Ask HN: Any good examples of learning through games/puzzles, for adults?
Puzzles, games etc with the intention of teaching of some concept or topic. In any format (board games, digital games etc).
Any examples?
Any examples?
[full disclosure] I developed this. We collaborated with London Sinfonietta Orchestra to get the pedagogy right.
We aimed to make a game that is both engaging and addictive, whilst also teaching real musical skill (in contrast to say Guitar Hero :o). The pedagogy and game mechanics did clash into each other during development, we did a lot of user testing to find a balance. Raph Koster's Theory of Fun for Game Design was invaluable, as were lectures and posts by Daniel Cook.
It's a hard game, especially for people with no musical background, but nonetheless we had strong engagement.
Players who topped the leaderboard after a few months were invited to perform at a live event. They were pretty good, but then I didn't see them perform before they played the game.
There’s only one thing I wish (musician here): slightly bigger visual distance before strong beats? Or make a circle a itty bit larger? This is the only reason I might prefer musical notation for sight reading.
Technical question: can you tell about latency? What’s the typical? Is it consistent across devices?
PS now I have to beat this thing on hard...
Speaking of Steve Reich, if you haven't yet listened to his glorious Music for 18 Musicians ensemble piece (duration: 55 minutes), do give it[1] a try.
An explanation of the composition and its structure:
http://www.18musicians.com/genreunique.html
http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/catalogue/cat_detail?musicid=...
[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c
[/tangent]
Microcorruption is a fun resource for learning about reverse engineering, assembly language, and cybersecurity (the concept is that you're going through the assembly code of dev kits of different versions of software-controlled locks to find vulnerabilities that can then be exploited to get into warehouses full of MacGuffins). I've gotten through about half of the stages so far--they get really tough, but it is extremely satisfying to successfully complete one!
I also really enjoyed the couple of Zachtronics games I've played (I've done the first 5 stages or so of Konstructor: Engineer of the People and I managed to get through all the main modules in TIS-100)
Lightbot is a cute app for initial programming concepts through puzzles (program a robot to walk around a grid and light up various squares)
Learn virtually any programming language by completing series of puzzles. Tests are all written for you. They just made a huge overhaul of their UX, and it’s really nice looking. I’m using it to try to learn Rust and Elixir at the moment.
Their new look is a lot less devilish. :)
https://projecteuler.net (more mathy)
https://www.topcoder.com/challenges
https://halite.io (machine learning + game)
https://www.enki.com (coding challenges on mobile)
https://flexboxfroggy.com (CSS)
https://www.datacamp.com (data science challenges)
https://www.codingame.com/start (learn to code via fun games)
https://screeps.com (cool MMO AI game w/ JS coding)
I wish projecteuler would provide more hints/explanations. Adventofcode problems are fun but are random (not like a curriculum). Other websites are competitive programming focused which I'm not sure is comp-sci enough (correct me if I'm wrong).
1. Read the Algorithm Design Manual.
2. Practice coding simple and then more advanced algorithms on sites like Coderbyte (aimed at beginners -> intermediate) and HackerRank (a bit more mathy).
3. Read as many algorithm explanations and code examples as you can on GeeksforGeeks.
4. Try and implement basic algorithms yourself like: shortest path, minimum spanning tree, DFS/BFS, tree traversals, different sorting algs, min/max heap, etc. and learn their running times.
* Also this article may be helpful for you: https://medium.com/coderbyte/how-to-get-good-at-algorithms-d...
Nicky Case has a knack for explaining complex systems in simple ways through games
This game challenges the player to create more and more complex automated systems.
If you liked Technic Mods for Minecraft, you’ll love Factorio.
Wonderful game, extremely engrossing: everything you do is a choice between long-term utility and time until implementation - Do you make something that will do what you need for the next five minutes in 1 min of building or something that will do what you what you need for days with a 20 mins of building?
