Robot Turtles Coding Game Overview

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Last week we introduced you to a new way games are making it to market when we told you about Alpha Bandits and their Kickstarter project. This week we bring you a proven success story also from the game world, Robot Turtles. What makes this story a little different is that it really isn’t a game, but a learning tool disguised as a game. One that I believe you will want to seriously consider for your budding computer scientist.

Use Robot Turtles to shape the mind of that young programmer in your household while disguising it as a game! - SahmReviews.comOriginally a Kickstarter project, their goal was to raise $25,000 to get the game into production and into the hands of a small amount of game-players and parents. Fast-forward a month and they successfully complete their funding with a whopping total of $631,230 raised and well over 10,000 copies pre-sold. To-date it is still one of Kickstarter’s most successful campaigns.

Now the ‘game’ has hit mainstream and is offered by game veterans, ThinkFun. We previously told you about another offering of theirs, Hoppers, and knew the quality of Robot Turtles would be just as good. Once we saw the great graphics, strong colors, solid diecutting and heavy weight of the board, we knew they hadn’t cut any corners in the manufacturing process.

Use Robot Turtles to shape the mind of that young programmer in your household while disguising it as a game! - SahmReviews.comBut as I mentioned before, this really isn’t a game. No one loses (and everyone wins). This is a computer programming lesson disguised as a kid’s game. Robot Turtles aims to teach young players the critical thinking necessary to move your turtle from point A to point B without him getting lost or running into an object. Adults act as “Masters” that move the turtle according to the instructions laid out by the player.

Use Robot Turtles to shape the mind of that young programmer in your household while disguising it as a game! - SahmReviews.comUsing the included instruction cards, you build a “program” that dictates the move of your turtle. If you’re familiar with Lego robotics, then you’ll easily understand the programming theories that they’re trying to teach.

Use Robot Turtles to shape the mind of that young programmer in your household while disguising it as a game! - SahmReviews.comOnce you successfully navigate your Robot Turtle to the gem it is trying to reach, you win. After an adult feels you have mastered a level, new items you can use become unlocked. There are stone and ice obstacles, as well as lasers to help melt the ice (all different commands in your program).

Use Robot Turtles to shape the mind of that young programmer in your household while disguising it as a game! - SahmReviews.comAll of these features are easily played by a child as young as 4, but the final unlockable will challenge everyone. That is the “function” card. This card allows you to define subroutines that lets your turtle perform a set of commands multiple times without using the same cards in repetition. Obviously a basic necessity of programming and the area where Robot Turtle really shines in getting the lesson across. Once your child masters this last bonus, they will have grasped the basic structures of nearly any computer programming language.

Now that Robot Turtles is available at retail, you can pick one up directly from ThinkFun or on Amazon for under $25. Considering the cost of private tutoring, it looks to be quite the bargain. And who can pass up turtles with lasers!

19 thoughts on “Robot Turtles Coding Game Overview

  1. Wow! “Games” have sure changed since I was a kid! Of course, we didn’t have computers then either! Looks like something I need to get in 4 years when my grandson turns 4!

  2. It amazes me what they come out with these days. I can almost say with certainty that I would not be able to master that game! However I’m sure all the kids can!

  3. I love teaching tools disguised as games! This one looks like a winner. My son was 4 when we got our first computer back in 1988, and he was the one who taught his older sister and his dad how to use it. Kids are a natural!

  4. Great post! First off, I love a great Kickstarter story! Second, I love learning tools disguised as games that help people enjoy learning no matter what the subject. I will have to give Robot Turtles a try!

  5. I love that this teaches critical thinking skills in a unique way. I can think of many students in my class who would enjoy Robot Turtles.

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