Thread: Java hangman help with comparing array to String

I'm trying to figure out how to let the dash[] know the player entered all the correct letters to solve the game. It knows the correct word was guessed, the first part of the if condition word.equals(guess) , but the second part dashArray[b].equals(word.charAt(b)) doesn't work, that's what I need help with. I know the counter doesn't work now, but I'll work on that after I figure this out.

Basically, my random word for now is "elephant" for testing purposes.

so if I type "elephant" any time, the game ends, but if I type, e, l, p, h, a, n, t it doesn't know, the game is done even though all the letters are correctly guessed.

This is the part of the code I'm having trouble with:

if(word.equals(guess) || dashArray[b].equals(word.charAt(b)))  // currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
                    dashArray[b] = "" + guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }

This is the full code:

package hangmangame;
 
/*
 * STEPS TO WRIE HANGMAN PROGRAM (Hangman game pseudocode)
 * -------------------------------------------------------
 * 1.  Create an array with some words
 * 2.  Create an empty dashArray
 * 3.  Create an alphabet array to delete used letters
 * 4.  Get a random word from the word array using random number generator
 * 5.  Set the word to the random number's index from the word array
 * 6.  Create a new dash array with the number of letters in the word
 * 7.  Get a guess from user
 * 8.  Check if the guess is in the word
 * 9.  If yes, replace the dash with the correct letter
 * 10. Delete the letter from alphabet array (good or bad)
 * 11. If the correct word is guessed, show the word and says you win
 * 12. If the incorrect word is guessed, only take the first character of the word, and put it in the correct place
 * 13. Create a counter to count each time the wrong guess is entered
 * 14. Display the appropriate "hangman" image
 * 15. If the counter is more than six, the player fails (hangman hanged)
 * 
 *     Need to figure out the counter to display each hangman sequence
 */
 
import java.util.Random;
import java.util.Scanner;
 
public class HangmanGame {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Random rand = new Random();
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
 
        String word, guess;
        char check;
        int random = 0, counter = 0;
        boolean hanged = false;
 
        String[] alphabetArray = {" A ", " B ", " C ", " D ", " E ", " F ", " G ", " H ", " I ", " J ", " K ", " L ", " M ",
                                               " N ", " 0 ", " P ", " Q ", " R ", " S ", " T ", " U ", " V ", " W ", " X ", " Y ", " Z "};
 
        String[] wordsArray = {"elephant"};
 
        /*
         *                                  , "star", " candy", "wings", "shopping", "steak", "couch", "toy", "cat", "mouse",
                                            "elevator", "taxi", "airplane", "bus", "car", "flower", "cheese", "apple", "orange", "coat",
                                            "running", "sweater", "blanket", "chocolate", "chicken", "computer", "rice", "dance", "doll",
                                            "duck", "alligator", "snake", "calculator", "castle", "balloon", "laptop", "turtle", "pencil",
                                            "fridge", "police", "antartica", "dinner", "fire", "cookie", "pizza", "church", "village"
 
 
         */
 
        String[] dashArray;
 
        random = rand.nextInt(wordsArray.length);
        word = wordsArray[random];
        dashArray = new String[word.length()];   
 
        System.out.println("------------------: HANGMAN GAME INSTRUCTIONS :------------------");
        System.out.println("1. You can enter either a letter or try to guess the word any time.");
        System.out.println("2. You have six chances before the hangman is hanged (you fail).");
        System.out.println("3. If you try to guess the word, but the guess is wrong, program will read the first letter only");
        System.out.println("4. If you guess the word correctly, you win");
 
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
        System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
 
 
        System.out.print("Letters available: ");
 
        for(int c=0; c<alphabetArray.length; c++)
        {
            System.out.print(alphabetArray[c]);
        }
 
        System.out.println();
 
        for(int a=0; a<dashArray.length; a++)
        {
            dashArray[a] = " - ";
            System.out.print(dashArray[a]);           
        }
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {        
            System.out.println();
 
            System.out.print("Enter a guess (letter or word): ");
            guess = scan.nextLine();
            check = guess.charAt(0);
 
            for(int b=0; b<dashArray.length; b++)
            {
                if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    alphabetArray[(int) Character.toUpperCase(check) - 65] = " ";
 
                    dashArray[b] = "" + guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dashArray[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = "" + check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {
                    alphabetArray[(int) Character.toUpperCase(check) - 65] = " ";
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                if(word.equals(guess) || dashArray[b].equals(word.charAt(b)))  // currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
                    dashArray[b] = "" + guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }  
 
                    System.out.print(dashArray[b]);   
            }  
 
            System.out.println();   
 
            if(counter == 1)  
            {
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false;
            }
 
            else if(counter == 2)
            {
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false;                
            }
 
            else if(counter == 3)
            {
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/|   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false;                
            }
 
            else if(counter == 4)
            {                
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/|\\  |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t     |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false; 
 
