Introduction

In this tutorial, we will create a simple digital scoreboard for a Ping Pong game using the C programming language. A digital scoreboard allows players to keep track of their scores in real-time during the game. We will develop a program that initializes the scores for both players, allows the users to update the scores, and displays the final results at the end of the game.

Objective

The main objective of this program is to implement a digital scoreboard for a ping pong game. The user will be able to update the scores of two players and see the current score displayed on the screen. The program will also handle inputs for score updates and display the winner when the game ends.

Code

#include 

// Function to display the scoreboard
void display_scoreboard(int player1_score, int player2_score) {
    printf("\n---- Ping Pong Scoreboard ----\n");
    printf("Player 1: %d\n", player1_score);
    printf("Player 2: %d\n", player2_score);
    printf("-----------------------------\n");
}

int main() {
    int player1_score = 0, player2_score = 0;
    int choice;

    // Game loop
    while(1) {
        display_scoreboard(player1_score, player2_score);
        
        // Prompt for player action
        printf("Enter 1 to add a point to Player 1\n");
        printf("Enter 2 to add a point to Player 2\n");
        printf("Enter 0 to end the game\n");
        printf("Your choice: ");
        scanf("%d", &choice);

        // Update the score based on the input
        if (choice == 1) {
            player1_score++;
        } else if (choice == 2) {
            player2_score++;
        } else if (choice == 0) {
            break;
        } else {
            printf("Invalid choice. Please try again.\n");
        }
    }

    // Display the final scores and declare the winner
    display_scoreboard(player1_score, player2_score);
    if (player1_score > player2_score) {
        printf("\nPlayer 1 wins!\n");
    } else if (player2_score > player1_score) {
        printf("\nPlayer 2 wins!\n");
    } else {
        printf("\nThe game is a draw.\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

Program Explanation

The program begins by initializing the scores of both players to zero. A game loop is created where the user is prompted to either add a point to Player 1 or Player 2. If the user enters ‘1’, the score of Player 1 is incremented; if ‘2’, Player 2’s score is incremented. If ‘0’ is entered, the game loop ends, and the final scores are displayed.

The display_scoreboard function is responsible for showing the current score of both players on the screen. After the game loop ends, the program will display the winner based on the final scores.

How to Run the Program

1. Open your preferred C compiler or IDE (such as Code::Blocks, DevC++, or GCC).
2. Create a new C file and paste the code provided above into the file.
3. Save the file with a .c extension (e.g., ping_pong_scoreboard.c).
4. Compile and run the program in your IDE or use the following command if you are using GCC:

   gcc ping_pong_scoreboard.c -o ping_pong_scoreboard

5. Execute the compiled program by running ./ping_pong_scoreboard.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to play the game and update the scores.