12 games that teach children programming

Programming is now very popular. Around the world, 36 million children take part in the activities of the Hour of Programming movement. The goal of these events is to help children become active, rather than passive users of technology, and also gain knowledge that in the future can help get a good job in our increasingly technical world.

Even if your children do not want to make a living by programming in the future, a basic understanding of the principles of programming develops thinking and, in the future, the child copes better with the solution of emerging problems. Bill Gates once said: “If you learn to create programs, it develops your mind, helps you think better and creates an image of perception of things. In general, I think that it will be useful for a person regardless of his field of activity. ”
')
Platforms such as Scratch and Alice allow children (and adults) to create their own games and animations using simplified programming techniques. However, not all children are interested. And for such children there are many games that teach the basic principles of programming in a fun and accessible way.


We have selected several available options, including some games that are still in development, so you do not have to search them feverishly. These games are available on different platforms - iOS, Android, PC, Mac, there are even board games - many of them, and this is a huge plus, are distributed for free.

Lightbot and Lightbot Jr.

For whom: age 4-8 years (Lightbot Jr), 9+ (Lightbot)
Platform: Web Browsers, iOS, Android
Price: Free (browser), $ 3 (iOS / Android)
More information: Browser game, iTunes, Google Play

Expert Opinion: “With seeming simplicity, Lightbot covers some interesting aspects of advanced programming” - Fritz Reher, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Willamette, Oregon.

Signature: In many schools, the game Lightbot is used to teach the basics of programming. This game is used even in some universities.

Lightbot is a programming puzzle game created by Danny Yaroslavsky, a Canadian student. The goal of the game is to make the robot highlight all the blue tiles on the 3D grid. The difficulty is that it needs to be done in one approach, creating a series of commands for the robot.

Yaroslavsky says that Lightbot teaches planning, testing, debugging, procedures, and cycles. Your children will definitely enjoy playing with a cute robot, forcing him to highlight all the tiles in one approach.

You can play the free version of the game, which offers an hour of playing time. And you can play for free both on the computer and on your mobile device. And if this is not enough, then two full versions of Lightbot for different age groups are now being sold on iTunes and Google Play.

Code monkey island

For whom: age 8+
Platform: board game
Price: $ 40 +
More info: Code Monkey Island game website, Kickstarter
Expert opinion: “Code Monkey Island is an amazingly fun game that introduces children to programming” - Phil Shapiro, a teacher and technology activist.

Signature: Code Monkey Island will not make your children programmers by magic, but they will teach them the basics of programming.

A resident of Brooklyn Raj Sidhu wanted to explain the basics of programming to children in a fun way. He chose a completely non-technical solution for solving a highly technical problem and introduced the basics of binary logic and conditional commands into the family board game.

Playing Code Monkey Island is quite simple, and the game takes a little time — only about 45 minutes. Players use cards with instructions like "Move each monkey three cells, NOT stepping on the rocks" in order to move their monkey teams around the island.

Sidhu chose the format of the board game, because such games unite the family. “I wanted to create something that children, their parents and grandparents can play. However, I wanted to help children through the game to realize their learning abilities, ”he says on his Kickstarter page.

The game Code Monkey Island was a successful project on Kickstarter. In August, this game should already get spread. You can reserve one copy of this game for yourself by transferring $ 40 or more to the Kickstarter project fund.

Kodable

For whom: age 5-8 years
Platform: iOS
Price: Free ($ 7 - Pro version)
More info: Kodable game website, iTunes
Expert opinion: “Kodable game develops programming skills, as a result of which even small children can learn programming. They don't even need to be able to read to learn. ”- Terry Ackholz, teacher of the K-5 program for gifted children, Texas

Signature: Co-founder Grechen Hübner reports that even two-year-olds can play Kodable.

Kodable is a maze game with 105 levels. This game helps teach children the basics of programming such as conditions, cycles, functions, and debugging.

The game does not use text at all, so even small children can play it. The heroes of the game are very bright, they look like funny aliens and they really like children.

“Adults are so afraid of programming, they consider programming to be terrible and difficult,” says co-founder of the Kodable game, Grechen Hübner, in an interview with TechRepublic. “It's funny that many adults underestimate the capabilities of their children. And the fact that we offer children the opportunity to solve different tasks at such an early age proves how clever children are. ”

In the free version of Kodable 45 levels. In the application itself, you can buy different levels and configurations. The Pro version, which costs $ 7, also has lessons for vocabulary expansion and instruction for learning.

