Shift Tic-Tac-Toe Coding Help!

I totally get your excitement about Shift Tic-Tac-Toe! It sounds like a fun twist on the classic game. Here’s a simple way to approach coding it:

Basic Structure

    const board = [
        ['', '', ''],
        ['', '', ''],
        ['', '', '']
    ];

    const currentPlayer = 'X'; // Or 'O'
    

1. Detecting a Win

You can create a function to check if there’s a win:

    function checkWin(board) {
        const winningCombinations = [
            // Rows
            [[0,0], [0,1], [0,2]],
            [[1,0], [1,1], [1,2]],
            [[2,0], [2,1], [2,2]],
            // Columns
            [[0,0], [1,0], [2,0]],
            [[0,1], [1,1], [2,1]],
            [[0,2], [1,2], [2,2]],
            // Diagonals
            [[0,0], [1,1], [2,2]],
            [[0,2], [1,1], [2,0]],
        ];

        for (let combination of winningCombinations) {
            const [a, b, c] = combination;
            if (board[a[0]][a[1]] && board[a[0]][a[1]] === board[b[0]][b[1]] && board[a[0]][a[1]] === board[c[0]][c[1]]) {
                return board[a[0]][a[1]]; // Returns 'X' or 'O' or null if no winner
            }
        }
        return null; // No winner yet
    }
    

2. Keeping Track of the Board

Every time a player makes a move or shifts a row/column, you’ll need to update the board matrix:

    function placeSymbol(board, row, col, player) {
        if (board[row][col] === '') {
            board[row][col] = player; // Place the symbol
        } else {
            console.log("Cell is already taken!"); // Handle invalid move
        }
    }
    

3. Shifting Rows or Columns

You can write functions to shift rows and columns:

    function shiftRow(board, rowIndex) {
        const temp = board[rowIndex].shift(); // Take the first element
        board[rowIndex].push(temp); // Push it to the end
    }

    function shiftColumn(board, colIndex) {
        const temp = board[0][colIndex]; // Store the top element
        for (let i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
            board[i][colIndex] = board[i + 1][colIndex]; // Shift down
        }
        board[2][colIndex] = temp; // Place the top element at the bottom
    }
    

Summary

With these basics, you can build out your game loop where players can decide to place symbols or shift rows/columns. Keep a close eye on the board state after each action!

If you have any specific parts you want to dive deeper into, feel free to ask. Happy coding!