            }
 
            else if(counter == 5)
            {
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/|\\  |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/    |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false;                 
            }
 
            else if(counter == 6)
            {
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t _____");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t |   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t 0   |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/|\\  |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t/ \\  |");
                System.out.println("\t\t\t\t\t_____|");
                hanged = false;                    
            }
 
            if(counter > 6)
            {
                System.out.println("The word was: " + word);
                hanged = true;                
            }
 
            if(hanged == true)
            {
                System.out.println("Good guess, you win!");
            }
 
            System.out.println();
 
            System.out.print("Letters available: ");
 
            for(int d=0; d<alphabetArray.length; d++)
            {                         
                switch (guess) 
                {
                    case "a":
                        alphabetArray[0] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "b":
                        alphabetArray[1] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "c":
                        alphabetArray[2] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "d":
                        alphabetArray[3] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "e":
                        alphabetArray[4] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "f":
                        alphabetArray[5] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "g":
                        alphabetArray[6] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "h":
                        alphabetArray[7] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "i":
                        alphabetArray[8] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "j":
                        alphabetArray[9] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "k":
                        alphabetArray[10] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "l":
                        alphabetArray[11] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "m":
                        alphabetArray[12] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "n":
                        alphabetArray[13] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "o":
                        alphabetArray[14] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "p":
                        alphabetArray[15] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "q":
                        alphabetArray[16] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "r":
                        alphabetArray[17] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "s":
                        alphabetArray[18] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "t":
                        alphabetArray[19] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "u":
                        alphabetArray[20] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "v":
                        alphabetArray[21] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "w":
                        alphabetArray[22] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "x":
                        alphabetArray[23] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "y":
                        alphabetArray[24] = " ";
                        break;
                    case "z":
                        alphabetArray[25] = " ";
                        break;
                }
 
               System.out.print(alphabetArray[d]);
            }
        }  
    }
}

Originally Posted by Norm

What are the values of dashArray[b] and word.charAt(b) when it doesn't work?
One possible problem is that dishArray holds String values and charAt() returns a char.

Also posted at: Hangman game help, how to check if an array's index values matches with a String? - Dev Shed

I did a system.out to see the actual values each time, and as you can see, even when dash[b] = elephant, and the word.charAt(b) matches it, it's still waiting for me to enter something instead of stopping the loop.

run:
--------
Enter guess: e
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: p
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: h
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] h word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: a
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] h word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] a word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: n
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] h word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] a word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] n word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: t
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] h word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] a word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] n word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] t word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess:

Originally Posted by Norm

A String and a char should never return true with the equals() method.
Can you make dashArray a char array
or use charAt(0) with the String in dashArray to get a char value to compare with ==?

[B]dashArray == (word.charAt(b) I tried to do it like that, but it's giving me a syntax error, so I can't compile it.

[B]" " + dashArray == ("" + word.charAt(b) I tried this way, compiles but, still same problem, even after I guess "elephant" buy entering one letter at a time

I've made the dashArray to a char array, like you said, now what should I do?

--- Update ---

This is the code with dash[] turned to a char array.

package test;
 
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {              
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                if(word.equals(guess))// currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }  
 
//                System.out.println("dash[b] " + dash[b] +" word.charAt(b) " + word.charAt(b));
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

This is the code with compiler error:

package test;
 
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {              
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                if(word.equals(guess) || word.charAt(b) == dash[b])// currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }  
 
//                System.out.println("dash[b] " + dash[b] +" word.charAt(b) " + word.charAt(b));
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

run:
--------
Enter guess: e
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StringIndexOutOfBoundsException: String index out of range: 2
e-	at java.lang.String.charAt(String.java:658)
	at test.Test.main(Test.java:64)
Java Result: 1
BUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 1 second)

So what should I do to fix it?

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. Logically, I'm comparing each index of dash[] with word.charAt(b), so it should work.

--- Update ---

Originally Posted by Norm

One thing that looks out of place is to compare word to guess every time the loop goes around.
It should be test one time outside of the loop.

I've put if(word.equals(guess)) outside of the loop like you said, I compiled it, and works fine.

package test;
 
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {              
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
//                if(word.charAt(b) == dash[b])// currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
//                {
//                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(b);  
//                   
//                    hanged = true;
//                }  
 
//                System.out.println("dash[b] " + dash[b] +" word.charAt(b) " + word.charAt(b));
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        if(word.equals(guess))
        {
            hanged = true;
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

Originally Posted by Norm

Does that mean you have solved your problem?

What I meant was, moving the if condition outside of the for loop did the same thing.

No sir, I'm sorry. I still have the original problem.

Originally Posted by Norm

Did you look at line 64 to see why the code is using an index value that is past the end of the String?

I did look, but I can't figure out what's going on.

--- Update ---

I have Java class tomorrow, and I'll ask my professor to look at my code if I can't figure it out.

