The Finished Quiz
Add a title screen, results with animated score and ratings, RESTORE for replay, and finish the game.
The quiz plays eight questions with categories, colour feedback, and scored arrays. Now give it a proper beginning and end — a title screen that previews the categories, and a results screen that delivers the verdict.
The Title Screen
5 BORDER 0: PAPER 0: INK 7: CLS
10 FOR i=0 TO 31
12 PRINT AT 0,i; PAPER 2;" "
14 NEXT i
16 PRINT AT 0,9; PAPER 2; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;" QUIZ MASTER "
20 PRINT AT 4,3; INK 5;"Answer questions from four"
22 PRINT AT 5,3; INK 5;"categories."
24 PRINT AT 7,3; INK 7;"Press A, B, C or D to answer."
26 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 6;"Science"
28 PRINT AT 10,18; INK 3;"History"
30 PRINT AT 12,6; INK 4;"Geography"
32 PRINT AT 12,18; INK 5;"Entertainment"
34 PRINT AT 16,3; INK 7;"8 questions. How many can"
35 PRINT AT 17,3; INK 7;"you get right?"
36 PRINT AT 21,5; INK 7; FLASH 1;"Press any key to start"; FLASH 0
38 PAUSE 0
The four categories appear in a 2x2 grid, each in its own colour — yellow Science, magenta History, green Geography, cyan Entertainment. The player knows what to expect before the first question. Instructions explain the controls. PAUSE 0 waits for any key.
The Results Screen
152 CLS
154 FOR i=0 TO 31
156 PRINT AT 0,i; PAPER 2;" "
158 NEXT i
160 PRINT AT 0,9; PAPER 2; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;" QUIZ MASTER "
162 PRINT AT 3,11; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;"RESULTS"
166 FOR i=0 TO sc
168 PRINT AT 5,10; INK 5;"Score: ";i;" out of 8 "
170 IF i<sc THEN BEEP 0.06,10+i*2
172 NEXT i
174 BEEP 0.2,24
178 PRINT AT 8,6; INK 6;"Science: ";s(1)
180 PRINT AT 9,6; INK 3;"History: ";s(2)
182 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 4;"Geography: ";s(3)
184 PRINT AT 11,6; INK 5;"Entertainment: ";s(4)
188 IF sc=8 THEN LET m$="Genius!": INK 4: BRIGHT 1: GO TO 198
190 IF sc>=6 THEN LET m$="Well done!": INK 6: BRIGHT 1: GO TO 198
192 IF sc>=4 THEN LET m$="Not bad!": INK 5: GO TO 198
194 LET m$="Keep studying!": INK 3
198 PRINT AT 14,(32-LEN m$)/2;m$
200 BRIGHT 0
202 PRINT AT 18,5; INK 7;"Press any key to exit"
204 PAUSE 0
The animated score count-up ticks from 0 to the final total, each step with a rising tone. Then the category breakdown shows where the points came from — colour-coded to match the question headers.
Four rating tiers:
| Score | Message | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Genius! | Green (4) |
| 6-7 | Well done! | Yellow (6) |
| 4-5 | Not bad! | Cyan (5) |
| 0-3 | Keep studying! | Magenta (3) |
RESTORE — Playing Again
RESTORE rewinds the DATA pointer to the first DATA statement. Without it, trying to READ after the quiz ends gives an “Out of DATA” error — the pointer has passed the last item. After RESTORE, the next READ starts from the beginning.
For a replay loop:
INPUT "Play again? (y/n) "; a$
IF a$ = "y" THEN RESTORE: LET sc = 0: FOR i = 1 TO 4: LET s(i) = 0: NEXT i: GO TO 44RESTORE rewinds the questions. The score and category array are reset manually — arrays keep their values unless you clear them.
Accepting Uppercase
Line 53 handles case: IF k$ >= "A" AND k$ <= "Z" THEN LET k$ = CHR$ (CODE k$ + 32). If the player presses Shift+A (uppercase “A”), the code converts it to lowercase “a” before checking. The game accepts both — no silent failures.
