SET Endgame Simulator

This project is an implementation of a SET card game endgame simulator written in C. It reproduces the mechanics of the game with simplified rules tailored for algorithmic simulation.

Notes

This project was implemented as part of an academic assignment in the course Introduction to Programming.

Project Structure

├── set_simulator.c   # Main program source code
├── example1.in       # Example input and output files are provided externally
├── example1.out
├── example2.in
├── example2.out
├── example3.in
├── example3.out
└── README.md

Game Rules

• SET is a real-time card game played with 81 unique cards.
• Each card has 4 attributes, each taking one of 3 values:

1. Number of symbols: 1, 2, or 3
2. Color: red, green, or purple
3. Shading: empty, striped, or solid
4. Shape: diamond, squiggle, or oval

• A SET is a group of three cards where, for each attribute, the values are either:

  • all the same, or
  • all different

• The game starts with 12 cards on the table (or fewer if the deck has less than 12).

• When a SET is found, the three cards are removed and replaced (if possible).

• If no SET exists, 3 more cards are drawn from the deck.

• The game ends when:

  • the deck is empty and
  • no more SETs can be formed.

Program Description

The program simulates the end of a SET game, assuming:

• Players always pick the first available SET in lexicographic order of positions.
• If no SET is available, 3 more cards are added (until the deck is empty).

Input

• A sequence of integers between 1111 and 3333, with no repetitions.

• Each integer encodes a card: ABCD → A = number of symbols (1–3) B = color (1–3) C = shading (1–3) D = shape (1–3)

• Input length is always divisible by 3.

• Cards are formatted with arbitrary spaces/newlines.

Output

The program prints:

• Initial table state.
• Sequence of moves until the game ends.
• Table state after each move.

Format:

• = ... → current table cards
• - ... → cards forming a SET
• + → no SET found, 3 cards added

Compilation & Execution

The project is designed to compile under C17 rules with GCC:

gcc -std=c17 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra -Wformat-security \
    -Wduplicated-cond -Wfloat-equal -Wshadow -Wconversion \
    -Wjump-misses-init -Wlogical-not-parentheses \
    -Wnull-dereference -Wvla -Werror \
    -fstack-protector-strong -fsanitize=undefined \
    -fno-sanitize-recover -g -fno-omit-frame-pointer -O1 \
    set_simulator.c -o set_simulator

Run the program with:

./set_simulator < input.in > output.out

Testing & Validation

Validation is performed with Valgrind to ensure memory safety:

valgrind --leak-check=full -q --error-exitcode=1 ./set_simulator < input.in

Output correctness is checked using diff:

./set_simulator < example.in | diff - example.out