KaataZero

A Java Swing Tic-Tac-Toe game with player vs computer and local 2-player modes, difficulty levels, skins, and saved settings.

Version: 2.0.0.0
Release Date: July 4, 2026

Game Overview

KaataZero is played on a 3x3 grid. In computer mode, the human plays X and the computer plays O. In 2-player mode, two people take turns as X and O on the same machine.

The game includes animated board drawing, difficulty-based AI, scoring, session statistics, undo, keyboard shortcuts, color skins, and a compact control area with settings in a menu dialog.

Features

• Player vs Computer: Human player competes against AI with Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulty
• 2 Player Mode: Two local players alternate turns on one board
• Difficulty Modes: Easy uses random moves, Medium mixes tactical and random play, Hard uses minimax
• Start Control: Choose whether the player or computer starts the next computer match
• Scoring System:
• Easy win: +50 points
• Medium win: +100 points
• Hard win: +200 points
• Loss: score resets to 0
• Draw: -50 points
• Winning Highlight: Winning row, column, or diagonal is drawn over the board
• Restart, Undo, Reset: Restart the current match, undo the latest move, or reset score/history counters
• Keyboard Shortcuts: R restart, U undo, S reset score/history, Esc quit, 1-9 play cells
• In-Window Results: Match results appear in the status bar instead of popup dialogs
• Session History: Track wins, losses, and draws while the app is open
• Persistent Statistics: Win/loss/draw counts are restored across launches
• Saved Settings: Mode, difficulty, starter, sound, and skin preferences are remembered
• Skins: Classic, Midnight, Ocean, Forest, and Candy color themes
• Settings Dialog: Settings > Game Settings for mode, difficulty, starter, sound, and skin
• Mute Option: Turn move and game-over sounds on or off
• Computer Move Delay: Short pause before AI moves for a more natural feel
• Website Link: Click www.versionpb.co.in on the splash screen or bottom bar to open the site
• Help Menu: Help > How to Play explains rules, shortcuts, and difficulty behavior
• Logic Tests: Lightweight tests cover board position mapping, wins, draws, and invalid cells

How to Play

1. Launch the game with dist/KaataZero.jar or dist/KaataZero.exe
2. On the splash screen, click Play to start
3. Open Settings > Game Settings to choose mode, difficulty, starter, skin, and sound
4. Click an empty cell to place your mark
5. Get three marks in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to win
6. Use Restart, Undo, Reset, or the matching keyboard shortcuts during play
7. Click www.versionpb.co.in anytime to visit the project website

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
1 - 9	Play the matching board cell (top-left = 1, bottom-right = 9)
R	Restart the current game
U	Undo the latest move
S	Reset score and session history
Esc	Exit the application

Board Cell Layout

1 | 2 | 3
---------
4 | 5 | 6
---------
7 | 8 | 9

Project Structure

src/kaatazero/
  CallGUI.java       Main window, menus, settings, scoring, and skins
  Board.java         Board rendering, input handling, and game flow
  KaataZero.java     Core board state, win/draw detection, and helpers
  ComputerPlayer.java AI move selection for Easy, Medium, and Hard
test/kaatazero/
  KaataZeroLogicTest.java  Plain Java tests for core game logic
Installer/
  KaataZero.nsi      NSIS installer script
dist/
  KaataZero.jar      Runnable application JAR
  KaataZero.exe      Windows launcher
  README.TXT         End-user readme bundled with the installer

Technical Details

Architecture

Class	Responsibility
CallGUI.java	Application frame, menus, controls, preferences, sounds, and themes
Board.java	Animated board panel, mouse/keyboard moves, undo, and match flow
KaataZero.java	Matrix operations, position mapping, win-line detection, and reset
ComputerPlayer.java	Random, tactical, and minimax AI strategies

Requirements

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.8 or newer
• Java Swing support

Build and Run

Run the packaged JAR:

java -jar dist/KaataZero.jar

Build manually:

javac -source 1.8 -target 1.8 -d build/classes src/kaatazero/*.java
jar cfe dist/KaataZero.jar kaatazero.CallGUI -C build/classes .

Run from compiled classes:

java -cp build/classes kaatazero.CallGUI

Run logic tests:

javac -cp build/classes -d build/test/classes test/kaatazero/*.java
java -cp "build/classes;build/test/classes" kaatazero.KaataZeroLogicTest

Windows Installer

• Build the installer from Installer/KaataZero.nsi using NSIS
• Output is placed under GeneratedEXE/
• The installer bundles KaataZero.exe, KaataZero.jar, README.TXT, and the application icon

Author

Paarth Batra

• Email: paarth.batra@gmail.com
• Website: www.versionpb.co.in
• Version: 2.0.0.0
• Release Date: July 4, 2026

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the full release history.

2.0.0.0 Highlights

• Added 2-player mode, AI difficulty levels, skins, settings dialog, and persistent stats
• Added undo/reset, keyboard shortcuts, in-window results, and website link
• Refactored callGUI to CallGUI and improved installer/launcher packaging

License

This project appears to be a personal/educational implementation. Please contact the author for licensing information.

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KaataZero - The best way to pass time!