Getting Started with Java

We’ve prepared a Java template with a simple input/output interface for any Java users.

Note: the input for the Java template is slightly different from that on the guide since we’ve made the interface more Java-friendly. Keep reading for details.

Hosting your server

Start your Battlesnake on Repl.it

Click the link above and press “Fork” on the top right corner to get your snake started.

If you wish to test and host your server through other means, click here to access the template from Github.

Building your Battlesnake

Head to Main.java to start building your snake! This is the only file that you need to write to.

Reading Input

You will need to read the input from input.txt using Java’s FileReader. A sample code stub should be viewable in Main.java.

First, you will read an \(11 \times 11\) grid of characters, describing the Battlesnake board.

H represents your snake’s head
B represents a segment of your snake’s body
T represents your snake’s tail
h represents an enemy snake’s head
b represents a segment of an enemy snake’s body
t represents a an enemy snake’s tail
. represents an empty space
f represents a food pellet

Sample Input (arrives from `input.txt`)

.....BBH...
.....B.....
..TBBB.....
...........
...........
..t..f.....
..b........
..b........
..b........
..h........
......f....
87

The above sample board contains your snake at the top, an enemy snake on the bottom left, and two food pellets: one in the middle and one on the bottom. The 87 indicates that your snake still has 87 of 100 hunger points remaining (eating a food pellet refills your snake to 100 hunger points).

Writing Output

After calculating the move that you want your Battlesnake to make, output it using System.out.println(). The list of possible moves are:

up
down
left
right