Matthew BaileyToday I am really pleased to be talking about Coder.IO, a brand new educational coding game out on Kickstarter today.
Jack (10) is a massive fan of coding, so this game was right up his street, and he was really eager to play when the game landed on our doorstep. Toby also joined us for some of our games. Please note this is a prototype, so there may be some changes for the final version, but I understand that it is very close to complete.
To kick things off, each player picks a robot. These “beeples”, as they are called — which is ridiculously cute — are used as your character for the game. They are big, chunky, and lovely to use. Then you take the map tiles and split them into piles based on the little number in the corner. For your first game, you only need the ones with a “1”. Give those a shuffle and lay them out in a 5 by 5 grid to make your map. As you progress through later levels, you use the higher-level cards. I really like this approach, especially with younger kids, as it allows you to gradually introduce more complex concepts.
Next, roll the direction die. It tells you which way your robot is facing at the start: up, right, down, or left. Place a direction token on the start tile to show which way you’re heading.
Each player gets a starter set of code cards. These include a green flag, a couple of basic “move” cards, one for jumping, one for ducking, a “save” card, a “pick up”, and a couple of “turn 90 degrees” cards. There’s also one card that lets you repeat a small bit of your code twice — which we quickly realised was essential for completing some of the later levels. There are also some cards such as “if… then”, which don’t come into play until those later levels, again allowing you to gradually introduce new challenges.
Lastly, put a code card on each signpost space on the board. These allow you to “draw” new cards to build your deck, and you’ll often want to go out of your way to grab these cards as they give you more options later on.
The game is played over six levels, and each level can last up to four rounds depending on how well you do. Each round has two main phases: building your code, and then executing it. While it is competitive, you could very much play it cooperatively and use it as a coding teaching tool.
Everyone starts planning their code at the same time, beginning with their green flag card — basically your robot’s “go!” signal. You lay out a sequence of code cards — little movement instructions like move forward, jump, duck, etc. — which tell your robot exactly what to do when it’s their turn to run the program. This is easy to follow and lines up extremely well with programs like Scratch or Microsoft Blockcode that many kids will have used in school.
Then you execute the code. Players take turns running through their laid-out instructions, starting with whoever’s got the expedition leader token, which you pass around each turn. You follow your cards from top to bottom, starting at the green flag and doing each action one by one, watching your robot bumble its way through the map.
As well as the important repeat card, there’s also a save card that lets you save your robot’s position, so assuming no one else completes the run that turn, you can start from that saved spot next time. This is really important in the later levels as things get more and more complex.
If no one makes it to the end, you lose a life and try again. If there are no lives left, the level ends in failure — but you simply set up a new one and keep going. This is a great idea as it means you can’t get too frustrated on a potentially tricky level.
At the end of level six, everyone adds up how many diamonds they’ve collected. Whoever’s got
the most wins!
Overall, we really like Coder.IO and, as an educational tool, it is really strong.
The wooden robot beeples are chunky, colourful, and full of character. Each one’s got its own little identity, and we spent way too long choosing our favourites. The tiles are thick and bright, the cards are clear and well designed, and the tokens feel good. Obviously, this is a prototype, but I see no reason the quality will dip for the final version.
The gameplay is snappy and fun to play, and any kids into coding will get a kick out of it. Plus, the ideas line up really well with what they’re doing in school — at least here in the UK. I really like the way the game ramps up.
One minor issue is that, due to the level-based nature of the game, there’s quite a bit of setup needed between each level. I appreciate this is unavoidable, but it did mean there was a bit of waiting around for the kids while I got everything ready.
All in all, it’s a wonderful little game, and I would definitely recommend taking a look at the Kickstarter — which is live today!
Here is the link – CODER.IO: the adventurous family board game by Vinea Games — Kickstarter
Disclaimer: A prototype copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