The Complete Program
1 REM Quiz Master v2
5 BORDER 0: PAPER 0: INK 7: CLS
10 REM === Title screen ===
12 FOR i=0 TO 31
14 PRINT AT 0,i; PAPER 2;" "
16 NEXT i
18 PRINT AT 0,9; PAPER 2; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;" QUIZ MASTER "
20 PRINT AT 4,3; INK 5;"Answer questions from four"
22 PRINT AT 5,3; INK 5;"categories."
24 PRINT AT 7,3; INK 7;"Press A, B, C or D to answer."
26 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 6;"Science"
28 PRINT AT 10,18; INK 3;"History"
30 PRINT AT 12,6; INK 4;"Geography"
32 PRINT AT 12,18; INK 5;"Entertainment"
34 PRINT AT 16,3; INK 7;"8 questions. How many can"
35 PRINT AT 17,3; INK 7;"you get right?"
36 PRINT AT 21,5; INK 7; FLASH 1;"Press any key to start"; FLASH 0
38 PAUSE 0
40 DIM s(4)
42 LET sc=0
44 FOR n=1 TO 8
46 READ p,q$,a$,b$,c$,d$,r$
48 GO SUB 300
50 REM === Wait for A/B/C/D ===
52 LET k$=INKEY$
53 IF k$>="A" AND k$<="Z" THEN LET k$=CHR$ (CODE k$+32)
54 IF k$<>"a" AND k$<>"b" AND k$<>"c" AND k$<>"d" THEN GO TO 52
56 IF k$=r$ THEN GO TO 100
58 REM === Wrong ===
60 BORDER 2
62 GO SUB 250
64 PRINT AT y,4; INK 2; BRIGHT 1;">"
66 REM === Show correct in green ===
68 LET k$=r$
70 GO SUB 250
72 PRINT AT y,4; INK 4; BRIGHT 1;">"
74 BEEP 0.3,-5
76 BORDER 0
78 PAUSE 75
80 GO TO 140
100 REM === Correct ===
102 LET sc=sc+1
104 LET s(p)=s(p)+1
106 BORDER 4
108 GO SUB 250
110 PRINT AT y,4; INK 4; BRIGHT 1;">"
112 BEEP 0.1,12: BEEP 0.1,16: BEEP 0.15,19
114 BORDER 0
116 PAUSE 50
140 NEXT n
150 REM === Results ===
152 CLS
154 FOR i=0 TO 31
156 PRINT AT 0,i; PAPER 2;" "
158 NEXT i
160 PRINT AT 0,9; PAPER 2; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;" QUIZ MASTER "
162 PRINT AT 3,11; INK 7; BRIGHT 1;"RESULTS"
164 REM === Animated score ===
166 FOR i=0 TO sc
168 PRINT AT 5,10; INK 5;"Score: ";i;" out of 8 "
170 IF i<sc THEN BEEP 0.06,10+i*2
172 NEXT i
174 BEEP 0.2,24
176 REM === Category breakdown ===
178 PRINT AT 8,6; INK 6;"Science: ";s(1)
180 PRINT AT 9,6; INK 3;"History: ";s(2)
182 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 4;"Geography: ";s(3)
184 PRINT AT 11,6; INK 5;"Entertainment: ";s(4)
186 REM === Rating ===
188 IF sc=8 THEN LET m$="Genius!": INK 4: BRIGHT 1: GO TO 198
190 IF sc>=6 THEN LET m$="Well done!": INK 6: BRIGHT 1: GO TO 198
192 IF sc>=4 THEN LET m$="Not bad!": INK 5: GO TO 198
194 LET m$="Keep studying!": INK 3
198 PRINT AT 14,(32-LEN m$)/2;m$
200 BRIGHT 0
202 PRINT AT 18,5; INK 7;"Press any key to exit"
204 PAUSE 0
206 BORDER 7: PAPER 7: INK 0: CLS
208 STOP
250 REM === Map k$ to row ===
252 IF k$="a" THEN LET y=10
254 IF k$="b" THEN LET y=12
256 IF k$="c" THEN LET y=14
258 IF k$="d" THEN LET y=16
260 RETURN
300 REM === Draw question card ===
302 CLS
304 FOR i=0 TO 31
306 PRINT AT 0,i; PAPER 2;" "
308 NEXT i
310 PRINT AT 0,1; PAPER 2; INK 7;"Q";n;" of 8"
312 PRINT AT 0,22; PAPER 2; INK 6;"Score: ";sc
314 REM === Category label ===
316 LET ci=6
318 IF p=1 THEN LET m$="Science"
320 IF p=2 THEN LET m$="History": LET ci=3
322 IF p=3 THEN LET m$="Geography": LET ci=4
324 IF p=4 THEN LET m$="Entertainment": LET ci=5
326 PRINT AT 3,(32-LEN m$)/2; INK ci; BRIGHT 1;m$
328 REM === Question ===
330 PRINT AT 5,4; INK 7;q$
332 REM === Options ===
