Connect Four is a two-player connection rack game, in which the players choose a color and then take turns dropping colored tokens into a seven-column, six-row vertically suspended grid. The pieces fall straight down, occupying the lowest available space within the column. The objective of the game is to be the first to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of four of one's own tokens.
This time I will present you an ESP32 microcontroller version of this game, which is played on a color TFT touch display. You can find the original project on Joern Weise GitHub (https://github.com/M3taKn1ght/Blog-Repo/tree/master/4_Gewinnt), and I slightly modified the code by adding some sounds that made the game even more interesting and realistic.
The device is extremely simple to build and contains only a three components:
- ESP32 dev kit microcontroller board
- 2.8 inch TFT touch Dispaly
- and a Buzzer
You can find many great tutorials on the internet on how to install the ESP32 board on the Arduino, as well as upload the code, so we won't explain that part now.
Note that if you use the schematic given in this project, for the device to work properly, we need to install the modified version of the tft-espi library that is provided.
Now let's see how the device works in reality. First, when turning on, the message for calibrating the touch screen appears.
We need to touch the indicated corners to calibrate. After calibration we need to press the Start bitton to start the game.
The first player plays with red tokens and the second with yellow ones.
When the game is over, the winner's color is shown on the display. Now, by pressing the Start button again starts a new game.
The device is built in a suitable box made of PVC board with a thickness of 5mm and covered with a self-adhesive label
CODE
//-----------------------------------------------------
// 4Gewinnt for Az-Touch Mod 2.4"-Display
// Autor: Joern Weise
// License: GNU GPl 3.0
// Created: 04. Jun 2021
// Update: 07. Jun 2021
// Modified by mircemk: 07 Apr 2023
//-----------------------------------------------------
#include <SPI.h>
#include <TFT_eSPI.h>
TFT_eSPI tft = TFT_eSPI();
// Defines for playing field and dot
#define NUMROW 7 //Number of Rows (Spalten)
#define NUMCOLUMN 6 //Number of Columns (Reihen)
#define LINEWIDTH 3 //Wide of lines from playing field
#define XDOTBASIC 37 //Position 0 in x for dot
#define YDOTBASIC 210 //Position 0 in y for dot
#define BOXSHIFT 32 //Shift to next position in x and/or y for dot
// Defines for button
#define BUTTON_W 150
#define BUTTON_H 40
#define STARTBUTTON_X 90
#define STARTBUTTON_Y 180
uint16_t pixel_x, pixel_y;
byte bMatrix[NUMROW][NUMCOLUMN];
int iWinner = 0; //"0": Draw, "1": Player1, "2": Player2
byte bPlayerMove = 0; //"0": Nobody, "1": Player1, "2": Player2
int iMoves = 0; //Internal counter to know when we got a draw
int iEnableButtons = 1; //(De-)activte "Start"-Button
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: setup
* Returns: void
* Description: Setup display and sensors
* =================================================================
*/
void setup()
{
uint16_t calibrationData[5];
pinMode(15, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(15, LOW);
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial.println("4 Gewinnt AZ-Delivery by Joern Weise");
Serial.println("For Az-Touch Mod 2.4-Display");
randomSeed(analogRead(34));
tft.init();
tft.setRotation(1);
tft.fillScreen((0xFFFF));
tft.setCursor(40, 20, 2);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_RED, TFT_WHITE);
tft.setTextSize(2);
tft.println("Calibration of");
tft.setCursor(40, 60, 2);
tft.println("Display");
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLACK, TFT_WHITE);
tft.setCursor(40, 100, 2);
tft.println("Touch");
tft.setCursor(40, 140, 2);
tft.println("the indicated corners");
tft.setCursor(40, 180, 2);
tft.println("to calibrate");
tft.calibrateTouch(calibrationData, TFT_GREEN, TFT_RED, 15);
tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
//Draw red frame
drawFrame(5, TFT_RED);
//Set first text
tft.setCursor(70, 40);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLUE);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("Co");
tft.setTextColor(TFT_GREEN);
tft.print("nn");
tft.setTextColor(TFT_WHITE);
tft.print("ec");
tft.setTextColor(TFT_GOLD);
tft.print("t 4");
//Set second text
tft.setCursor(110, 90);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_RED);
tft.setTextSize(2);
tft.print("mircemk");
//Set last line
tft.setTextColor(TFT_WHITE);
tft.setCursor(60, 130);
tft.print("(c)Joern Weise");