Robozzle

For whom: age 6+ (and adults)
Platform: web browser, iOS, Android, Windows phone
Price: Free (browser version), $ 0- $ 2 (mobile version)
More information: browser version of the game, iTunes, Google Play, Windows application store
Expert opinion: “Robozzle is positioned as a social puzzle game, but I see it as a fun and interesting way to learn programming. And, perhaps, with the help of this game, it will turn out to interest children in programming. ”- Alfred Thompson, a computer science teacher in high school.

Caption: At first glance, the game Robozzle is very simple. But soon the player will be able to make sure that everything is not so simple.

If you are looking for an activity for older children (or for yourself), try playing Robozzle. This is a puzzle game that Igor Ostrovsky, a Microsoft programmer, created in his free time.

The task of Robozzle is to lead the robot through the mazes using limited commands. The difficulty levels of the game vary: some levels are suitable for children, and some tasks will make even experienced programmers scratch their heads.

In the browser version of this game, you can play for free (using Silverlight), as well as players can create, vote and comment on new levels.

Robozzle is available on iOS, Windows Phone 7 and Android. Prices vary.

Cargo-bot

For whom: for children from 5 years and adults
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
More information: iTunes
Expert opinion: “Excellent application for iPad for learning programming. With his help, he taught his two children ”- Mike Lawrence, teacher and co-founder of Google Teacher Academy.

Signature: The game Cargo-Bot for iPad was created using the Codea application

Cargo-Bot is the first game written specifically for the iPad. Simple levels of this game are suitable for children from 5 years old, however, the really difficult levels start next.

Players must move the boxes around the plant using a moving crane. It uses programming concepts such as cycles, procedures, and debugging.

“I wanted to create a game, the meaning of which is to move the boxes around the factory. Forget that you're actually a programmer, ”said game developer Rui Viana in an interview with Fast Company.

Spacechem

For whom: for children from 10 years and adults
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Price: Free demo version, $ 7 (Steam), $ 3 (iOS / Android)
More info: SpaceChem, Steam, iTunes, Google Play website
Expert opinion: “I think SpaceChem is the best programming programming game available.” - Neil Brown, computer science researcher, University of Kent, UK.

Signature: SpaceChem is used by many schools in the educational process, but it’s also a game.

SpaceChem game is a combination of programming and pseudochemistry in a science fiction setting. However, this game has received excellent reviews since its release in 2011.

This game is quite complicated, so it makes you think of both high school students and adults. The goal of SpaceChem is to build a mechanism for dealing with monsters, using such programming concepts as application execution, cycles, transitions and subroutines. The company-developer Zachtronics Industries explained in what exactly the value of this game.

“SpaceChem is a game that I would like to give myself at the age of 12 to go crazy solving puzzles,” as written in the Gaming to Learn educational blog. “When you hear people talking about the importance of learning how to write code, they talk about this game. Such games teach the player to think. ”

Robot turtles

For whom: 3-8 years
Platform: board game
Price: $ 25
More info: Robot Turtles, Kickstarter website
Expert opinion: “Start learning as early as possible! This is amazing! The future now looks much more inspiring. ”- John Ledger, Chairman of the Board, T-Mobile

Signature: Playing Robot Turtles.

This board game, which teaches children programming, last year raised $ 600,000 to Kickstarter. Given that, at first, funding of $ 25,000 was required.

The game was in demand. And this is not surprising, since Robot Turtles teaches the basics of programming through the instruction cards that control the passage of turtles through the maze. The original 25,000 copies of the game sold out in a jiffy. Children should use limited syntax, a sequence of commands, and debugging when they make a mistake. The creator of the game, Dan Shapiro, says that understanding how to play appears in a few seconds.

“I really believe that programming is a super power that you can offer your children. This is the way to ensure that they will not stay away from the innovations of the future, ”Shapiro told TechCrunch.

Robot Turtles was recently acquired by a company that produces and sells ThinkFun games and has already become available to the mainstream market this month.

