OCR GCSE Computer Science – Bulls and Cows Game Programming Project in Python

This is a rich project involving plenty of algorithmic thinking and hands-on programming exercises building up to the implementation of a fun logic-based game.

Each aspect of the project is broken down and explored in detail and code is provided for the preparatory tasks as well as the final solution.

The level of this project will suit year 11 students or others in their final year of the OCR GCSE Computer Science course. A basic familiarity with Python programming is assumed.

Extension activities are provided for more able students.

There will be a quiz at the end of the project to test understanding of the key concepts.

Curriculum Links for OCR GCSE (9–1) COMPUTER SCIENCE J276

• 2.1.1 Computational thinking – algorithmic thinking
• 2.1.5 Interpret, correct or complete algorithms
• 2.2.1 The use of variables, constants, operators, inputs, outputs and assignments
• 2.2.2 The use of the basic programming constructs used to control the flow of a program – sequence, selection, iteration
• 2.2.3 The use of basic string manipulation
• 2.2.9 The use of data types – string, integer
• 2.2.11 The common arithmetic operators
• 2.3.1 Defensive design considerations – input sanitisation/validation
• 2.3.2 Maintainability – comments, indentation

Please note that while many of the objectives from the second part of the OCR GCSE Computer Science J276/02 specification Computational thinking, algorithms and programming are covered by this project, there are some which are not. This is the nature of a project-based approach where the goal is to provide a meaningful context for individual concepts and techniques. This approach is proven to increase focus, motivation and retention. The objectives not addressed by this project will be covered in future projects. The skills learned and practised here will give you a thorough grounding in many of the programming concepts and techniques you need for the final exam.

For best results, please ensure you are using Python version 3.6 or higher. The development environment we recommend for this project is IDLE, which comes with the standard Python installation.

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