In JavaScript, should I write a game loop for a turn-based game?

Question

I am using javascript and HTML5 canvas for turn-based games (e.g., checkers, mastermind, minesweeper).

Should I write a fixed-timestep game loop? What are the alternatives?

Answer 1

Constantly looping is probably unnecessary for a turn-based game.

If the only time something is going to change is when a player moves, consider using setTimeout() or requestAnimationFrame().

Here's an approximate setup:

var player = {x: 0, y: 0};

//to be executed whenever the player moves
function animate(xDifference, yDifference){
  var pixelsLeftX = xDifference,
      pixelsLeftY = yDifference,
      finishedMoving = false;

  var xInterval = setInterval(function(){
    pixelsLeftX = xDifference > 0 ? pixelsLeftX - 1 : pixelsLeftX + 1;
    if(pixelsLeftX === 0){
      clearInterval(xInterval);
      if(finishedMoving){
        continue()
      }else{
        finishedMoving = true;
      }
    }
  }, 10),
      yInterval = setInterval(function(){
    pixelsLeftY = yDifference > 0 ? pixelsLeftY - 1 : pixelsLeftY + 1;
    if(pixelsLeftX === 0){
      clearInterval(xInterval);
      if(finishedMoving){
        continue()
      }else{
        finishedMoving = true;
      }
    }
  });
}

function continue(){
  //etc
}