Code Combat

For whom: 13+ (or younger, subject to supervision / instruction)
Platform: web browser
Price: Free
More info: Code Combat game website
Expert Opinion: “A very creative and exciting way to learn how to program through the game” - Jason Battles, deputy dean for the development of technological library processes and policies, University of Alabama

Caption: Code Combat is a fun combination of wizards, warriors, ogres and programming.

Code Combat is the only game from our list in which players must use the code in its pure form (currently Javascript, experimental support for CoffeeScript, Python, Clojure and Lua). Do not let this fact knock you out of the saddle, as the game Code Combat is a great opportunity to learn with pleasure.

You can start with the single player levels of this game in the "fantasy" genre, and then apply your acquired programming knowledge to other players.

Code Combat is expected to remain free to play, since the main income of developers is the offer to companies of high-level players. Yes indeed: by playing this game, you can get a job.

Ludos (Puzzlets)
For whom: 4-12 years old
Platform: PC, Mac, iOS
Price: $ 100
More info: Digital Dream Labs
Expert opinion: “What distinguishes Cloudboard (Ludos panel interface) among other products currently available is not only a combination of the physical and digital world, but also the development of collaboration skills” - Terry Aicholts, K-5 teacher for talented children, Texas

Signature: Tiles are used in the game Ludos, so programming becomes tactile for children.

The Ludos game is due out in August of this year. The goal of the game is to make programming a real practical experience for children. Ludos allows players to place tiles with teams directly on the grid, programming the actions of the characters of the game.

Cork the Volcano will be the first Ludos game with a strong focus on programming basics such as scheduling, sequencing, and debugging. In the future, other games will appear in the system, because this system is an open platform, and therefore everyone can create applications for it.

Codemancer

For whom: 9-14 years old
Platform: PC, Mac, iOS, Android
Price: $ 20
More info: Important Little Games website, Kickstarter
Expert opinion: “Playing in the“ fantasy ”genre with the main character, who teaches children (and adults!) Programming? I like everything in this game! ”- Lauren Scott, web developer and junior instructor, Dev Bootcamp

Signature: Codemancer collected 4 times more money on Kickstarter than originally stated.

Codemancer developers hope that after the release, which is scheduled for next summer, the game will be distinguished by its interesting plot and heroine.

After launching this successful Kickstarter project, players will use magic runes to control actions, helping the heroine Aurora to save the life of her father. Creator Robert Lockhart hopes that the accessibility of the game will destroy all the barriers that impede children's understanding of programming.

“The language of the Codemancer game is very accessible,” says Lockhart on his Kickstarter page, “but it’s also easy to translate into different programming languages. Programs become more complex when we introduce programming concepts such as variables, conditions and functions. ”

Machineers

For whom: 8-14 years old
Platform: PC, Mac (iPad version in development)
Price: Free demo version
More info: Machineers game website
Expert opinion: “It seems that the game Machineers will be the best example of an educational game” - Paul Hayes, programmer and game developer

Signed: Machineers won the Best Educational Game nomination at the 2012 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge in Florida.

Machineers is an adventure style game in which users deal with broken devices. Players must fix the device using programming principles and a drag-and-drop interface.

Enrique Lode, a member of the Danish Lohika Games team of Machineers developers, decided to release this adventure puzzle after one child tester complained that all educational games are like “broccoli in chocolate”.

“This game is a preparation for further learning,” Lode told Indie Statik in an interview. “There is no math and code in the game, so children will not be able to learn how to program. However, the game develops logical thinking and what is called procedural literacy - the ability to read and write processes. ”

While the game is in the development of the Machineers demo for PC and Mac, you can download it for free. Lohika Games plans to launch a full-fledged game for the iPad.

Bee bot

For whom: 4-7 years
Platform: iOS
Price: Free
More information: iTunes
Expert opinion: “Do not pay attention to the device itself, just try and make mistakes, put forward hypotheses, test, test and achieve success” - Dog Peterson, Session Teacher, Faculty of Education, Windsor University, Canada

Signature: Many schools use the Bee-Bot game to learn the basics of programming.

The developer of educational games TSS created BeeBot to help children understand the object programming language and the sequence of programming commands. A simple and accessible application has 12 levels of limited execution time, which are labyrinths with a constant increase in the level of complexity.

For children over 7 years old there is an additional application called BeeBot Pyramid. It is distributed at a price of $ 0.99.