[Tex/LaTex] Automatically generated BINGO cards

random numberstikz-pgf

I am trying to automatically generate a series of BINGO cards. So, I need a 5 x 5 table with square cells that allow text wrapping. I also want to randomly assign a word to each cell from a "bank" of 30 different words, and I need the center cell to, of course, be labeled "FREE". This means that for each card, 6 words from the bank will not be used. I know that this can be accomplished with tikz and some macros, but I am not familiar with the macros needed to randomly select the words, and I am having trouble finding adequate help on the web. Can someone please help?

Thanks!

—
I mostly figured out my own question; however, I still have one major problem as stated after the MWE:

\documentclass[10pt]{article}

\usepackage{xstring}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{calc}

\newcommand*{\random}[5]{%
\pgfmathparse{random(5)}%
\ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
\or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5
\fi%
}

\newcommand*{\randomtwo}[6]{
    \pgfmathparse{random(6)}
    \ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
    \or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5\or#6
\fi%
}

\newcommand*{\randomthree}[6]{
    \pgfmathparse{random(6)}
    \ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
    \or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5\or#6
\fi%
}

\newcommand*{\randomfour}[6]{
    \pgfmathparse{random(6)}
    \ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
    \or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5\or#6
\fi%
}

\newcommand*{\randomfive}[6]{
    \pgfmathparse{random(6)}
    \ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
    \or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5\or#6
\fi%
}

\newcommand*{\randomsix}[6]{
    \pgfmathparse{random(6)}
    \ifcase\pgfmathresult\relax
    \or#1\or#2\or#3\or#4\or#5\or#6
\fi%
}

\def\NumOfColumns{5}%
\def\Sequence{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}%

\newcommand{\Size}{3.25cm}
\tikzset{Square/.style={
inner sep=0pt,
text width=\Size, 
minimum size=\Size,
draw=black,
align=center,
}
}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[draw=black, thick, x=\Size,y=\Size]
\foreach \row in \Sequence{%
    \foreach \col in \Sequence {%
        \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\value}{\col+\NumOfColumns*(\row-1)}
        \def\NodeText{\random{\randomtwo{radioactivity}{$\alpha$ particle}{$\gamma$-ray}{in--situ leaching}{half--life, $t_{\frac{1}{2}}$}{GM counter}}{\randomthree{Manhattan Project}{$3-5$ \%}{$^{232}$Th}{breeder}{greenhouse gas}{ICP--MS}}{\randomfour{NRC}{conversion}{solid}{Rocky Flats}{smoke detector}{Trinity}}{\randomfive{START}{Yucca Mountain}{Chart of the Nuclides}{Chernobyl}{Savannah River Site}{Hanford Site}}{\randomsix{PUREX}{UO$_2$}{Y--12}{Bq}{LSC}{gaseous diffusion}}}
        \pgfmathsetmacro{\ColRowProduce}{\col*\row}
        \IfEq{\ColRowProduce}{9}{% If is center square
            \node [] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {FREE};
        }{
            \node [Square] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {\large \NodeText};
        }
    }
}    
\end{tikzpicture}                       
\end{document}

The biggest problem is that I get repeat words on my BINGO card. Can I set up a loop to prevent this? Also, if anyone has a way of cleaning up this code, I would be grateful.

Best Answer

Here's something that works. I'm not sure about its efficiency however. The code below selects random items from a user entered list of items and from these builds a randomized sequence of 24 items (25 less the center square) without duplicates. When \NodeText is called, an item is removed from the randomized list and placed in the node. An error is issued when too few items are provided (i.e. less than 24) and there isn't an upper limit on the number of items that can be supplied. For each new bingo card that you want to generate, you just call \setItems and regenerate a card. Comments/suggested improvements on the code are welcomed!

enter image description here

\documentclass[10pt]{article}

\usepackage{xstring}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{calc}
\usepackage{xparse}

\input{random.tex}
\newcount\randomnum
\ExplSyntaxOn

\seq_new:N \g_my_items_seq
\seq_new:N \l_my_tmp_items_seq
\seq_new:N \g_my_randomized_seq
\int_new:N \l_tmp_int
\msg_new:nnnn {bingo} {Too~few~items!} {Provide~at~least~24~items!}{}

\cs_generate_variant:Nn \seq_item:Nn {Nx}
\cs_generate_variant:Nn \seq_remove_all:Nn {Nx}

\NewDocumentCommand {\myItems} {m}
    {
      \seq_clear:N \g_my_items_seq % clear item list 
      \seq_gset_split:Nnn \g_my_items_seq {;} {#1} % put item list in seq
      \int_compare:nNnT {\seq_count:N \g_my_items_seq} < {24} {\msg_error:nn {bingo} {Too~few~items!}} % check whether there are enough items
    }

