Blackjack

Technical Manual

Last Modified: January 02, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Background

This sample script shows how to implement the game of Blackjack with Inquisit.

Duration

variable (player can quit at any point)

Procedure

- number of games up to player

Each Game:

- both dealer and player get two cards
- player can decide to draw up to three more cards (if below or at 21; if over 21 but at least one ace then
the total is adjusted down by 10) by hitting 'hit' or stand down by hitting 'stand'
=> if player cards add up to more than 21, then the player automatically loses
- if player stands down, dealer can draw up to three more cards (if below or at 17; if over 21 but at least one ace
then the total is adjusted down by 10)
=> if dealer cards add up to more than 21, then the dealer automatically loses

Rules

=> if player cards add up to more than 21 (taking into account all drawn player aces which reduce the total by -10 each for values), then the player automatically loses
=> if dealer cards add up to more than 21 (taking into account all drawn dealer aces), then the player automatically loses
=> if both have the same value <= 21, then it's a draw
=> otherwise the player with the higher number wins

Summary Data

File Name: blackjack_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
inquisit.version	Inquisit version number
computer.platform	Device platform: win \| mac \|ios \| android
computer.touch	0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard	0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
startDate	Date the session was run
startTime	Time the session was run
subjectId	Participant ID
groupId	Group number
sessionId	Session number
elapsedTime	Session duration in ms
completed	0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed
games	Counts the number of games played
pwins	Counts the number of times the player won
dwins	Counts the number of times the dealer won
draws	Counts the number of draws

Raw Data

File Name: blackjack_raw*.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
build	Inquisit version number
computer.platform	Device platform: win \| mac \|ios \| android
computer.touch	0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard	0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
date	Date the session was run
time	Time the session was run
subject	Participant ID
group	Group number
session	Session number
blockcode	The name the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
blocknum	The number of the current block (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialcode	The name of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable)
trialnum	The number of the currently recorded trial (built-in Inquisit variable) trialnum is a built-in Inquisit variable; it counts all trials run even those that do not store data to the data file.
response	The participant's response (selected button)
latency	The response latency (in ms); measured from:onset of current trial
dealerHand	Sum of the dealer's cards
playerHand	Sum of the player's cards
outcome	"p win", "d win", "draw"
dCard1	Value of dealer card1
dCard2	Value of dealer card2
dCard3	Value of dealer card3
dCard4	Value of dealer card4
dCard5	Value of dealer card5
pCard1	Value of participant card1
pCard2	Value of participant card2
pCard3	Value of participant card3
pCard4	Value of participant card4
pCard5	Value of participant card5