Quiz Game in Python

Beginner · Games · about 40 minutes to build · 107 lines

It asks five multiple-choice questions about Python, picked at random from a bank of ten, and gives your score at the end.

The program

Press Run and answer its questions in the box that appears under the code.

quiz_game.py

"""Python quiz: answer multiple-choice questions and get a score at the end."""

import random

QUESTIONS_PER_GAME = 5

LETTERS = "ABCD"

# Each question lists its correct answer first; the options are shuffled when asked.

QUESTIONS = [

{"question": 'What does len("hello") return?',

"options": ["5", "4", "6", "hello"]},

{"question": "Which keyword starts a function definition?",

"options": ["def", "function", "func", "define"]},

{"question": "What is the value of 7 // 2?",

"options": ["3", "3.5", "4", "1"]},

{"question": "Which of these types can be changed after it is created?",

"options": ["list", "tuple", "str", "int"]},

{"question": "What does type(3.0) return?",

"options": ["<class 'float'>", "<class 'int'>", "<class 'str'>", "<class 'double'>"]},

{"question": "Which character starts a comment in Python?",

"options": ["#", "//", "--", "/*"]},

{"question": 'What is the result of "ab" * 3?',

"options": ["ababab", "ab3", "an error", "ab ab ab"]},

{"question": "Which list method adds one item to the end of a list?",

"options": ["append()", "add()", "insert()", "push()"]},

{"question": "Which numbers does range(3) give?",

"options": ["0, 1, 2", "1, 2, 3", "0, 1, 2, 3", "3"]},

{"question": 'What is bool("") (an empty string)?',

"options": ["False", "True", "None", "an error"]},

]

def ask_choice(prompt, valid):

"""Ask until the player types one of the valid letters, and return it."""

while True:

answer = input(prompt).strip().upper()

if answer in valid:

return answer

print(f" Please type one of: {', '.join(valid)}.")

def ask_question(number, item):

"""Ask one question with shuffled options; return True if answered right."""

correct = item["options"][0]

options = item["options"].copy()

random.shuffle(options)

print(f"\nQuestion {number}. {item['question']}")

for letter, option in zip(LETTERS, options):

print(f" {letter}) {option}")

answer = ask_choice("Your answer (A-D): ", list(LETTERS))

right_letter = LETTERS[options.index(correct)]

if answer == right_letter:

print(" Correct.")

return True

print(f" Not quite. The answer is {right_letter}) {correct}.")

return False

def grade(score, total):

"""Return a short message for the final score."""

if score == total:

return "A perfect score."

if score / total >= 0.6:

return "Well done."

return "Keep practising and try again."

def play_quiz():

"""Ask QUESTIONS_PER_GAME random questions and print the result."""

chosen = random.sample(QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS_PER_GAME)

score = 0

for number, item in enumerate(chosen, start=1):

if ask_question(number, item):

score += 1

total = len(chosen)

print(f"\nYou scored {score} out of {total} ({score / total:.0%}).")

print(grade(score, total))

def ask_yes_no(prompt):

"""Ask a yes/no question and return True for yes."""

while True:

answer = input(prompt).strip().lower()

if answer in ("y", "yes"):

return True

if answer in ("n", "no"):

return False

print(" Please type y or n.")

def main():

"""Run quizzes until the player wants to stop."""

print("=== Python Quiz ===")

print(f"{QUESTIONS_PER_GAME} questions. Type the letter of your answer.")

while True:

play_quiz()

print()

if not ask_yes_no("Play again? (y/n) "):

break

print("Thanks for playing.")

if __name__ == "__main__":

main()

Open it in the full editor to save it, share it and keep building.

Sample run

What the program printed, and what was typed (in yellow).

=== Python Quiz ===
5 questions. Type the letter of your answer.

Question 1. Which character starts a comment in Python?
  A) //
  B) /*
  C) --
  D) #
Your answer (A-D): d
  Correct.

Question 2. What is the value of 7 // 2?
  A) 3.5
  B) 3
  C) 1
  D) 4
Your answer (A-D): e
  Please type one of: A, B, C, D.
Your answer (A-D): B
  Correct.

Question 3. What is the result of "ab" * 3?
  A) ab ab ab
  B) an error
  C) ababab
  D) ab3
Your answer (A-D): d
  Not quite. The answer is C) ababab.

Question 4. What is bool("") (an empty string)?
  A) None
  B) False
  C) True
  D) an error
Your answer (A-D): b
  Correct.

Question 5. What does len("hello") return?
  A) 6
  B) hello
  C) 5
  D) 4
Your answer (A-D): c
  Correct.

You scored 4 out of 5 (80%).
Well done.

Play again? (y/n) n
Thanks for playing.

How it is built

1. The question bank

Each question is a dictionary with its text and four options. The correct answer is always written first, which keeps the bank easy to check, and the program shuffles the options before showing them.

# Each question lists its correct answer first; the options are shuffled when asked.
QUESTIONS = [
    {"question": 'What does len("hello") return?',
     "options": ["5", "4", "6", "hello"]},
    {"question": "Which keyword starts a function definition?",
     "options": ["def", "function", "func", "define"]},

2. Accepting only A to D

The answer is turned into a capital letter with .upper(), so a and A both count. Anything else gets a message and the question waits for a valid letter.

def ask_choice(prompt, valid):
    """Ask until the player types one of the valid letters, and return it."""
    while True:
        answer = input(prompt).strip().upper()
        if answer in valid:
            return answer
        print(f"  Please type one of: {', '.join(valid)}.")

3. Asking one question

The function remembers the correct option before it shuffles a copy of the list. zip(LETTERS, options) pairs each option with A, B, C or D, and options.index(correct) finds the letter the answer landed on.

def ask_question(number, item):
    """Ask one question with shuffled options; return True if answered right."""
    correct = item["options"][0]
    options = item["options"].copy()
    random.shuffle(options)

    print(f"\nQuestion {number}. {item['question']}")
    for letter, option in zip(LETTERS, options):
        print(f"  {letter}) {option}")
    answer = ask_choice("Your answer (A-D): ", list(LETTERS))

    right_letter = LETTERS[options.index(correct)]
    if answer == right_letter:
        print("  Correct.")
        return True
    print(f"  Not quite. The answer is {right_letter}) {correct}.")
    return False

4. A message for the score

The checks go from the best score down, so the first one that matches decides the message.

def grade(score, total):
    """Return a short message for the final score."""
    if score == total:
        return "A perfect score."
    if score / total >= 0.6:
        return "Well done."
    return "Keep practising and try again."

5. Picking the questions

random.sample picks five different questions, so none repeats within a game. {score / total:.0%} turns 4 out of 5 into 80%.

def play_quiz():
    """Ask QUESTIONS_PER_GAME random questions and print the result."""
    chosen = random.sample(QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS_PER_GAME)
    score = 0
    for number, item in enumerate(chosen, start=1):
        if ask_question(number, item):
            score += 1

    total = len(chosen)
    print(f"\nYou scored {score} out of {total} ({score / total:.0%}).")
    print(grade(score, total))

Make it bigger

Load the questions from a JSON file so a teacher can write a new quiz without touching the code.
Time each answer with time.time() and give bonus points for fast ones.
At the end, list the questions the player missed with their right answers.
Let the player pick a topic, such as strings, lists or loops, before the quiz starts.

The program

Sample run

How it is built

1. The question bank

2. Accepting only A to D

3. Asking one question

4. A message for the score

5. Picking the questions

Make it bigger

What it practises