334 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 7;"A: ";a$
336 PRINT AT 12,6; INK 7;"B: ";b$
338 PRINT AT 14,6; INK 7;"C: ";c$
340 PRINT AT 16,6; INK 7;"D: ";d$
342 PRINT AT 20,4; INK 5;"Press A, B, C or D"
344 RETURN
500 DATA 1,"Closest planet to the Sun?","Mercury","Venus","Earth","Mars","a"
510 DATA 3,"Longest river in the world?","Amazon","Thames","Nile","Danube","c"
520 DATA 2,"Who built the pyramids?","Romans","Egyptians","Vikings","Greeks","b"
530 DATA 4,"Instrument with 88 keys?","Guitar","Drums","Violin","Piano","d"
540 DATA 1,"How many legs has a spider?","Six","Eight","Ten","Four","b"
550 DATA 3,"Capital of France?","London","Berlin","Madrid","Paris","d"
560 DATA 2,"When did World War 2 end?","1918","1939","1945","1960","c"
570 DATA 4,"Who painted the Mona Lisa?","Picasso","Da Vinci","Van Gogh","Monet","b"
The structure is the most organised program you’ve written:
- Title screen (lines 5-38) — categories, instructions, wait for key
- Initialisation (lines 40-42) — DIM array, reset score
- Game loop (lines 44-140) — READ, GO SUB to draw, INKEY$ input, feedback
- Subroutines (lines 250-344) — key mapping, question card drawing
- Results (lines 150-208) — animated count-up, category breakdown, rating, cleanup
- DATA (lines 500-570) — eight questions from four categories
That’s 90 lines of BASIC — and the most polished Foundations game. The code is structured with subroutines, the data is separate from the logic, and the visual presentation uses everything you’ve learnt: colour, sound, screen layout, and animation.
Write Your Own Questions
The best thing about this game is that changing the content doesn’t require changing any code. Edit lines 500-570 with your own questions. Keep them under 28 characters. Make sure the category index (1-4) matches the category you want. Change the correct answer letter. Run it. You’ve made a custom quiz.
Try This
More questions. Add lines 580-590 with two more questions and change the loop to FOR n = 1 TO 10. The results screen already handles any score.
Difficulty levels. Store easy questions at lines 500-570 and hard questions at lines 600-670. Ask the player to choose, then RESTORE 500 or RESTORE 600.
Timed answers. Replace the INKEY$ loop with a countdown: FOR t = 1 TO 200: LET k$ = INKEY$: IF k$ = "a" OR k$ = "b" OR k$ = "c" OR k$ = "d" THEN GO TO 56: NEXT t. If the loop ends without a valid key, count it as wrong.
What You’ve Learnt
- Title screens — category grid, instructions, PAUSE 0
- RESTORE — rewinds the DATA pointer for replay
- Animated score — FOR loop counting up with BEEP
- Rating tiers — chained IF statements with colour-coded messages
- Program structure — title, init, game loop, subroutines, results, data
What’s Next
You’ve completed six games and learnt the full Sinclair BASIC toolkit: variables, strings, arrays, loops, decisions, input, colour, sound, data, subroutines, and RESTORE. Your programs look like real Spectrum software.
In Game 7, everything changes. The Skills phase begins — and with it, real-time games. PEEK timing for smooth movement. ATTR collision for reading the screen as data. CHR$ for the full character set. The games get bigger, faster, and more complex. You’re ready.