Codetown
Codetown ::: a software developer's community
Wari - Contest #1
Senegal is a land of magic and mystery. People there use their heads for recreation! How? Well, here's an example. The photo you see above is a game called Wari I got in Kaolack, Senegal. I went to Sengal to give the opening presentation for the SeneJUG. The rules are pretty simple. You move the beans around and the winner takes all the opponent's beans. Here are the rules, a little more specifically.
Now, here's the challenge. Write a program, any way you like, and show the Contest Town something that works, and you win! Cambridge Web Design will sponsor this first contest, and the winner will get a check for $50. The deadline for submitting your entry is midnight, tonight - December 27, 2009, Eastern Standard Time USA.
Yep, that's not much time, but you know what to do. CWD will judge the winning entry based on completeness, user interface (if any), and elegance. CWD will be the sole judge, and CWD's decision is final.
Submit your entry to this email address: contest @ codetown dot us. You can send a link to a web app, a binary, anything you think shows a complete solution that we can run here at CWD HQ, in the Swamp.
If you have questions, just ping me at contest @ codetown dot us.
If there are no entries by midnight tonight, stay tuned. We'll extend the deadline and let you know what the new rules are. Good luck!
Views: 725
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Kevin Neelands on
-
Extend the deadline a week or two and I might take a shot. Today's schedule revolves around the 'Life on Mars' DVD I got for christmas. Sis says the show is offbeat, weird, and full of strange twists. Kinda like me.
Looking back, I'm not certain that was a compliment! -
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Levin on
-
Well, let's look at this as Contest 1, Phase 1. But, think about it. Wari is a universally well known game, The possibilities are broad. It could be an iPhone program. Let me see...yes just as I thought. No Wari for iPhone. Think of what people are missing out on in the game world. You should have seen me playing with the vender in Kaolack. I learned the rules in just a few minutes, but it was a very challenging game. And, he won. They are selling it in Starbucks these days!
As for "offbeat, weird, and full of strange twists", it beats being boring. -
-
Permalink Reply by Karim Diff on
-
I am catching this with only 3 hours to go. Does the program have to be about the Wari game?
-
-
-
Yes, the program has to be about the Wari game. Now, wait until you see the next contest!
-
-
-
OK. Then I won't have time to put something together. I'll wait for the next contest and learn the rules of the game in the meantime.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Eric Lavigne on
-
I wrote a web app in Clojure. You can play the game at http://ericlavigne.net:8054 or see the source code at http://github.com/ericlavigne/island-wari/
-
-
-
We have a winner! Congrats, Eric. I ran the app on my Mac and from your website. Would you like to collect your $50 prize immediately via PayPal or in person at the next GatorJUG meeting? I'd love to devote the meeting in part to describing your Clojure implementation. -
-
-
Thanks, Michael. I prefer to pick it up in person because I don't often use PayPal.
I would be happy to talk about my code, but I don't think it will take a large chunk of the meeting. It is just one file with about 100 lines of code, plus a folder full of images.
I delivered a Clojure presentation earlier this year for GatorJUG. If anyone is interested in hearing about Clojure again, I'll be delivering the same presentation again (with minor updates) tomorrow evening for a Ruby user group.
http://www.meetup.com/gainesville-ruby-users/calendar/12048499/ -
-
-
Perfect. We'll update the meeting announcement with a blurb about your description of the Clojure app you wrote to win the first Contest Town contest. Thanks, Eric. You rock!
-
-
-
The Ruby meeting that I mentioned has been cancelled.
-
-
-
Here's a shot of Eric Lavigne (l) receiving his prize for winning the coding contest from Mike Levin. -
Happy 10th year, JCertif!
Notes
Welcome to Codetown!
Codetown is a social network. It's got blogs, forums, groups, personal pages and more! You might think of Codetown as a funky camper van with lots of compartments for your stuff and a great multimedia system, too! Best of all, Codetown has room for all of your friends.
Created by Michael Levin Dec 18, 2008 at 6:56pm. Last updated by Michael Levin May 4, 2018.
Looking for Jobs or Staff?
Check out the Codetown Jobs group.
InfoQ Reading List
Decentralizing Architectural Decisions with the Architecture Advice Process
Our system architectures have changed as technology and development practices have evolved, but the way we practice architecture hasn’t kept up. According to Andrew Harmel-Law, architecture needs to be decentralized, similar to how we have decentralized our systems. The alternative to having an architect take and communicate decisions is to “let anyone make the decisions” using the advice process.
By Ben LindersQCon AI Boston’s Early Program Focuses on the Engineering Work Behind Production AI
As teams move AI from pilots to production, the hard problems shift from demos to dependability. The first confirmed talks for QCon AI Boston (June 1–2) focus on context engineering, agent explainability, reasoning beyond basic RAG, evaluation, governance, and platform infrastructure needed to run AI reliably under real-world constraints.
By Artenisa ChatziouGitHub Data Shows AI Tools Creating "Convenience Loops" That Reshape Developer Language Choices
GitHub’s Octoverse 2025 report reveals a "convenience loop" where AI coding assistants drive language choice. TypeScript’s 66% surge to the #1 spot highlights a shift toward static typing, as types provide essential guardrails for LLMs. While Python leads in AI research, the industry is consolidating around stacks that minimize AI friction, creating a barrier for new, niche languages.
By Steef-Jan WiggersCloudflare Debuts Markdown for Agents and Content Signals to Guide AI Crawlers
Cloudflare has introduced “Markdown for Agents,” a feature that lets AI crawlers request Markdown versions of web pages. The company pairs the feature with a proposed “Content Signals” mechanism that lets publishers declare whether their content may be used for AI training, search indexing or inference.
By Matt FosterPresentation: What I Wish I Knew When I Started with Green IT
Ludi Akue discusses how the tech sector’s rising emissions impact our global climate goals. Drawing from her experience as a CTO, she explains seven key lessons for implementing Green IT. She shares insights on LCA assessments, the paradox of microservices, and why FinOps doesn’t always equal green.
By Ludi Akue
© 2026 Created by Michael Levin.
Powered by