drawStartBtn();
iEnableButtons = 1;
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: loop
* Returns: void
* Description: Main loop to let program work
* =================================================================
*/
void loop()
{
static uint16_t color;
if (tft.getTouch(&pixel_x, &pixel_y) && iEnableButtons)
{
if ((pixel_x > STARTBUTTON_X) && (pixel_x < (STARTBUTTON_X + BUTTON_W)))
{
if ((pixel_y > STARTBUTTON_Y) && (pixel_y <= (STARTBUTTON_Y + BUTTON_H)))
{
Serial.println("---- Start new game ----");
tone(2,400, 500);
noTone(2);
tone(2, 500, 500);
noTone(2);
tone(2, 600, 500);
noTone(2);
ResetGame();
playGame();
}
}
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: playGame
* Returns: void
* Description: Start a loop to play game
* =================================================================
*/
void playGame()
{
bool bWinner = false;
do
{
if(!tft.getTouch(&pixel_x, &pixel_y))
{
if(bPlayerMove) //Turn player one
{
movePlayer();
}
else //Turn player two
{
movePlayer();
}
bWinner = checkForWinner();
iWinner = bPlayerMove;
if(!bWinner)
{
bPlayerMove++;
if(bPlayerMove >= 3)
bPlayerMove = 1;
drawNextPlayer();
iMoves++;
Serial.println("Number of moves: " + String(iMoves));
}
}
}while(iMoves < (int(NUMROW) * int(NUMCOLUMN)) && !bWinner);
drawGameEndScreen();
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: movePlayer
* Returns: void
* Description: Get input from player and check if move is possible
* =================================================================
*/
void movePlayer()
{
bool bValidMove = false;
do
{
if(tft.getTouch(&pixel_x, &pixel_y))
{
Serial.println("X: " + String(pixel_x) + " Y: " + String(pixel_y));
int iRow = (int(pixel_x -int(XDOTBASIC /2)) + 1) / BOXSHIFT;
Serial.println("Errechnete Spalte: " + String(iRow));
if(iRow > 6)
bValidMove = false;
else
bValidMove = checkMove(iRow);
Serial.println("Valid move: " + String(bValidMove));
if(bValidMove)
showMatrix();
tone(2, 1000, 200);
}
}while(!bValidMove);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkMove
* INPUT iRow: Calculated row for matrix to check
* Returns: true for possible position else false
* Description: Get input from player and check if move is possible
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkMove(int iRow)
{
bool bValidation = false;
int iColumnCount = 0;
do
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumnCount] == 0)
{
bMatrix[iRow][iColumnCount] = bPlayerMove;
drawPlayerMove(iRow, iColumnCount);
bValidation = true;
}
iColumnCount++;
}while(!bValidation && iColumnCount < int(NUMCOLUMN));
return bValidation;
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawPlayerMove
* INPUT iRow: Row for player dot
* INPUT iColumn: Column for player dot
* Returns: void
* Description: Draw new player dot
* =================================================================
*/
void drawPlayerMove(int iRow, int iColumn)
{
if(bPlayerMove == 1)
tft.fillCircle(int(XDOTBASIC)+(iRow*int(BOXSHIFT)),int (YDOTBASIC)-(iColumn*int(BOXSHIFT)),14,TFT_RED);
else
tft.fillCircle(int(XDOTBASIC)+(iRow*int(BOXSHIFT)),int (YDOTBASIC)-(iColumn*int(BOXSHIFT)),14,TFT_YELLOW);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: resetMatrix
* Returns: void
* Description: Reset the matrix
* =================================================================
*/
void resetMatrix()
{
Serial.println("----- Reset Matrix -----");
for(int iColumn = 0; iColumn < int(NUMCOLUMN); iColumn++)
for(int iRow = 0; iRow < int(NUMROW); iRow++)
bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] = 0;
showMatrix();
Serial.println("------------------------");
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: showMatrix
* Returns: void
* Description: Show the matrix
* =================================================================
*/
void showMatrix()
{
for(int iColumn = int(NUMCOLUMN)-1; iColumn != -1; iColumn--)
{
Serial.print(String(iColumn) + ": ");
for(int iRow = 0; iRow < int(NUMROW); iRow++)
Serial.print(String(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn]) + " ");
Serial.println("");
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawFrame
* Returns: void
* INPUT iSize: Size of the frame
* INPUT color: Color of the frame
* Description: Draw frame with given size and color
* =================================================================
*/
void drawFrame(int iSize, uint16_t color)
{
int iCnt;
for (iCnt = 0; iCnt <= iSize; iCnt++)
tft.drawRect(0 + iCnt, 0 + iCnt, 320 - (iCnt * 2), 240 - (iCnt * 2), color);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawVerticalLine
* Returns: void
* INPUT x: Posititon in x-coordinate
