Concentration

There is nothing like making a new game for a change of pace. This one will be added to JMT Excel Utilities soon but you can try an advance version if you like.



Here is the download link. I'll also post how to get random numbers to shuffle the cards :-)  

Do The Numbers Shuffle

Haven't made a game for a while so had a little fun with this.



Just select buttons to move the squares in the direction you want. Get all the numbers in order and the game is finished.

Here is the download link.
  

XCEL Racer

Here's a game I made a while back. Only I never got around to completely finishing it...it works okay but all you do is drive around the track and avoid the walls, there is no goal or score :-)



Anyway, here it is if you want to try it. Use the arrow keys to change direction or move forward. Watch out for the sound if you crash, it can be quite loud.

Being the world's least artistic person, I added a sub so that you can change the tracks if you want to. Just use the same colors as already used. Look for SetWallsAndTrack in the standard module at the bottom.

Anyway, safe driving, here's a link to download the game. Have fun.  

Shaken, Not Stirred

Psst, ever want to send a secret message? Here's a half fun - half serious way to do it.

Here's a pic of my Encoder - Decoder. Don't worry, it doesn't self-destruct :-)



Note there are two modes - you use the Encoder - Decoder by itself, or write to and from cells by selecting "Use Cells". Just keep in mind never to encode or decode a message more than once or it will become gibberish.

The algorithm to encode and decode is quite straightforward, it uses a set of very simple techniques that combined make the code just a little harder to decipher.

I've also included a few options to remove some obvious giveaways, plus a Copy button to insert text into the clipboard and Paste button to insert text into selected cells. Double click the picture of "James" to escape quickly ;-)

Download it here.  

And another one...

I decided to make yet another Mastermind game that uses colors instead of numbers. The code still works on the same principle, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.



Click the colors before clicking the rows.

I was thinking about making this a 8 row - 10 row version like the last one, but with a bit of practice I am averaging 6 rows to win, the occasional loss is good for the soul ;-)

Here's the link.

Meanwhile some of my friends are making their own versions. I've seen one that looks particularly good, hopefully it will be ready soon.

Making Excel games is a great way to study and have some fun at the same time.

---

Update:
Andy Pope just told me his Code Cracker game is uploaded and waiting. All I can say is "Wow, this is truly amazing stuff!".



Here's the link to Andy's site - I'm sure you will agree he's a Mastermind's mastermind :-)  

When The Cat's Away...

...the mice will play :-)

Here's a pic of my "made for work" version of Mastermind.



Ignore the captions and look at the rows on the left. The first 4 numbers in each row are scored in the rows on the right when the "Calculate" button is pushed, the last 4 numbers being your score.

2 refers to a correct number in a correct position, 1 refers to a correct number in an incorrect position, 0 means that neither a number or position is correct.

So 2110 means a correct number in a correct position, 2 correct numbers but in the wrong position, and a number that just doesn't belong.

Keep in mind that the same numbers can repeat to make it more challenging. You can double-click the game userform itself to select between 8 or 10 tries.



If you score 2222 (all 4 numbers correct and in the right positions) or run out of tries, the drop down list at the bottom becomes enabled so you can check the secret combination. Push Reset to start a new game.

And the range box? Just something to add to the disguise...

Here's the download link, launch it from the Tools menu. Now get back to "work" ;-)  

A New Old Game - Mastermind

Just a quick post to upload a new version of my Mastermind game.



A bit of background - I met with the local Excel elite last weekend - very serious thinkers, drinkers and gamers :-) - and was sitting next to a friend who specialises in the userform type.

Anyway, I was sitting on the hotel bed later thinking I'd like to try this technique and as I didn't have any inspiration for a new game, I thought I'd give this a shot first.

Here's the download link.

I managed to catch the flu too so an early night for me. Nighty night.  

Rocket

I've been a little bored recently but I felt much better to hear my Battleships game got included in an Excel games book printed here in Japan.

Being in such a good mood, I decided to make a new game called Rocket (so imaginative with these names huh?).



It's a very simple game and kind of reminds me of the old style games back in the Seventies. (Them were the good ol' days) At least it was good study for me to make other games of this type sometime in the future.

The download link is here.

While I am it, I should mention that Colo's game, Excel Snake was also included in the same book. His Excel Junk Room also has a good selection of Excel games and other free downloads listed on this links page (games are listed at the bottom), it's well worth a visit to see what goodies you can pick up :-)  

Battleships

This is my second game and one I liked to play when I was a kid.



Click here to download Battleships. It's fun ;-)  

Excel Snake

My good buddy Colo (aka Masaru Kaji, Excel MVP) has outdone himself in making his new Excel Snake game. Try it out, it's a lot of fun! You can download the game here.


While you are there, please browse around the rest of the site. There's tutorials, downloads, and much, much more. It's great for newbies and experts alike.

Go to Colo's Excel Junk Room.  

Morse Code Mk. 2

My friend Jan Nordgreen has written a post on his blog jan's diary about my Morse Code demonstration in addition to including his own coding process.

Jan writes "Your morse code program made me think. It made me think how different it is from a normal computer program where the data and program are hidden from the user.

You display the array you use and the column of cells where one letter after another is substituted with its morse equivalent is the loop displaying its temporary values.

It is like you have a cpu sitting in every cell doing some stuff based on the other cpus. I know there is stuff to be read on this cell automata idea.

Your program tempted me to two things.

1. I wrote a similar program to yours, but used the vlookup function and substituted letters one at a time from the left.

2. I wrote a program where the data and program is hidden from the user (actually the array is not hidden, but it could have been) and where any change you make in the word you want translated immediately is reflected in the translation to morse code. I used the keyup event for this so I had to use a textbox for data entry and not a cell.

I have sent you the programs in an email.

Thanks for the inspiration!"

Praise from Jan is inspiration enough for me! :-)

Jan's version uses VLOOKUP and some nice VBA code to do the job. I uploaded the Workbook he kindly sent me here so please look to see how he did it.  

Morse Code

The other day I saw a post about Morse Code on the J-Walk Blog.

I wondered about using Excel to code and decode text into Morse and back. Although it's been on the back-burner for a while, I finally had time to make this.

It's a bit rough but it does the trick for demonstation purposes. Have a good look at how I was able to distinguish between periods and dots, hyphens and dashes. "K" and "4" also gave me a problem but I worked out an inelegant solution to overcome.

Please note that the sheet is protected but there is no password. You can also enter text without having to unprotect the sheet.

If you must know, formatting the file took longer than writing the formulas!  

Mastermind

I present my very first Excel game (built mostly by me, but with some useful VBA provided by Colo and also Juan Pablo Gonzalez)

Play and enjoy! If you have any feedback, please leave a comment or email me at the link provided below. Thanks.

Download it here!