🎲

Beginner⏱️ about 30 minutes👣 6 steps

Number Guessing Game

Create a game where the computer chooses a secret number and the player tries to guess it, with helpful clues along the way.

Variables
input()
if / elif / else
while loops
random

🎯 What we're going to build

In this project you will build a classic game that programmers have been making for more than fifty years. The computer secretly picks a number between 1 and 20, and you have to guess it. After every guess the computer gives you a clue: "too high" or "too low". Keep guessing until you find it!

It is a perfect first project because it is small enough to finish in one sitting, but it still feels like a real game you can show your friends and family. Every time you play, the secret number is different, so the game never gets boring.

Along the way you will practise four big ideas: storing information in variables, asking the player questions with input(), making decisions with if, elif and else, and repeating code with a while loop. You will also meet the random module, which lets your programs surprise you.

💡 How to use this guide: work through the steps in order and run your code after each one. Steps marked snippet are pieces that slot into the program you are building, so they won't run on their own. Programs that use input() need a Python editor such as IDLE, Thonny or Replit, where you can type your answers.

👣 Step by step

1
Say hello to the player
Every good game starts with a welcome message. We use print() to show text on the screen. Run this first so you know Python is working before we add the fun parts.
🐍 Python
```
print("🎲 Welcome to the Number Guessing Game!")
print("I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 20.")
```
▶ Output
```
🎲 Welcome to the Number Guessing Game!
I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 20.
```
2
Let the computer pick a secret number
The random module can choose numbers for us. random.randint(1, 20) picks a whole number from 1 to 20, and both ends are included. We store it in a variable called secret. For now we print it so we can check it works, but we will remove that line later so the player cannot cheat!
🐍 Python
```
import random

secret = random.randint(1, 20)
print("Psst... the secret number is", secret)
```
▶ Output
```
Psst... the secret number is 8
```
🎲 Your number will probably be different, because it is random!
3
Ask the player for a guess
input() shows a question and waits for the player to type an answer. Whatever they type comes back as text, so we wrap it in int() to turn it into a number. Now we can compare it with other numbers.
🐍 Python
```
guess = int(input("Your guess: "))
print("You guessed", guess)
```
▶ Output
```
Your guess: 12
You guessed 12
```

Give the player a clue

Now the computer needs to make a decision. If the guess is smaller than the secret, we say "too low". If it is bigger, we say "too high". Otherwise, the only thing left is that they are equal, so the player wins! This is exactly what if, elif and else are for.

🐍 Python

import random

secret = random.randint(1, 20)
guess = int(input("Your guess: "))

if guess < secret:
    print("Too low! Try a bigger number.")
elif guess > secret:
    print("Too high! Try a smaller number.")
else:
    print("🎉 You got it! The number was", secret)

▶ Output

Your guess: 10
Too high! Try a smaller number.

Keep guessing with a while loop

One guess is not much of a game. A while loop repeats its code for as long as its condition is True. Here the condition is guess != secret, which means "the guess is not the secret yet". We start guess at 0 so the loop always runs at least once, because 0 can never be the secret.

🐍 Python

import random

secret = random.randint(1, 20)
guess = 0

while guess != secret:
    guess = int(input("Your guess: "))

    if guess < secret:
        print("Too low! Try a bigger number.")
    elif guess > secret:
        print("Too high! Try a smaller number.")
    else:
        print("🎉 You got it! The number was", secret)

▶ Output

Your guess: 10
Too high! Try a smaller number.
Your guess: 5
Too low! Try a bigger number.
Your guess: 7
Too low! Try a bigger number.
Your guess: 8
🎉 You got it! The number was 8

6
Count the guesses
Let's keep score! We make a variable called guesses that starts at 0, and add 1 to it every time the loop runs. When the loop finishes, the player has found the number, so we print how many tries it took. Try to beat your best score!
🧩 Snippet: add to your program
```
guesses = 0

# ...inside the while loop, after input():
guesses = guesses + 1

# ...after the loop has finished:
print("You needed", guesses, "guesses.")
```

✅ The finished program

Here is the whole program with every step put together. If something isn't working in your version, compare it with this one line by line. Check the spelling, the colons at the end of if and while lines, and that the indentation (the spaces at the start of lines) matches.

🐍 Number Guessing Game

import random

print("🎲 Welcome to the Number Guessing Game!")
print("I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 20.")

secret = random.randint(1, 20)
guesses = 0
guess = 0

while guess != secret:
    guess = int(input("Your guess: "))
    guesses = guesses + 1

    if guess < secret:
        print("Too low! Try a bigger number.")
    elif guess > secret:
        print("Too high! Try a smaller number.")
    else:
        print("🎉 You got it! The number was", secret)

print("You needed", guesses, "guesses.")

🖥️ Sample run

This is what it looks like when someone plays. The words after each question are what the player typed.

▶ Output

🎲 Welcome to the Number Guessing Game!
I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 20.
Your guess: 10
Too high! Try a smaller number.
Your guess: 5
Too low! Try a bigger number.
Your guess: 7
Too low! Try a bigger number.
Your guess: 8
🎉 You got it! The number was 8
You needed 4 guesses.

🚀 Make it your own

Finished? Brilliant! Real programmers are always improving their programs. Try one of these challenges to make the project truly yours.

⭐Make the game harder by choosing a number between 1 and 100. Remember to change the welcome message too!
⭐Give the player only 5 tries. If they run out, print "Game over!" and reveal the secret number. (Hint: use and in your while condition.)
⭐Add a "You're getting warm!" clue when the guess is within 3 of the secret number.
⭐At the end, ask "Play again? (yes/no)" and wrap the whole game in another loop so it starts over.

📚 Lessons that help

Stuck on a step? These lessons explain the Python ideas used in this project.

📦Variables ⌨️User Input 🤔If / Else 🔁Loops 🎲Modules & Random Fun

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Number Guessing Game

🎯 What we're going to build

👣 Step by step

Say hello to the player

Let the computer pick a secret number

Ask the player for a guess

Give the player a clue

Keep guessing with a while loop

Count the guesses

✅ The finished program

🖥️ Sample run

🚀 Make it your own

📚 Lessons that help

Number Guessing Game

🎯 What we're going to build

👣 Step by step

Say hello to the player

Let the computer pick a secret number

Ask the player for a guess

Give the player a clue

Keep guessing with a while loop

Count the guesses

✅ The finished program

🖥️ Sample run

🚀 Make it your own

📚 Lessons that help