2's cards

% Outputs (2): - (char) A string containing the winner and the number of

% turns taken

%

% Function Description:

% WAR: one of the simplest and most time consuming two-player card games

% known to man. Grab a friend, divide a deck of cards in half, each of

% you flips a card, highest card wins and the winner takes them both.

% Play continues until one of you is out of cards...or, like most people,

% you both get sick of playing after 20 minutes and quit.

%

% Not anymore! With the help of this function, the fun is over before it

% begins! Given two 'decks' (strings) of cards, you can now predict the

% winner of a game of war and exactly how long the victory would take.

%

% RULES:

% -The hierarchy of the cards is as follows:

% A > K > Q > J > X > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2

% *10's are represented by the Roman numeral X*

%

% -For each round, the pair of cards is appended to the winner's 'deck'

% in the order: [P1 card, P2 card]

%

% -In the event of a war (cards are equal), players 'burn' the next card

% in their decks. Burning a card means that you do not check to see who

% won the round, you just add the cards into the pile according to the

% rules (P1 first, then P2), and play continues to the next turn, and

% that winner takes all six cards, war pair first, burn pair second, and

% turn pair thrid ('burning' cards does not count as a turn).

%

% ex) P1 = ['6', '7' '2' '5'] P2 = ['6' '5' '4' '8']

% ~ We look at the first round

% P1 "plays" '6' P2 "plays" '6'

% ~ We have a war.... so add those cards to the "pile", then

% "burn a card"

% pile = ['6' '6' '7' 5'] --> or [P1(1), P2(1), P1(2), P2(2)]

% P1 = ['2' '5'] P2 = ['4' '8']

% ~ We now play another hand...

% pile = ['6' '6' '7' 5'] --> or [P1(1), P2(1), P1(2), P2(2)]

% P1 "plays" '2' P2 "plays" '4'

% ~ P2 beats P1, so add the cards to the pile and put the pile at the

% back of P2's hand

% pile = ['6' '6' '7' '5' '2' '4']

% **UPDATE P2**

% P1 = ['5'] P2 = ['8' '6' '6' '7' '5' '2' '4']

% ~ Continue on play as normal

%

% -If a player's last card is played in a war, he or she is out of cards

% and loses by default (with the unfinished war counting as the last

% turn).

%

% -If a game takes more than 2000 turns, assume players quit.

%

% ex.: P1=['6' '4' '7' 'K' 'J'] P2=['A' '4' '3' '8' '2']

% TURN1 6<A

% ['4' '7' 'K' 'J'] ['4' '3' '8' '2' '6' 'A']

% TURN2 4=4

% 7 & 3 burned

% TURN3 K>8

% ['J' '4' '4' '7' '3' 'K' '8'] ['2' '6' 'A']

% etc...

%

% The output should be a string formatted as follows:

%

% 'Player (1 or 2) wins in # turns.'

% or

% 'Players quit after 2000 turns.'

%

% Notes:

% - If both players run out of cards simultaneously, Player 1 is

% considered the winner.

%

% Test Cases:

%

% PA = ['9' '7' 'A' '2' 'K'];

% PB = ['5' '6' 'A' 'Q' 'K'];

%

% [out1] = WAR(PA,PB);

% out1 => 'Player 1 wins in 4 turns.'

%

% PC = ['6' '4' '7' 'K' 'J']

% PD = ['A' '4' '3' '8' '2']

%

% [out2] = WAR(PC,PD);

% out2 => 'Players quit after 2000 turns.'

%

% PE = '6478JQ45674XK823AKQ';

% PF = 'A43422223XA24XQ4767';

%

% [out3] = WAR(PE,PF);

% out3 => 'Player 1 wins in 229 turns.'

Explanation / Answer

function result = WAR(p1,p2)

pile=[];

burn =0;

turns=0;

while(length(p2)>0 && length(p1)>0 && turns <2000)

one=p1(1);

two=p2(1);

pile=strcat(pile,one,two);

if(burn == 0)

if(one == 'X')

one = 10;

end

if(one == 'J')

one= 11;

end

if(one == 'Q')

one = 12;

end

if(one == 'K')

one= 13;

end

if(one == 'A')

one = 14;

end

if(two == 'X')

two = 10;

end

if(two == 'J')

two= 11;

end

if(two == 'Q')

two = 12;

end

if(two == 'K')

two= 13;

end

if(two == 'A')

two = 14;

end

if(ischar(one))

one=str2num(one);

end

if(ischar(two))

two=str2num(two);

end

  

if( one> two)

p1=strcat(p1(2:length(p1)),pile);

p2=p2(2:length(p2));

pile=[];

elseif(one == two)

p1=p1(2:length(p1));

p2=p2(2:length(p2));

burn =1;

elseif(two>one)

p2=strcat(p2(2:length(p2)),pile);

p1=p1(2:length(p1));

pile=[] ;

  

  

end

turns=turns+1;

else

burn=0;

p1=p1(2:length(p1));

p2=p2(2:length(p2));

end

  

  

end

if( turns>=2000)

disp('Players quit after 2000 turns');

elseif(length(p1)==0 && length(p2)==0)

fprintf('Player 1 wins in %d turns ',turns);

elseif(length(p1)==0)

fprintf('Player 2 wins in %d turns ',turns);

else

fprintf('Player 1 wins in %d turns ',turns);

end

end

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