Nesting if/else statement in while loop

Question

This is a text adventure game. The user is faced with the first scenario a(). If they choose 2, the game continues. If they choose 1, they die and are presented with the option to play again. Not sure what I'm doing wrong here.

"""
MAIN LOOP
"""
play_again = "yes"
while play_again == "yes" or play_again == "y":
    a()  # user makes a choice
    choice = choose_ans()
    check_ans_a(choice)  # intention: if user chooses "1", they die and are asked to play again
        if choice == "1":  # problem: Unexpected indent. If indent is deleted, b() becomes unreachable
            play_again = input('Play again?\n'
                               '(y)es ')
            break
        else:
            continue
    b()
    choice = choose_ans()
    check_ans_b(choice)

EDIT: The solution, derived from comments below, was simple:

"""
MAIN LOOP
"""
play_again = "yes"
while play_again == "yes" or play_again == "y":
    a()  # user makes a choice
    choice = choose_ans()
    check_ans_a(choice)
        if choice == "1"  # player dies
            play_again = input('Play again?\n'
                               '(y)es ')
            continue  # restarts loop
    b()
    choice = choose_ans()
    check_ans_b(choice)

What makes you think b() is unreachable if you delete the indent? — Calvin Godfrey
– Calvin Godfrey, Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:13
fix the indent and then delete the else:continue statement. The continue statement tells python to ignore everything below and go back to the while — Tarifazo
– Tarifazo, Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 18:15

Calvin Godfrey · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-11 18:15:28Z

2

The problem is your else: continue. If the code enters the if block, it will break out of the while loop. But if the condition isn't met, the else block will be entered. Inside a while loop, continue will automatically go to the top of the loop and start again, which is why b() is never reached.

answered Jan 11, 2019 at 18:15

Calvin Godfrey

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Comments

RockyBoulder · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-11 18:26:15Z

0

The problem is the continue. Continues makes the code "jump" to the start of the while loop again. Suggestion: delete the else/continue part. If there are only these two options it's not needed. If a==1 the break will leave the while loop. if its 2 a==2 is not True therefore the part after it (b) will be tested.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/python3/python_continue_statement.htm

answered Jan 11, 2019 at 18:26

RockyBoulder

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iGian · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-11 18:35:19Z

0

Try run this version of your code for debug purpose, comment/uncomment to see how the result changes. I used random to simulate the user input getting rid of the method calls.

import random

play_again = "yes"
while play_again == "yes" or play_again == "y":
    choice = random.choice(["1","2"])
    print('choice = choose_ans()', choice)
    if choice == "1":
        play_again = random.choice(["yes","no"])
        print('play_again?', play_again)
        # break # <-- the break control is already made by while condition
    # else:
    #     continue
    # b()
    choice = random.choice(["1","2"])
    print('check_ans_b(choice)', choice)

answered Jan 11, 2019 at 18:35

iGian

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