Rock, Paper, Scissors - Streak Master

A fun, terminal-based Rock, Paper, Scissors game written in modern C++23. Perfect for kids and adults alike! Built by a dad for his son to enjoy.

🎮 Features

• Classic Gameplay: Traditional Rock, Paper, Scissors with a clean terminal interface
• Win Streaks: Build up winning streaks and compete for the top spot
• Persistent Leaderboard: Top 15 streaks are saved locally and displayed each game
• Session Statistics: Track your win rate, total games, and choice patterns
• Child-Friendly: Simple number-based input (1-2-3) and encouraging messages
• Cross-Platform: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• A C++23 compatible compiler (g++ 13+, clang++ 16+, or MSVC 2022+)
• Make (optional, for using the Makefile)

Building and Running

# Compile the game
g++ -std=c++23 -O2 -o rps rps.cpp

# Run the game
./rps

Or using Make (if available):

make
./rps

🎯 How to Play

1. Choose your move:

   • 1 for Rock 🪨
   • 2 for Paper 📄
   • 3 for Scissors ✂️

2. Build streaks: Win consecutive games to build your streak!

3. Beat the leaderboard: Get on the top 15 streak list by achieving long winning runs

4. Track your stats: See your win rate and choice patterns at the end of each session

📊 Leaderboard System

• Streaks are automatically saved to ~/.local/share/rps/leaderboard.txt
• Top 15 streaks are displayed at the start of each game
• When you achieve a new high streak, you can enter your initials (up to 3 letters)
• Leaderboard persists between sessions

🏆 Game Rules

• Rock beats Scissors
• Scissors beats Paper
• Paper beats Rock
• Same choices result in a tie (streak unchanged)
• Losing resets your streak to 0

📁 Project Structure

rps/
├── rps.cpp          # Main game source code
├── rps              # Compiled executable
├── Makefile         # Build configuration (optional)
└── README.md        # This file

🔧 Technical Details

• Language: C++23
• Random Generation: Mersenne Twister (std::mt19937)
• File Storage: Uses std::filesystem for cross-platform directory handling
• Data Persistence: Simple text-based leaderboard storage
• Input Validation: Robust error handling for user input

🌟 Features in Detail

Session Statistics

• Total games played
• Win/loss/tie counts
• Win percentage calculation
• Choice distribution (how many times you chose each option)

Leaderboard Features

• Automatic directory creation (~/.local/share/rps/)
• Sorted by streak length (highest first)
• Initials validation and formatting
• Top 15 entries only (keeps file size manageable)

User Experience

• Clear, colorful terminal output
• Encouraging messages for wins and streaks
• Real-time win percentage display
• Clean exit with summary statistics

🤝 Contributing

This is a simple educational project, but feel free to submit issues or pull requests if you have ideas for improvement:

• Bug fixes
• New features (sound effects, animations, etc.)
• Code improvements
• Documentation updates

📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🎈 Why This Game Was Made

I wrote this game as a fun, educational project for my son to play and learn from. It demonstrates fundamental C++ concepts like:

• Random number generation
• File I/O and persistence
• User input validation
• Basic data structures (vectors, maps)
• Modern C++ features

It's designed to be simple enough for beginners to understand while still being fun to play!

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