Beginner in Python - Rock Paper Scissors game

Question

Im a beginner in python and just started making little games and projects like this rock paper scissor one. Any advice to write this shorter or any better? I got kicked off of stack overflow for a post similar to this lol.

import time
import sys
import random
play_again='yes'
while play_again=='yes' or play_again=='y':
 options=['rock','paper','scissors']
 a=input('\nChoose [Rock - Paper - Scissors]: ')
 print('\nBot is choosing')
 for i in range(3):
 time.sleep(.5)
 sys.stdout.write('.')
 sys.stdout.flush()
 time.sleep(.5)
 bot=random.choice(options)
 time.sleep(1)
 print('\nThe bot chose: ',bot)
 if a=='paper' and bot=='scissors':
 print('\nThe bot wins')
 if a=='paper' and bot=='rock':
 print('\nYou win!')
 if a=='paper' and bot=='paper':
 print('\nYou and the bot tied!')
 if a=='rock' and bot=='paper':
 print('\nThe bot wins')
 if a=='rock' and bot=='scissors':
 print('\nYou win!')
 if a=='rock' and bot=='rock':
 print('\nYou and the bot tied')
 if a=='scissors' and bot=='paper':
 print('\nYou win!')
 if a=='scissors' and bot=='rock':
 print('\nThe bot wins')
 if a=='scissors' and bot=='scissors':
 print('\nYou and the bot tied')
 time.sleep(2)
 play_again=input('\nPlay again? Type[Yes or No]: ')
 if play_again=='no':
 print('\nThank you for playing!')
 break

Answer 1

Operators in python (and any other language) almost always should be surrounded by spaces, e.g. play_again = 'yes' instead of play_again='yes'. This is done to increase readability of the code. Install a linter to highlight such problems for you (or use an IDE with a built-in one, such as PyCharm).

sys.stdout.write('.')
sys.stdout.flush()

This can be replaced by

print('.', end='')

Read more on built-in functions to use them efficiently.

Don't use repeating strings in code, it's easy to make a typo that will break the logic, and python won't tell you, since it doesn't understand what you write in strings. Use constants instead:

ROCK = "rock"
PAPER = "paper"
SCISSORS = "scissors"
...
options = (ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS)

Avoid long if ladders. If you repeat something multiple times, turn it into a function:

def determine_match_result(player_choice, bot_choice):
 if bot_choice == SCISSORS and player_choice == ROCK or
 bot_choice == ROCK and player_choice == PAPER or
 bot_choice == PAPER and player_choice == SCISSORS:
 print("You win!")
 elif player_choice == bot_choice:
 print("You and the bot tied")
 else
 print("The bot wins")

Then just call it from your code. You can extract the game rules into a single line by using a dict:

victory_table = {ROCK: (SCISSORS,), PAPER: (ROCK,), SCISSORS: (PAPER,)}
def determine_match_result(player_choice, bot_choice):
 if bot_choice in victory_table[player_choice]:
 print("You win!")
 elif player_choice == bot_choice:
 print("You and the bot tied")
 else
 print("The bot wins")

And the most important advise: use meaningful names. Names should explain the purpose of the object behind them. I don't know what a means by looking at this name (should be player_choice). I can't tell that bot is a string that represents the bot's choice by looking at this name (should be bot_choice).

• Illusioner_: I found an interesting post on stack overflow for rock paper scissors logic deciding, which does some simple math to find what should be the outcome, stackoverflow.com/questions/69444226/… while it is closed, the answer is useful
• Austin0x: Appreciate all the help @QuasiStellar, this was all just homework for me I wasn't too worried about spacing and variable names lol but thank you for the tip, much appreciated.
• QuasiStellar: @Austin0x "I wasn't too worried about spacing and variable names" that's the first thing to be worried about.
• Austin0x: @QuasiStellar well the code actually works and I ended up getting an A, teacher understood all of my material and the spacing and variable names weren't a problem whatsoever, thank you though!
• QuasiStellar: @Austin0x congrats on the grade. I suppose the course you're going through doesn't require clean code, but it's a very important skill to learn early on if you plan on ever programming outside of school.