* INPUT color: Color of the frame
* Description: Draw vertical line with given color
* =================================================================
*/
void drawVerticalLine(int x, uint16_t color)
{
int iCnt = 0;
for(iCnt = 0; iCnt < int(LINEWIDTH); iCnt ++)
tft.drawLine(x+iCnt, 34, x+iCnt, 225, color);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawHorizontalLine
* Returns: void
* INPUT x: Posititon in y-coordinate
* INPUT color: Color of the frame
* Description: Draw horizontal line with given color
* =================================================================
*/
void drawHorizontalLine(int y, uint16_t color)
{
int iCnt = 0;
for(iCnt = 0; iCnt < int(LINEWIDTH); iCnt++)
tft.drawLine(20, y+iCnt, 246, y+iCnt, color);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawStartBtn
* Returns: void
* Description: Draw start button
* =================================================================
*/
void drawStartBtn()
{
tft.fillRect(STARTBUTTON_X, STARTBUTTON_Y, BUTTON_W, BUTTON_H, TFT_RED);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_YELLOW);
tft.setTextSize(2);
tft.setTextDatum(MC_DATUM);
tft.drawString("Start", STARTBUTTON_X + (BUTTON_W / 2) + 1, STARTBUTTON_Y + (BUTTON_H / 2));
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawStartBtn
* Returns: void
* Description: Draw start button
* =================================================================
*/
void drawNextPlayer()
{
if(bPlayerMove == 1)
tft.fillCircle(320-35,210,20,TFT_RED);
else
tft.fillCircle(320-35,210,20,TFT_YELLOW);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkForWinner
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* Description: Check if there is a winner
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkForWinner()
{
bool bWinner = false;
int iNumItems = 1;
//First check verical
int iRow = 0;
int iColumn = 0;
//Check a vertical win from current player
do
{
iColumn = 0;
while((bMatrix[iRow][0] != 0) && iColumn < int(NUMCOLUMN) && !bWinner)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != 0)
bWinner = checkVertical(iRow, iColumn);
iColumn++;
}
iRow++;
}while(iRow < int(NUMROW) && !bWinner);
//Check a horizontal win from current player
//This loops only starts, if there is no winner found yet
iColumn = 0;
while(iColumn < int(NUMCOLUMN) && !bWinner)
{
iRow = 0;
while(iRow < int(NUMROW) && !bWinner)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != 0)
bWinner = checkHorizontal(iRow, iColumn);
iRow++;
}
iColumn++;
}
//Check a diagonal win from current player
//Goes one up and one to the right
//This loops only starts, if there is no winner found yet
iColumn = 0;
while(iColumn < int(NUMCOLUMN) && !bWinner)
{
iRow = 0;
while(iRow < int(NUMROW) && !bWinner)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != 0)
bWinner = checkDiagonal(iRow, iColumn, true);
iRow++;
}
iColumn++;
}
//Check a diagonal win from current player
//Goes one up and one to the left
//This loops only starts, if there is no winner found yet
iColumn = 0;
while(iColumn < int(NUMCOLUMN) && !bWinner)
{
iRow = 0;
while(iRow < int(NUMROW) && !bWinner)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != 0)
bWinner = checkDiagonal(iRow, iColumn, false);
iRow++;
}
iColumn++;
}
return bWinner;
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkVertical
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* Description: Start of checking a vertical win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkVertical(int iRow, int iColumn)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove)
return false;
else
{
int iSum = 1;
return checkVertical(iRow, iColumn+1, iSum);
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkVertical
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* REF iSum: Sum of current equal positions
* Description: Recursive function to check vertical win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkVertical(int iRow, int iColumn, int &iSum)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove || bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] == 0)
return false;
else
{
iSum++;
if(iSum == 4)
return true;
else
return checkVertical(iRow, iColumn+1, iSum);
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkHorizontal
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* Description: Start of checking a horizontal win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkHorizontal(int iRow, int iColumn)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove)
return false;
else
{
int iSum = 1;
return checkHorizontal(iRow+1, iColumn, iSum);
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkHorizontal
