🎮 Gomoku — Console-Based C++ Game

First Project | 1st Semester | BS Artificial Intelligence
Built entirely from scratch in C++ (Console Application) using Windows API.
Student ID: BSAI25033

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📌 What is Gomoku?

Gomoku (also known as Five in a Row) is a classic two-player strategy board game.
The objective is simple: be the first player to get N of your symbols in a row — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

This version puts you (Human) against a smart Computer AI on a fully customizable board, all rendered live in the Windows console.

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🖥️ Game Preview

------------------
---X--------------
---XO-------------
---XO-------------
---XO-------------   ← Computer blocking Human's column!
------------------

Human (X) Turn:

╔══════════════════════════╗
║   Human (X) is the Winner! ║
╚══════════════════════════╝

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✨ Features

Feature	Details
🧠 AI Opponent	Win → Block → Center → First Empty strategy
🎯 Custom Board	You choose rows, columns, and win condition at start
🖱️ Mouse Input	Click directly on the board to place your symbol
🎨 Colored Output	X = Red, O = Cyan, Empty = Gray
🏆 Win Detection	All 8 directions: horizontal, vertical, diagonal
🤝 Draw Detection	Detected when board is completely full
🎲 Random First Turn	Randomly decides who goes first each game

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🚀 How to Run

Requirements

• OS: Windows (uses windows.h, conio.h)
• Compiler: MinGW (g++) or MSVC (Visual Studio)
• Standard: C++11 or later

Steps

Option 1 — Visual Studio:

1. Create a new Console Application project
2. Replace the default .cpp file content with the game code
3. Press F5 (Run)

Option 2 — g++ (MinGW Command Line):

g++ BSAI25033-PROJECT-2-PHASE-2-FIXED.cpp -o gomoku.exe
gomoku.exe

⚠️ Must be compiled for Windows only. Does not support Linux/macOS due to Windows API dependency.

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🕹️ How to Play

1. Launch the program

2. Enter your game settings when prompted:

   Enter WIN_COUNT ROWS COLUMNS: 5 10 15
   

   • WIN_COUNT = how many in a row to win (e.g., 5 for classic Gomoku)
   • ROWS = number of board rows (max 100)
   • COLUMNS = number of board columns (max 100)

3. The board appears. Click on any - cell to place your symbol (X)

4. The Computer (O) responds automatically after a short pause

5. First to get WIN_COUNT in a row wins!

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🤖 AI Logic (Computer Player)

The Computer opponent uses a priority-based greedy strategy:

Priority 1 ── Can I WIN right now?        → Play winning move
Priority 2 ── Can Human WIN next turn?    → Block that move
Priority 3 ── Is the center cell free?    → Take the center
Priority 4 ── Fallback                    → Take any empty cell

This is a Phase 2 implementation. The AI does not use Minimax yet, but it successfully defends and attacks in most scenarios.

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📂 Project Structure

📁 Project
├── BSAI25033-PROJECT-2-PHASE-2-FIXED.cpp   ← Main source file (bug-fixed)
└── README.md                                ← This file

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🐛 Logical Bugs Fixed (vs Original Phase 2 Submission)

#	Function	Bug	Fix Applied
1	h_left()	c - WIN_COUNT < 0 is off-by-one — rejects valid moves	Changed to c - (WIN_COUNT - 1) < 0
2	v_up()	r - WIN_COUNT < 0 same off-by-one issue	Changed to r - (WIN_COUNT - 1) < 0
3	d_rdown()	c - WIN_COUNT < -1 wrong comparison	Changed to c - (WIN_COUNT - 1) < 0
4	d_rup()	c - WIN_COUNT < -1 wrong comparison	Changed to c - (WIN_COUNT - 1) < 0
5	d_lup()	c + WIN_COUNT > C allows out-of-bounds access	Changed to c + (WIN_COUNT - 1) >= C
6	Draw Box	gotoRowCol(10, 8) placed text outside the drawn box	Corrected to gotoRowCol(6, 10) to center inside box
7	AI humanTurn	Hardcoded humanTurn = 0 breaks if turn order changes	Now computed dynamically as (turn + 1) % NOP
8	Mouse Event	No EventType == MOUSE_EVENT check — keyboard events could trigger false clicks	Added InputRecord.EventType == MOUSE_EVENT guard
9	Win checks	Used count == WIN_COUNT counter (misses gaps)	Replaced with direct != P_sym early-exit loop
10	Board colors	All cells printed in same color	Added per-symbol color: X=Red, O=Cyan, -=Dark Gray

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📐 Core Functions Explained

initialization()    // Sets up board, player names, symbols, random first turn
display_board()     // Renders the board with colors to console
update_board()      // Places a symbol at given row/col
winning()           // Checks all 8 directions from last move for a win
is_draw()           // Returns true if no empty cell remains
computer_move()     // AI: Win > Block > Center > Fallback
turn_change()       // Alternates turn between 0 and 1
getRowColbyLeftClick() // Captures mouse left-click position via Windows API
print_box()         // Draws a solid-border box for win/draw announcements

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📊 Win Condition Directions Checked

  ↖  ↑  ↗
  ←  ●  →
  ↙  ↓  ↘

All 8 directions are checked from the last placed piece, making detection efficient — only the affected position is evaluated each turn.

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💡 Concepts Practiced

• 2D Arrays for board state management
• Functions with pass-by-reference parameters
• Windows Console API (SetConsoleCursorPosition, SetConsoleTextAttribute, ReadConsoleInput)
• Mouse input handling in console
• Basic AI greedy strategy
• Boundary checking and edge case handling
• Game loop design pattern

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👤 Author

Field	Info
Name	BSAI25033
Program	BS Artificial Intelligence
Semester	1st Semester
Project	Project 2 — Phase 2
Language	C++ (Console, Windows)

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📝 License

This project was created as an academic submission. Feel free to use it for learning purposes.

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Made with ❤️ and way too many for loops — first semester, first project, all from scratch.