I've made some modification.

                if(word.charAt(b) == dash[b])// currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
//                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }

Now the problem is, it's only looking to see if the last index of dash[b] and word.charAt(b), so if I just enter 't' with out anything else, it thinks the word is solved.

run:
--------
Enter guess: t
-------tBUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 2 seconds)

package test;
 
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {              
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
//            System.out.println("dash[b] " + dash[b] +" word.charAt(b) " + word.charAt(b));
 
                if(word.charAt(b) == dash[b])// currently working on this, make an array to store guesses?
                {
//                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(b);  
 
                    hanged = true;
                }  
 
 
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        if(word.equals(guess))
        {
            hanged = true;
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

--- Update ---

I did a system.out to see the values, but as you can see as soon as I type 't' it exits loop, even though the word is not correct

run:
--------
Enter guess: e
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: p
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) t
 
Enter guess: t
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] l word.charAt(b) l
dash[b] e word.charAt(b) e
dash[b] p word.charAt(b) p
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) h
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) a
dash[b] - word.charAt(b) n
dash[b] t word.charAt(b) t
BUILD SUCCESSFUL (total time: 6 seconds)

Sir, thanks for your help so far. I have to go to class now, so I'll let you know if I figure something out.

Tony

Solved

Java Platform SE 7

Here's the working code, what I did was, I converted the char dash[] into a new String (test), and just compared two string with .equals(). Now time to work on the counter to display each stages of hangman.

package test;
 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word, test;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
 
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                    
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
                else
                {              
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        test = new String(dash);
 
        if(word.equals(guess) || test.equals(word))
        {
            hanged = true;
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

Originally Posted by Norm

What do these two lines of code do? Why are they both there?

             dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
              dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;

Why does the code set hanged = false inside the loop? If it had been set true, wouldn't that mean a match had been found?

Why is guess.charAt(0) used in one place and check in another.
Aren't they the same value?

With out those two lines, my guess won't show up in the dash[]. It will display just -------
I removed the second line, dash[word.indexOf(guess.charAt(0))] = check;, and it still works, so I guess I don't need that. I did a lot of troubleshooting, so I guess I forgot to clean up.
I'm still new to boolean, so that's why I have the "false" inside loop. I did try it without the "false", and it works, so I'll be removing that also.

--- Update ---

New cleaned code

I'm trying to add a counter to the program also.

package test;
 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word, test;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
 
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                  
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
                }
 
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        test = new String(dash);
 
        if(word.equals(guess) || test.equals(word))
        {
            hanged = true;
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

--- Update ---

do you have any tips on how to add the counter? I have to add the counter inside the loop right, since the if conditions are inside it?

if the wrong choice is made, I want the counter to add by 1.
if the correct choice is made, I want the counter to stay at the current number till another wrong choice is made
when the counter is more than six, I want the game to end (player fails).

this is what I have so far, but it's not working the way I want.

package test;
 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word, test;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
        int counter = 0;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }
 
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
 
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
 
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                  
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
                }
 
            else
            {
                counter++;
            }
 
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        System.out.println("Counter is " + counter);
 
        test = new String(dash);
 
        if(word.equals(guess) || test.equals(word))
        {
            hanged = true;
        }
 
 
 
        }
 
    }
}

Even if the correct letter is entered, it counts, in this example, the counter is supposed to be zero.

run:
--------
Enter guess: e
e-e-----Counter is 6
 
Enter guess:

Even if the wrong letter is entered, it counts, in this example, the counter is supposed to be 1

run:
--------
Enter guess: w
--------Counter is 8
 
Enter guess:

I'm trying to count the number of times the user guesses the wrong character

Yes, the count should be incremented by 1 anytime the user guesses the wrong character

How can I implement the boolean to do this?

This should be my last part of the code, everything else seems to be done.

Originally Posted by Norm

Look at and think about how you are using the hanged variable.
The new variable will be used to detect when: "the user guesses the wrong character"
or a better way to look at it: when the user guesses the correct character.

I'm sorry, but I don't know much about when and when not to use boolean. This is what I have so far

package test;
 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
public class Test {
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
        Random rand = new Random();
 
        int r;        
        String[] words = {"elephant"};
        char[] dash;
 
        String guess, word, test;
        char check;
        boolean hanged = false;
 
        r = rand.nextInt(words.length);
        word = words[r];
        dash = new char[word.length()];
 
        for(int a=0; a<dash.length; a++)
        {
            dash[a] = '-';
            System.out.print(dash[a]);
        }        
 
        while(hanged == false)
        {
 
        System.out.println();
 
        System.out.print("Enter guess: ");
        guess = scan.nextLine();
        check = guess.charAt(0);
 
 
        for(int b=0; b<dash.length; b++)
        {            
 
            if(check == word.charAt(b))                    
                {                  
 
                    dash[b] = guess.charAt(0);
 
                    hanged = false;
                }
 
            else
            {
                    hanged = false;
            }
 
 
                    System.out.print(dash[b]);   
        }
 
        test = new String(dash);
 
        if(word.equals(guess) || test.equals(word))
            {
                hanged = true;
            }
        }        
    }
}