Client-Server-Tic-Tac-Toe

A java based client-server tic-tac-toe application utilizing the MVC design pattern. Using these files, you can face your friends over the internet in the ancient art of tic-tac-toe. The project repo can be found here.

How to use

Download source code into java project
Run Server.java
Run 2 or more instances of ClientController.java

Note that each script can be ran from the same computer to test locally or deployed to a server such that multiple people can challenge each other over the internet.

Preview

Upon launching the client, a player is asked to input their name:

They will then wait to be matched with an opponent. Once found, the game will begin. The first person to connect to the server is the first person to play.

If a person disconnects from the server prematurely, they are shamed accordingly:

Useful logs are kept by the server while it is running:

Learning

This was my first attempt at implementing a client-server architecture. As such, there are things I’d change about the design looking back. Currently, the client is fat (i.e. contains game logic). I did this because I wanted the client to check for the validity of moves before sending them to the server. However, since tic-tac-toe is such a simple game, I could have serialized the entire game session and passed that along. Using a GameSession.cs class would have simplified the design because the server would just pass the same self-regulating packet between users. Instead, I used a GameState.cs class that contained information on the game’s state and had the client and server update their local game logic accordingly. It works but it was more complex than necessary.