Counting Up Game

A Java-based counting up game application built using JGameGrid framework.

Game Instructions

Overview

The Counting Up (CU) game is played with a standard 52-card deck among four players.

Setup

• Cards: Standard 52-card deck with four suits (A → 2 → ... → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K)
• Players: 4 players playing independently
• Deal: 13 cards distributed face down to each player at random

Scoring

• Number cards: Worth face value (2 = 2 points, 3 = 3 points, etc.)
• Picture cards: A, J, Q, K each worth 10 points

Gameplay

1. Starting: Player with ace of clubs starts the first round
2. Turn order: Clockwise rotation
3. Valid plays: Put down a card that is either:
   • Same suit with higher rank, OR
   • Same rank with different suit
4. Passing: Players must pass if they cannot play a valid card (or choose to pass)
5. Round end: When no players can play, the last player to put down a card receives points equal to the sum of all cards played that round
6. New round: Starts with the player who won the previous round, who may play any card
7. Game end: When one player has no cards remaining

Winning

• Remaining cards: Worth negative points
• Winner: Player with the highest total points

Prerequisites

• Java 18 or higher

Running the Game

Basic Execution

Run the game with default settings (game5.properties):

java -jar counting-up-game.jar

Custom Execution

Run the game with custom settings:

java -jar counting-up-game.jar properties/game1.properties

Available Configurations

The game includes several built-in configurations:

• properties/game1.properties - automatic game with 3 random players and fixed initial cards
• properties/game2.properties - automatic game with 3 random players and fixed initial cards
• properties/game3.properties - automatic game with 3 random players and fixed initial cards
• properties/game4.properties - basic game with 3 random players and random initial cards
• properties/game5.properties - advanced game with 1 random player, 1 basic player and 1 clever player with random initial cards

Development

Project Structure

app/
├── src/main/java          # Java source code
├── src/main/resources     # Resources (properties, images, etc.)
│   ├── properties/         # Game configuration files
│   └── sprites/           # Game images
├── lib/                   # External JAR dependencies
└── build.gradle          # Build configuration

Building for Development

./gradlew build

Running Tests

./gradlew test

Notes

The JAR file created includes all dependencies, so it can be run on any system with Java 18+ installed without needing to install additional libraries.