\NewDocumentCommand{\setItems}{}
{
\seq_set_eq:NN \l_my_tmp_items_seq \g_my_items_seq % put in temp seq so that multiple cards can be produced
\prg_replicate:nn {24} %generate random list of 24 items
    {
        \int_set:Nn \l_tmp_int {\seq_count:N \l_my_tmp_items_seq}% set current length of list
        \setrannum{\randomnum}{1}{\int_use:N \l_tmp_int} % choose random num up to length of seq
        \seq_put_right:Nx \g_my_randomized_seq {\seq_item:Nn \l_my_tmp_items_seq {\the\randomnum}}% grab corresponding item and put in tmp seq
        \seq_remove_all:Nx \l_my_tmp_items_seq {\seq_item:Nn \l_my_tmp_items_seq {\the\randomnum}}%delete that item from temp seq
    }
\seq_clear:N \l_my_tmp_items_seq %clear temp seq when done
}

\NewDocumentCommand {\NodeText}{}
    {
        \seq_gpop_right:NN \g_my_randomized_seq \l_tmpa_tl %pop item from randomized seq into token list
        \tl_use:N \l_tmpa_tl %use that item.
    }


\ExplSyntaxOff

\def\NumOfColumns{5}%
\def\Sequence{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}%

\newcommand{\Size}{3.25cm}
\tikzset{Square/.style={
inner sep=0pt,
text width=\Size, 
minimum size=\Size,
draw=black,
align=center,
}
}

\begin{document}
%\myItems{this;will;produce;an;error;because;there;aren't;enough;items}

\myItems{radioactivity;$\alpha$ particle;$\gamma$-ray;in--situ leaching;half--life, $t_{\frac{1}{2}}$;GM counter;Manhattan Project;$3-5$ \%;$^{232}$Th;breeder;greenhouse gas;ICP--MS;conversion;solid;Rocky Flats;smoke detector;Trinity;START;Yucca Mountain;Chart of Nuclides;Chernobyl;Savannah River Site;Hanford Site;PUREX;UO$_2$;Y--12;Bq;LSC;gaseous diffusion}

\setItems

\begin{tikzpicture}[draw=black, thick, x=\Size,y=\Size]
\foreach \row in \Sequence{%
    \foreach \col in \Sequence {%
        \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\value}{\col+\NumOfColumns*(\row-1)}
        \pgfmathsetmacro{\ColRowProduce}{\col*\row}
        \IfEq{\ColRowProduce}{9}{% If is center square
            \node [] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {FREE};
        }{
            \node [Square] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {\large \NodeText};
        }
    }
}    
\end{tikzpicture}

\setItems

\begin{tikzpicture}[draw=black, thick, x=\Size,y=\Size]
\foreach \row in \Sequence{%
    \foreach \col in \Sequence {%
        \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\value}{\col+\NumOfColumns*(\row-1)}
        \pgfmathsetmacro{\ColRowProduce}{\col*\row}
        \IfEq{\ColRowProduce}{9}{% If is center square
            \node [] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {FREE};
        }{
            \node [Square] at ($(\col,-\row)-(0.5,0.5)$) {\large \NodeText};
        }
    }
}    
\end{tikzpicture}                 
\end{document}

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Creating playing cards using TikZ

How about this 15-minute mockup (it's far from perfect, but quite ready to be turned into a reusable command):

\documentclass[parskip]{scrartcl}
\usepackage[margin=15mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pifont}

\begin{document}

\pgfmathsetmacro{\cardwidth}{5}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\cardheight}{8}
\newcommand{\stripcolor}{lime}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\stripwidth}{0.7}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\strippadding}{0.1}
\newcommand{\striptext}{INTER ARMA \ding{74}}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\textpadding}{0.3}
\newcommand{\topcaption}{LATIN}
\newcommand{\topcontent}{\textit{''Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges''}}
\newcommand{\bottomcaption}{Inter Arma}
\newcommand{\bottomcontent}{In times of war, the law falls silent.\\ \tikz{\fill[even odd rule] (0,0) circle (0.3) (-0.2,-0.2) rectangle (0.2,0.2);}}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\ruleheight}{0.3}

\begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[rounded corners=0.2cm] (0,0) rectangle (\cardwidth,\cardheight);
    \fill[\stripcolor,rounded corners=0.1cm] (\strippadding,\strippadding) rectangle (\strippadding+\stripwidth,\cardheight-\strippadding) node[rotate=90,above left,black,font=\LARGE] {\striptext};
    \node[text width=(\cardwidth-\strippadding-\stripwidth-2*\textpadding)*1cm,below right] at (\strippadding+\stripwidth+\textpadding,\cardheight-\textpadding) 
        {\LARGE \topcaption}\\ 
        \topcontent\\
        \tikz{\fill (0,0) rectangle (\cardwidth-\strippadding-\stripwidth-2*\textpadding,\ruleheight);}\\
        {\LARGE \bottomcaption}\\ 
        \bottomcontent\\
    };
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

I used the pifont package for the star symbol (\ding{74}). It has also the other symbols depicted in your photograph, have a look here.

