Why

I have been procrastinating on getting my first post up here. I have also been feeling a bit of imposter syndrome surrounding some of skills I have been learning and reinforcing over the past year. The solution I came up with is this:

  1. Going back and re-learning some of the basics
  2. Documenting the process here on this website

I was not sure what to do for this post, so I leaned on ChatGPT for a quick idea. I use this as a way to avoid my usual ‘analysis-paralysis’. I asked for a Python challenge that I could complete in an hour. It told me to make a guessing game. This post covers my thought process and what I came up with.

Step 1: Define the Goal

I needed to create a simple guessing game where the computer picks a random number, and the player has to guess it. I decided the game should give hints and repeat until the correct answer is found.

Step 2: Break Down the Goal

In order to make the goal more approachable, I tried to think the most logical process for this script to follow, this is what I got:

  • Generate a random number and save it to a variable
  • Ask a user for input and validate the input
  • Create a loop that:
    • Gets user input from the player
    • Validates the user input
    • Compares the guess to the random number
    • Breaks the loop if guessed correctly
  • Handle exceptions

Step 3: Write the Basic Functionality

Before I wrote a detailed version, I wrote a simple one where the program picks a number, asks the user to guess it, and prints these two numbers. This allowed me to confirm that the basic mechanics were working.

import random

def generate_random_number(range_max):
    return random.randint(1, range_max)

range_max = 10
answer = generate_random_number(range_max)
guess = int(input(f"Guess a number between 1 and {range_max}: "))
print(f"You guessed: {guess}")
print(f"The answer was: {answer}")

Step 4: Add Some Validation

I quickly realized that entering a letter instead of a number caused the script return an error.

Guess a number between 1 and 10: a
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\home\Documents\GitHub\python-playground\test.py", line 8, in <module>
    guess = int(input(f"Guess a number between 1 and {range_max}: "))
            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'a'

To fix this, I wrapped the line 8 input inside a try and except block to catch invalid inputs.

while True:
    try:
        guess = int(input(f"Guess a number between 1 and {range_max}: "))
        break
    except ValueError:
        print("Invalid input. Please enter a number.")

Next, I ensured the user’s guess was within the expected range by adding the is_valid_guess() function.

def is_valid_guess(guess, range_max):
    return 1 <= guess <= range_max

try:
	guess = int(input(f"Guess a number between 1 and {range_max}: "))
	if not is_valid_guess(guess, range_max):
		print(f"Out of range! Please enter a number between 1 and {range_max}.")
	break
except ValueError:
	print("Invalid input. Please enter a number.")

Step 5: Polish and Test

Now I had to put it all together, I created the play_game() function to hold my try and except block and call the other two functions. I also added did the following:

  • Added basic text for context
  • Created an attempts counter
  • Created logic for guesses that are
    • Too big
    • Too small
    • Just right (also displays total attempts)

Here it is.

import random

def generate_random_number(range_max):
    return random.randint(1, range_max)

def is_valid_guess(guess, range_max):
    return 1 <= guess <= range_max

def play_game():
    range_max = 10
    answer = generate_random_number(range_max)
    attempts = 0
    
    print("Welcome to the Python Guessing Game!")
    print(f"Try to guess the number between 1 and {range_max}.")
    
    while True:
        try:
            guess = int(input("Enter your guess: "))
        except ValueError:
            print("Invalid input. Please enter a number.")
            continue
        
        if not is_valid_guess(guess, range_max):
            print(f"Out of range! Please enter a number between 1 and {range_max}.")
            continue
        
        attempts += 1
        
        if guess == answer:
            print(f"Correct :) You guessed it in {attempts} attempts.")
            break
        elif guess < answer:
            print("Too low, Try again.")
        else:
            print("Too high, Try again.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    play_game()

Breakdown of Each Function

  • generate_random_number(range_max): Generates a random number between 1 and range_max.
  • is_valid_guess(guess, range_max): Checks if the user’s guess is within the allowed range.
  • play_game(): Runs the game, handles user input, and gives feedback.

Gameplay

Welcome to the Python Guessing Game!
Try to guess the number between 1 and 10.
Enter your guess: 4
Too low! Try again.
Enter your guess: 6
Correct! You guessed it in 2 attempts.

Welcome to the Python Guessing Game!
Try to guess the number between 1 and 10.
Enter your guess: a
Invalid input. Please enter a number.
Enter your guess: 55
Out of range! Please enter a number between 1 and 10.
Enter your guess: 2
Too low! Try again.
Enter your guess: 5
Too low! Try again.
Enter your guess: 7
Too low! Try again.
Enter your guess: 9
Too low! Try again.
Enter your guess: 10
Correct! You guessed it in 5 attempts.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, this small project reinforced how important it is to break problems into smaller pieces. Even though this was a simple game, adding exception handling, user input validation, and structured functions helped create a more polished final product.

This process also reminded me that starting is often the hardest part. Even though it had been a while, once I started, ideas came naturally and I ended up enjoying the experience.

I hope to push myself with more challenging projects in future posts. I have been meaning to start working on a password manager for a while.

Until next post.

Ben