Five Fun Games to Teach Kids Coding
Botley Can Play in Many Fun Ways
In the world of modern tech coding skills are in high demand, but few realize how fun coding can be. With Botley the Coding Robot Activity Set you can get your kids to understand the logic in programming and coding in no time at all. Teach your kids to code and have an absolute blast with these fun games.
My kids say Botley is their new best friend!
Run the Course
Botley comes with items to help build a sort of maze or course you can guide him through. How it’s put together is up to the imagination. Have your kids set up their very own course and take turns seeing who can not only navigate Botley through it accurately but also the quickest. Start with easy mazes and work up to more challenging ones with obstacles in the way.
Memory
There are a couple of different ways this can be played, depending on your child’s best learning style. Set out the colored tiles in any sort of pattern and configuration. Set Botley at one end or section and have the goal be to reach another section. The first person gets a certain amount of time, say 30 seconds, to look at and memorize the board and the needed path. They must then turn their back and code Botley to move through the sequence accurately.
Goal!
Set up the cones with the flags at either end of the course. One person is the goalkeeper and the other is the striker. The goalkeeper gets to position the flag at the opposite end. Set a designated colored block opposite a flag. Start Botley in the middle with his arms attached. Once the striker has reached the block, they get to program one move, then it’s the goalkeeper’s turn. The goalkeeper can choose to move the flag or keep it where it is. The goalkeeper also has two blocks in a different color. On their move they can choose to place one block as an obstacle the striker must maneuver around without touching it or moving it. Players take turns until a stalemate is reached, which is a point for the goalkeeper, or Botley reaches the flag, which is a point for the striker. Try to reach a set amount of points OR set a time limit and whoever has the most points is the winner.
Matching Pairs
Set up the six colored tiles in a block. You can set it up any way you like with the colors in any order. Now get six mini blocks, 2 blue, 2 green, and 2 orange. Set them on non-matching colored tiles. Code Botley to move the color block to their matching tiles. Just be sure you get them all in the correct place. Want to grab two at a time and drop them in the appropriate spots? Go ahead!
Follow the Leader
This is an easy and fun game for younger kids. Botley has a “follow the line” feature. The backsides of the colored tiles have a thick black line on a white background. Set Botley to the “line” setting and as soon as he “sees” it, he will follow it! My kids love drawing a line on paper to make their own trails. When he reaches the end he turns around and heads back.
Final Thoughts
My kids simply adore Botley. When they can code step by step it teaches them logical thought, patience, and problem-solving. With advanced features like Loop and Object Detection, even older kids can easily pick up coding and learn a lot. I have 20 years of coding experience and I love playing with it. I challenge myself with longer sequences and loops and I still have to troubleshoot, but it makes it fun! Kids will love these games and his cute voice. My 5-year-old is even starting to figure out how to code a full sequence to get Botley to do what he wants. It is recommended for ages 5 and up and you can find Botley the Coding Robot Activity Set here.
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Mia Rose says
This looks like it would be a fun game for my grandkids 4 through 10 years old since it is something that has so many aspects to it and they could all have fun and learn with it.