Awesome Coding Games That Teach Kids to Code

Play. Have fun. Learn coding! Here are some wonderful coding games to try.

Next in our series on coding (see all of the posts here >> Homeschool Unit Study: Coding)  we cover games you can play to learn about coding.

I 100% believe in learning through games. Kids (and adults too!) can learn so much by just playing a fun game that it still really amazes me that more people don’t do this.

There are a lot of games out there to learn about coding but some of them were too confusing, were not fun (aka b.o.r.i.n.g) or didn’t really teach anything about coding at all.

To be honest it took me a long time to come up with a solid list of fun games, but here you go 🙂

The way these games teach about coding is mainly through logic or mathematical thinking.

They are really fun to play which I think is super important for keeping kids engaged.

This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All opinions are my own and I share things I think would be of interest to boys. Thanks for your support!

Coding Games to Play

With Lightbot and Lightbot Jr. you program your robot to move along the squares to light up all of the blue tiles. I played this game in the past and actually got really into it. It is challenging but also fun. My son and I enjoyed playing together and trying to figure out how to get the robot to go where we wanted it to go. Lightbot (Android), Lightbot JR (Android), Lightbot (iPhone), Lightbot (iPad)

Robozzle is super simplistic. It is a basic board with a “robot” that is actually an arrow. You have to program the robot to move over the stars. Includes a tutorial. Some like this better than others. I think if they upped the graphics a bit it would be more visually appealing.

Kodable looks like fun. I understand that it is the beginnings of the beginning of coding. So, more of a logic type puzzle game that K-2 (or beginners) can try. Free but be aware that there are paid upgrades for more levels.  Kodable (iPad)

Cargo-Bot (iPad) teaches programming and loops through game play. So sad I don’t have an iPad! I couldn’t test this one because of that but it is highly recommended in many places and people seem to really love it for the game play aspect as well. I really want to play! I love this type of game. Hope you enjoy it.

BotLogic is a fun little game. At first I thought it was way too easy but they add elements as you go along making it fun and challenging. There are 5 different age brackets from very young through adult.  The Bot is entertaining and if his beeping bothers you, just turn down the volume. Free online.

A.L.E.X. is your robot and you need to think logically and plan out where you want him to go. Not very many reviews on this one but it looks promising A.L.E.X. (iPhone), A.L.E.X. (iPad)

If your kids are into LEGO I would recommend trying LEGO Mindstorms Fix the Factory game. It was put out in 2013 and is currently free. You control EV3RSTORM through a maze to put dropped battery packs back in their place. You have to command the robot and use logic and spatial reasoning to complete the tasks. LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Fix the Factory (iPhone), LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Fix the Factory (iPad)

Last we have a free demo of Machineers. The demo version is for PC or Mac. Quirky doesn’t begin to describe the style and that is why I like it. The object of the game is to fix broken machines.

Well, that ought to keep everyone busy for a while! Try some of these fun games to get your kids on their way to coding. All of these games are fun and provide a lot of learning along the way.

See our other coding posts:

LEGO Coding Activity: Unplugged!

Coding Games: Star Wars, Minecraft, LEGO, Angry Birds

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