Everything is a good choice, but some choices speed up your growth faster than others. I've had many nights where I've gotten sucked in and played for hours before realizing how late it is. Games with exponential growth curves that are able to still achieve balance create such an exhilarating feeling of progress.
I don't think its enough to actually learn language on its own, so it's best used mixed with a more formal method of language learning. It's fun and addictive enough that I actually keep using it, so that makes it good to me.
I started Chinese, and it just seems so much of a mish-mash - it's like they just randomise testing and eventually you glean enough from the test questions to answer.
With French the closest I've come to learning, that I can point to, is from users answers to comments from other user. And the good and bad are mixed, there's no clarity.
I appreciate the idea that the episodes are life stories instead of fake cafe scenes. The stories are interesting, and sometimes intense. The CEO / cofounder talks about a kidnapping in his family in the last episode of season one.
The small english summaries every few sentences helps provide context. That helps with context for the words I'm not familiar or strong with.
The language used is intermediate level. Personally I am below that level, but have gotten value from episodes.
> This is a Mastery Game. Each section unravels part of the plot, gives you mastery over a new flexbox concept, and presents zombie survival challenges that force you to solidify your new skills like your life depends on it.
https://flexboxzombies.com [free]
He also has a new one called "Grid Critters", which I'm unfamiliar with but it looks like it's a similar thing but space themed and for CSS Grid instead of Flexbox.
https://www.gridcritters.com [paid]
His blog is also really awesome too: http://gedd.ski/
Just enough gamification, and enough straight concepts to allow me to build confidence quickly and make it a bit easier to remember the knobs flexbox offers.
http://nandgame.com was posted on HN recently and I found it to be fun and educational: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17508151
A few years ago I tried to get into vim off and on for over a year. I played this game for a few hours and all of a sudden I had the muscle memory needed to navigate vim. I've been a happy vim user for years now.
I can't explain it, but there is something about games that really reinforce this kind of learning.
Vim Adventures was so effective because it only lets you use the keys that it teaches you, and slowly expands the key set over time. Well worth the $25 if you want a guided introduction.
Gracker: https://www.smrrd.de/creating-a-hacking-game-part-1-introduc...
Overthewire: http://overthewire.org/wargames/
Exploit Exercises: https://exploit-exercises.com/
PicoCTF: https://picoctf.com/
P.S. I would love to work on making educational puzzles. If anyone is similarly passionate about it, please message me.
If you try to go through his books encoding the puzzles and their solutions in Coq, then you'll learn quite a lot about Coq and constructive mathematics also.
Have you found it worthwhile to learn Coq?
Encoding (a subset of) the puzzles as SAT problems for something like z3 would be an alternative to Coq.
The public game room has lots of general random topics, or you can create a private group and make your own challenges with any topics you like.
This is a personal/passion project of mine (and has gotten fairly popular these days). I'm actively working on improving the game, by adding category specific games, different game modes, etc.
Not a game but a book about a game, but learning the game helps you learn probability, permutations and combinations.
https://www.khanacademy.org/mission/math (need login)
A very addictive game if you want to improve your typing.
It was a graphical dungeon in orange/black 512x512 where you used medicines to attack diseases. Medical students used it to learn pharmacology.
The PLATO network functionality predates much of the internet.
<<PLATO's most popular game, is one of the world's first MUDs and has over 1 million hours of use.[citation needed]. The games Doom and Quake can trace part of their lineage back to PLATO programmer Silas Warner.>>
Really appreciated this back when I was first introduced to CSS Flexbox.
https://github.com/dakaraphi/development-resources/blob/mast...
How to be social through New York Nights and Miami Nights (mobile games).
Anthropology/History through Civ... Obviously :)
...this is if you don't look up hints/other people's designs, of course.
Minorly successful, fun atleast. I'd suggest it
And if you are into geopolitics, history, wargaming, classical, etc, 0AD ... https://play0ad.com
It teaches facts about all kinds of subjects hidden in a crossword-like game. Free to play, with IAP hints. 4.7 rating.