enter image description here

Edit 1: Now with a rotated symbol, and more options are set with keys:

\documentclass[parskip]{scrartcl}
\usepackage[margin=15mm]{geometry}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pifont}
\usepackage{graphicx}

\begin{document}

\pgfmathsetmacro{\cardroundingradius}{4mm}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\striproundingradius}{3mm}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\cardwidth}{5}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\cardheight}{8}
\newcommand{\stripcolor}{cyan}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\stripwidth}{1.2}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\strippadding}{0.1}
\newcommand{\striptext}{INTER ARMA \rotatebox[origin=c]{-90}{\ding{49}}}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\textpadding}{0.3}
\newcommand{\topcaption}{LATIN}
\newcommand{\topcontent}{\textit{''Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges''}}
\newcommand{\bottomcaption}{Inter Arma}
\newcommand{\bottomcontent}{In times of war, the law falls silent.\\ \tikz{\fill[even odd rule] (0,0) circle (0.3) (-0.2,-0.2) rectangle (0.2,0.2);}}
\pgfmathsetmacro{\ruleheight}{0.1}
\newcommand{\stripfontsize}{\Huge}
\newcommand{\captionfontsize}{\LARGE}
\newcommand{\textfontsize}{\large}

\begin{tikzpicture}
    \draw[rounded corners=\cardroundingradius] (0,0) rectangle (\cardwidth,\cardheight);
    \fill[\stripcolor,rounded corners=\striproundingradius] (\strippadding,\strippadding) rectangle (\strippadding+\stripwidth,\cardheight-\strippadding) node[rotate=90,above left,black,font=\stripfontsize] {\striptext};
    \node[text width=(\cardwidth-\strippadding-\stripwidth-2*\textpadding)*1cm,below right,inner sep=0] at (\strippadding+\stripwidth+\textpadding,\cardheight-\textpadding) 
    {   {\captionfontsize \topcaption}\\ 
        {\textfontsize \topcontent}\\
        \tikz{\fill (0,0) rectangle (\cardwidth-\strippadding-\stripwidth-2*\textpadding,\ruleheight);}\\
        {\captionfontsize \bottomcaption}\\ 
        {\textfontsize \bottomcontent}\\
    };
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

enter image description here

If the rotated symbol is too big, you may add some "don't size" modifier like \large inside the rotatebox before the \ding{n}.

[Tex/LaTex] How to draw the cards of a deck

Here is a solution using SVG-Cards, inkscape and PDFLaTEX/graphicx/TikZ.

I provide a Makefile :

to download and to extract the SVG-Cards archive (via wget and tar),
to extract each SVG card from svg-cards.svg (via inkscape)
to convert each SVG card into a PDF card (via inkscape)
to compile cards.tex (via pdflatex)

Steps:

Copy the Makefile (note: the white spaces at beginning of lines are tabulations) and the cards.tex below.
Run make to get cards.pdf

^{Note: if you can't use this Makefile, I provide cards.tgz. This archive contains all extracted PDF cards (needed to compile cards.tex).}

enter image description here

The Makefile:

JOKERS = black_joker red_joker
LEVELS = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 jack queen king
CLUBS = ${LEVELS:%=%_club}
DIAMONDS = ${LEVELS:%=%_diamond}
HEARTS = ${LEVELS:%=%_heart}
SPADES = ${LEVELS:%=%_spade}
CARDS = ${CLUBS} ${DIAMONDS} ${HEARTS} ${SPADES} ${JOKERS}
CARDS_PDF = ${CARDS:%=card-%.pdf}

all: cards.pdf

cards.pdf: cards.tex $(CARDS_PDF)
    latexmk -pdf cards.tex

card-%.pdf: card-%.svg
    inkscape --export-pdf=$@ $<

card-%.svg: SVG-cards-2.0.1/svg-cards.svg
    inkscape --export-plain-svg=$@ --export-id=${@:card-%.svg=%} --export-id-only $<

SVG-cards-2.0.1/svg-cards.svg:
    wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/svg-cards/files/SVG-cards-2.0.1.tar.gz
    tar zxvf SVG-cards-2.0.1.tar.gz

The cards.tex file:

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \foreach \col[count=\c] in {spade,heart,diamond,club}{
    \begin{scope}[shift={(\c*90:1.5cm)}]
      \foreach \level[count=\val] in {1,...,10,jack,queen,king}{
        \node[inner sep=0,anchor=south,rotate={40-(\val*6)}]
        at ({140-(\val*6)}:1cm)
        {\includegraphics[height=1cm]{card-\level_\col}};
      }    
    \end{scope}
  }
  \node at (-2,0) {\includegraphics[height=1cm]{card-red_joker}};
  \node at (2,0)  {\includegraphics[height=1cm]{card-black_joker}};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Creating playing cards using TikZ

[Tex/LaTex] How to draw the cards of a deck

Related Question