Retro Trivia

A quick, single-player trivia door game for BBSes. Pick a round of 5, 8, 12 or 20 questions from a bank of 251, answer each with one key, and see how you did. Every launch is a fresh round; nothing is saved between calls.

Retro Trivia is one Python file (retro_trivia.py) with no dependencies beyond the standard library. It needs Python 3.11 or newer and a terminal of at least 40×12.

Where it runs

• NetBBS: bundled. NetBBS ships a tagged release of this file (Thiesi/NetBBS#1226), so a NetBBS SysOp has nothing to install.
• Other BBS software (Synchronet, Mystic, ENiGMA½, …): reads DOOR32.SYS and DOOR.SYS caller metadata, with CP437 or UTF-8 output and stdio or inherited DOOR32 sockets. An ANSI-capable terminal/bridge is required. Real-host validation (#5) is still pending.
• Standalone, for trying it out: python3 retro_trivia.py. Interactive terminals use single keys without Enter or echo and detect the terminal's dimensions. Terminal settings are restored when the game exits, including on Ctrl-C. BBS launches use the host's input mode and reported dimensions.

SysOp setup

Install Python 3.11+ and copy retro_trivia.py to your door directory. Pass the caller's drop-file filename, quoting paths that contain spaces:

python3 /opt/doors/retrotrivia/retro_trivia.py "/path/to/node/DOOR.SYS"

DOOR32.SYS also works. The reader accepts case-insensitive format names, renamed files detected by their contents, LF/CRLF endings, and UTF-8 or CP437 metadata. It uses the alias (falling back to the real name), defaults to 16 colours and an 80-column display, and reads the height from DOOR.SYS. DOOR32 defaults to 24 rows and supplies the BBS name; DOOR.SYS and standalone launches display Local. Control characters and terminal escape sequences are removed from imported names before any screen uses them.

NETBBS_DOOR_INFO takes precedence, even when its JSON file cannot be read. NetBBS keeps its existing host defaults and colour selection. An unreadable or malformed classic file emits a warning to stderr and starts with Guest, Local, 80×24 and 16-colour defaults. No session data is saved.

On NetBBS (door API 5) a perfect round is reported as a perfect game event, so a chat bot can announce it, but only while the SysOp has game events on for the door (outbound.events in door_info.json). Otherwise, and on every other host, nothing is written. There are no standings: the door keeps no scores between launches.

Foreign drop files default to CP437 output. Use --encoding utf-8 for a UTF-8 terminal/bridge, or --encoding cp437 to force CP437 when trying the game standalone. --encoding auto is the default: CP437 with a classic drop file, UTF-8 otherwise. NetBBS always receives UTF-8, even with an override, because NetBBS handles its caller's encoding itself.

The following recipes use standard input/output. The host must forward single keys and match the game's output encoding. For DOOR32 stdio launches, set the communications type to local (0); type 2 selects a socket. These recipes await the field tests in #5.

Host	Stdio launch configuration
Synchronet on Linux	In SCFG → Online Programs, enable Native Executable/Script, select Standard I/O, choose DOOR.SYS and put drop files in the Node Directory. Command line: /usr/bin/python3 /opt/doors/retrotrivia/retro_trivia.py "%f". This uses CP437; add --encoding utf-8 for a UTF-8 stdio configuration.
Mystic on Linux/macOS	Use the DD external-program menu action with /usr/bin/python3 /opt/doors/retrotrivia/retro_trivia.py "%PDOOR.SYS". %P includes the trailing slash. This uses CP437; add --encoding utf-8 for UTF-8 callers.
ENiGMA½	Add an abracadabra menu entry as below; encoding: cp437 matches the game's default. For UTF-8, set it to utf8 and add "--encoding", "utf-8" to args.

doorRetroTrivia: {
    desc: Retro Trivia
    module: abracadabra
    config: {
        name: RetroTrivia
        dropFileType: DOOR
        cmd: /usr/bin/python3
        args: [ "/opt/doors/retrotrivia/retro_trivia.py", "{dropFilePath}" ]
        io: stdio
        encoding: cp437
    }
}

Host references: Synchronet door configuration, Mystic external programs, and ENiGMA½ scripts and native binaries.

For a native DOOR32 socket launch on Windows or POSIX, pass the same drop-file path and configure the host to inherit the caller's connected socket. DOOR32 line 1 must be 2; line 2 contains the inherited Winsock handle on Windows or descriptor on POSIX. Input and output then use that socket, including the splash. The door filters telnet commands, escapes outgoing IAC bytes and recognizes CR NUL/CR LF as one Enter key. Carrier loss exits cleanly; returning from the door closes its handle without shutting down the host's connection. An invalid handle reports an error instead of silently starting a stdio game. NetBBS always retains its stdio transport.

An ENiGMA½ io: socket callback server is a different launch mechanism; use its stdio recipe above. Real Windows Synchronet validation remains #5.

Development

python -m pip install pytest pytest-xdist
python -m pytest -n auto              # the suite
python tools/check_stdlib_only.py     # the door imports only the standard library
python tools/clean_scratch.py         # remove local test scratch (see AGENTS.md)

Retro Trivia was developed inside NetBBS until October 2026. Its history came along, but issue numbers in older commits and comments refer to Thiesi/NetBBS issues.

Releases

Pushing a tag such as v1.0.0 runs the suite and publishes that commit's retro_trivia.py, byte-for-byte as stored in git, with the NetBBS door profile netbbs.json (from profiles/) and a SHA256SUMS file covering both. NetBBS vendors these releases.

Every release's notes open with a NetBBS line saying whether the saved data changed. Retro Trivia keeps none, so the line always says any release can run ahead of the copy NetBBS bundles. To do that, follow NetBBS's door guide, Running a newer game release: verify the checksums, import netbbs.json with [J] Import JSON, and replace its example executable_path and install_dir with the paths on your host. The profile leaves resize_signal off because the door does not handle SIGUSR1, whose default action would end the game.

Implementation notes live in docs/engineering-notes.md.

The banner is drawn from the game's own launch splash by art/render_banner.py. The CP437 screen preview can be regenerated with python art/render_terminal_preview.py (development-only dependencies: Pillow and pyte; --font accepts a monospace TrueType font).

License

BSD 2-Clause, see LICENSE.