
Lightbot: Puzzles Game Using Programming Logic - karimf
http://lightbot.com
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Aissen
If you're interested in this type of games… Look at _any_ game from
Zachtronics: [http://www.zachtronics.com/](http://www.zachtronics.com/) . Plus
maybe Human Resources machines:
[https://tomorrowcorporation.com/humanresourcemachine](https://tomorrowcorporation.com/humanresourcemachine)

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bananicorn
Whoa - he's responsible for infiniminer? Considering Minecraft was built on
top of it, I wonder how much credit he's been given...

Also, most of these games actually look like you could learn something from
them, while having fun...

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whatshisface
Minecraft wasn't built on top of infiniminer, it was inspired by it. The games
are actually extremely different if you play them.

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kranner
Today's Google Doodle is relevant to this.

[https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2017/12/4/16733396/googles-
doo...](https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2017/12/4/16733396/googles-
doodle-50-years-kids-coding-december-4)

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tasuki
Check out RoboZZle, which is more advanced (including eg call stack, enabling
some fancy tricks): [http://robozzle.com/](http://robozzle.com/)

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tromp
Seconded; robozzle offers more variety and bigger challenges.

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110011
Amen. There are some truly mind bending puzzles there.

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slazaro
I remember playing it years ago, it's very well designed and even as a
software developer, some of the later puzzles took a while to figure out.

...I think I'll play again.

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Maultasche
I got this game for my kids (6 and 7). They haven't quite got the concept yet,
but I think they'll understand it soon. They can make the robot go straight no
problem, but they still have problems figuring out when to put down the left
and right tiles.

I also play the board game Robot Turtles with them. It's like a simpler
version of Lightbot with physical tiles to move around. They do understand how
Robot Turtles works, so Lightbot shouldn't be far behind.

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notanai
Similar to
[https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/](https://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/)

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afghanPower
I wish that was available for Android/PC/Linux.

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sriku
The thinkfun series is also awesome - [http://www.thinkfun.com/learn-
coding/](http://www.thinkfun.com/learn-coding/)

Appears related to lightbot, but it's closer to cellular automata - where the
robot has a state that determines its next step. It's played using cards,
which feels more fun strangely. My 10yr old loved it.

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eilyra
The name and art seemed familiar, I remember playing an old Flash version[0]
of this. Cool game from what I remember.

[0][https://www.kongregate.com/games/Coolio_Niato/light-
bot](https://www.kongregate.com/games/Coolio_Niato/light-bot)

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ropable
Anyone looking for a similar type of programming game, but as a tabletop
boardgame, look up RoboRally. It's a competitive MP game, but it's a great
basic introduction to writing a program. A good family game, as well as one to
play with adults.

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kentt
My neice and nephew love this game. They're 5 & 7\. My only complaint is that
I think the difficulty ramps up a bit fast or their could be a bit more easier
levels. Would pay for that.

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dunham
It looks like they have a Jr game - maybe that doesn't ramp up as fast?

My 5 yr old tried human resource machine the other day, got a couple of
levels, but that ramped up way too fast for him. I'm afraid that this might
ramp up a bit fast, too, but maybe the Jr version would work.

He also plays with "hopscotch" \- which is free and a little more free-form.
It has some nice tutorial videos that walk you through building various simple
games, or you can just do your own thing. (NB - he can read, which helps with
that app.)

We're also gonna give the Lego Boost a go this Christmas (partially because I
wanna play with it) - it also has a similar block-style of programming, but
you get to move a physical robot. (Or any other lego creation.)

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Double_a_92
Tricked my nieces into programming with that. :D

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sokoloff
Yeah, my kids love[d] it and it was totally worth buying it.

My one complaint was that it got too hard "all of the sudden". It seems like
more puzzles in the middle difficulty level would increase the value and
replay-ability of the game.

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hargriffle
I agree. I have been playing this with my daughter (she's 6) a bit. It is fun
and she really enjoyed the early parts.

We got to a part requiring the recursive calling of a function and she didn't
bat an eyelid at the idea of it.

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sokoloff
Yeah. Strangely [to me], my kids (then 4 and 6) had more trouble with the "do
I turn left or right?" than they did with recursion.

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_raoulcousins
Is there something similar for Xbox One? Would love to get something like this
for my niece and nephew.

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aalleavitch
I’ll definitely share this one with my nephews.

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megamindbrian2
I loved this game for years.

