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Python Python Basics (2015) Letter Game App Letter Game Introduction

Aboudi ABU SAMRA
Aboudi ABU SAMRA
1,000 Points

Why doesnt this code work?

help please

https://w.trhou.se/sfm1svflot

click the link or look at the bottom code

import random


# make a list of words
words = [
    'apple'
    'banana',
    'orange',
    'coconut',
    'strawberry',
    'lime',
    'grapefruit',
    'lemon',
    'kumquat',
    'blueberry',
    'melon'
]

while True:
    start = input("""Press enter/return to start, or Q to quit:
>> """)
    if start.lower == 'q':
        break
    # pick a random word
    secret_word = random.choice(words)
    bad_guesses = []
    good_guesses = []

    while len(bad_guesses) < 7 and len(good_guesses) != len(list(secret_word)):
        # draw spaces

        # draw guessed letters and stricks
        for letter in secret_word:
            if letter in good_guesses:
                print(letter, end='')
            else:
                print('_', end='')

        print('')
        print('Strikes: {}/7'.format(len(bad_guesses)))
        print('')
    # take guess
    guess = input("Guess a letter:  ").lower()

    if len(guess) != 1:
        print("you can only guess a single letter!")
        continue
    elif guess in bad_guesses or guess in good_guesses:
        print("You've already guessed that letter!")
        continue
    elif not guess.isalpha():
        print("You can only guess letters!")
        continue


        if guess in secret_word:
            good_guesses.append(guess)
            if len(good_guesses) == len(list(secret_word)):
                print("You win! The word was {}".format(secret_word))
                break
        else:
            bad_guesses.append(guess)
    #print out win/lose

    else:
        print("You didn't guess it! My secret word was {}".format(secret_word))

[MOD: added ```python formatting -cf]

2 Answers

Uros Jevremovic
Uros Jevremovic
12,074 Points

As Chris said indentation is the problem here, but there is also a bug in code, that is op forgot to include () when calling lower, which results in code running over and over again even if the input is 'q' or 'Q'. Although python won't give you any error messages, due to bad formatting and not actually calling lower function, it would seem that interpreter will simply skip the if statement thus making you unable to quit with either lowercase 'q' or it's uppercase version.

Chris Freeman
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,423 Points

Uros Jevremovic brings up a excellent point! Without the parens following lower it becomes a reference to the method itself. Remember functions (and methods) are first class citizens and can be passed around much like a variable. The result is that nothing will ever be equal to the method lower. Hence, the break is never reached.

In a similar fashion, in Django, a common view code is "if form.is_valid():". If the parens are omitted, then the method is referenced but not executed. Thus, the if condition will always be True since the existence of the method is_valid always exists.

Marking this as Best Answer for the important call verses reference issue!

Chris Freeman
MOD
Chris Freeman
Treehouse Moderator 68,423 Points

The indentation is off. The "take guess" code is not inside the second while loop. This cause the code to endlessly print in a loop.