Free Coding Games to Learn Programming for Beginners

There are plenty of learn to code games on the Internet. The problem is that many of them ask for money, and unless you watch them being played on YouTube, then you have no idea if they are any good. Ideally, you want some good free games to get you started, so here are a few you can try. 

Codemonkey

https://www.codemonkey.com/

This platform has quite a few games that are aimed at beginners and intermediate coders. Helping to ease people in with cute graphics and easy-to-use interfaces, it is ideal for young and old coders. CodeMonkey uses game-based learning (gamification) to help people flex their programming muscles, and there are a slew of different courses a user can take to improve their overall coding skills. The system is set up for independent learners, for classrooms, and there are tools for teachers and coaches too. 

Elevator Saga

http://play.elevatorsaga.com/

If you are looking to improve your JavaScript coding, then this free game will pass a bit of time and help you improve. You are given an objective at the top of the screen, and you are given the start of a program. You need to fill in the correct JavaScript coding to reach the objective. You then test your work by pressing the start button. The timer starts, the program runs, and you get to see if you entered the correct coding.

Code Wars

https://www.codewars.com/

There are games on this platform that allow you to use 55 different programming languages. Each language has a series of games attached, though the most popular languages have the most games. This is because many of the games were made by the community. Play the games and check your answers as you go, looking at and seeing solutions to figure out if they match and/or are better than the solutions you gave.

Cyber Dojo

https://www.cyber-dojo.org/creator/home

The Cyber Dojo tool allows you to practice various coding problems using languages like Ruby, JavaScript, PHP and Python. You enter the practice area and it gives you a series of programming problems to solve and/or practice. Select the one you wish to learn and/or get better at, and then enter the code using the premise you are given through the tool. Learn how to code things like a filename range or random things like retail math miscalculation.

VIM Adventures

https://vim-adventures.com/

This game teaches you how to use VIM shortcuts. The VIM program is a highly configurable editor that some programmers use. By playing this very simple game in your web browser, you learn the various different shortcuts that VIM users enjoy. It makes you a better and/or more efficient VIM user by helping you memorize the shortcuts by playing this game.

Robocode

https://robocode-dev.github.io/tank-royale/

In this game, you build in-game tanks using ks in Java or .NET. There is a thing called RoboTank Royale, which is a user friendly extension of the original tank-building program. The Royale version is just as newbie friendly, though you will need to know a fair amount of JavaScript and .NET if you want to dive right in and start having fun.

FlexBoxDefense

http://www.flexboxdefense.com/

This is a game that allows you to practice your CSS skills. You have to stop incoming enemies from getting past your defenses by adding in the right types of CSS coding. It starts out fairly simply, giving you directions and instructions. It then gets a little more complex as you push through the game. The odd thing is that this game teaches you the code but puts it in a very different context. It would be like learning to drive a car, but learning it through cake making, and where you walk away knowing how to drive, it is still a weird way to learn.