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* REF iSum: Sum of current equal positions
* Description: Recursive function to check horizonal win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkHorizontal(int iRow, int iColumn, int &iSum)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove || bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] == 0)
return false;
else
{
iSum++;
if(iSum == 4)
return true;
else
return checkHorizontal(iRow+1, iColumn, iSum);
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkDiagonal
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* INPUT bRight: If true check diagonal right, else left
* Description: Start of checking a horizontal win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkDiagonal(int iRow, int iColumn, bool bRight)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove)
return false;
else
{
int iSum = 1;
if(bRight)
return checkDiagonal(iRow+1, iColumn+1, bRight, iSum);
else
return checkDiagonal(iRow-1, iColumn+1, bRight, iSum);
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: checkHorizontal
* Returns: true if there is a winner else false
* INPUT iRow: Current row
* INPUT iColumn: Current column
* REF iSum: Sum of current equal positions
* Description: Recursive function to check horizonal win
* =================================================================
*/
bool checkDiagonal(int iRow, int iColumn, bool bRight,int &iSum)
{
if(bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] != bPlayerMove || bMatrix[iRow][iColumn] == 0 || iRow >= int(NUMROW) || iColumn >= int(NUMCOLUMN) || iRow < 0 || iColumn < 0)
return false;
else
{
iSum++;
if(iSum == 4)
return true;
else
{
if(bRight)
return checkDiagonal(iRow+1, iColumn+1, bRight, iSum);
else
return checkDiagonal(iRow-1, iColumn+1, bRight, iSum);
}
}
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: ResetGame
* Returns: void
* Description: Generate play-screen and reset all vars
* Hint: Check out TFT_eSPI.h Section 6 for more colors
* =================================================================
*/
void ResetGame()
{
resetMatrix();
iEnableButtons = 0;
int iCnt = 0;
bPlayerMove = 1;
iWinner = 0; //Nobody wins so far :)
iMoves = 0;
tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
//Draw frame
drawFrame(2, TFT_RED);
for(int iHorizont = 0; iHorizont < int(NUMROW)+1; iHorizont++)
drawHorizontalLine(65+(iHorizont*int(BOXSHIFT)), TFT_WHITE);
for(int iVertical = 0; iVertical < int(NUMROW)+1; iVertical++)
drawVerticalLine(20+(iVertical*int(BOXSHIFT)), TFT_WHITE);
//Marker at the top of the box
for(int i=0; i < 7; i++)
{
tft.fillCircle(37+(i*int(BOXSHIFT)),20,9,TFT_RED);
tft.fillCircle(37+(i*int(BOXSHIFT)),20,1,TFT_WHITE);
tft.drawCircle(37+(i*int(BOXSHIFT)),20,4,TFT_WHITE);
tft.drawCircle(37+(i*int(BOXSHIFT)),20,7,TFT_WHITE);
}
tft.setCursor(270, 20);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLUE);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("M");
tft.setCursor(273, 60);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLUE);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("O");
tft.setCursor(273, 100);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLUE);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("V");
tft.setCursor(273, 140);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_BLUE);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("E");
drawNextPlayer();
//tft.fillCircle(320-35,210,20,TFT_YELLOW);
}
/*
* =================================================================
* Function: drawGameEndScreen
* Returns: void
* Description: Draw end screen and show winner
* =================================================================
*/
void drawGameEndScreen()
{
tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
drawFrame(10,TFT_RED);
tft.setCursor(18,30);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_WHITE);
tft.setTextSize(4);
tft.print("GAME ENDS");
if(iWinner == 0)
{
//Print "DRAW!" text
tft.setCursor(100,100);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_YELLOW);
tft.setTextSize(4);
tft.print("DRAW");
}
if(iWinner == 1)
{
//Print "CPU WINS!" text
tft.setCursor(75,100);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_RED);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("RED WINS");
tone(2, 100, 2000);
}
if(iWinner == 2)
{
//Print "HUMAN WINS!" text
tft.setCursor(25,100);
tft.setTextColor(TFT_YELLOW);
tft.setTextSize(3);
tft.print("YELLOW WINS");
tone(2, 100, 2000);
}
//Draw and enable buttons again
drawStartBtn();
iEnableButtons = 1;
}License 
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