It's a printable, app-supported escape game. There's also a mission editor for creating custom missions.
"This is a different way to learn about crypto than taking a class or reading a book. We give you problems to solve. They're derived from weaknesses in real-world systems and modern cryptographic constructions. We give you enough info to learn about the underlying crypto concepts yourself. When you're finished, you'll not only have learned a good deal about how cryptosystems are built, but you'll also understand how they're attacked."
Factorio does a decent job teaching the intuition behind running a factory.
1. Monopoly, with no "house rules" - play it exactly as written in the game manual. Monopoly was created as a teaching tool about the outcomes of unregulated capitalism, and it is a very, very good teacher. At some point, one or two players will accrue enough wealth to become the clear winners, and all the other players will start a slow spiral into poverty. Over the years people have added "house rules" in an attempt to make the game more friendly and fun, which is completely missing the point. It's not intended to be friendly or fun, it's intended to educate!
2. The Parable of the Polygons: https://ncase.me/polygons/. Arguably not much of a game or a puzzle, but its use of interactive game-ish mechanics makes the story much more impactful.
hair-nah, to teach people not to touch black women's hair. http://hairnah.com/
Released by IBM in 2001 and still going strong. Learn about geometry, trig, stats, ML, control theory, game theory and more to control robots in a 2D tank-style game.
it was a couple of days ago on HN, really loved it and learned something from it.
Basic algebra, but from a more proof-oriented perspective.
Functional programming concepts in a visual presentation.
Game that attempts to teach intuition about quantum mechanics and particularly quantum computer circuits.
I've learned a lot from coding board/puzzle games into playable programs/solvers: Boggle, Scrabble, Kakuro, etc.
Fast-paced chess puzzles for teaching chess tactics through pattern recognition
Not widely known at the time or now, so perhaps not a very successful example.
An example of too much advertising having adverse effect, at least on me :p
115 comments without any mention, is this too obvious?
pythonchallenge.com changed the course of my career and I'm grateful for it.
By scaffolding good conversations, it helps a group learn _from each other_ as well as _how to converse_. Through our trials, I've been delighted to see how well it works with families. I've learnt much about my children's thinking and feelings.
A bit more info: We believe two things are needed to bring together differing groups into fruitful dialogue. Firstly, a set of clear, explicit, and strict rules that everyone submits to (regardless of existing power structures). Secondly, a relaxed, playful and fun context. These two seem in tension, and yet we integrate them all the time - with games.
Conversa is a tabletop game that helps a group talk about the big things in life in a way that's real, safe, and fun. It's an ideation and conversational scaffold that uses game dynamics to create the right amount of structure to let conversations flourish. It was designed by award-winning game designer, Tim Roediger, from an original concept by Martin Olmos.
Conversa is the anti-Facebook experience. Players meet in person, facing each other rather than their screens. They share an intimate time where it's 'just us', with no wider audience watching or judging. They respond to a prompt creatively, from a limited set of image cards. They get to see each other smile, hear each other chuckle, while tasting a shared drink. Each gets a turn without being shouted down, although no one has to say more than they want to. It's a real game, with a score and a winner. But there's a twist - the points go to the player who opens opportunities for others to speak up. Rather than insults, the outcome is conversation that builds relationships with listening, learning, and laughing.
We've trialled it in organisational contexts and with children as young as eight. We're looking at applications in design, team ideation, project reviews, risk assessment, and more. Below are two examples: Project Management: http://blog.lifeandeverything.net/post/147037633043/gaming-f... Focus Groups: http://blog.lifeandeverything.net/post/147037631598/gaming-f...
We are exploring paths to market. We are also exploring ways for larger groups (50-200) to use the game (e.g. company conferences, strategy development).
Disclosure: I'm in the two-person design team.
Wargaming is in general a good way to pick up information on historical topics. Most developers that are in that niche put a lot of effort into doing the research, and there is typically a lot of information baked into the in-game documentation at your fingertips, not to mention being a springboard for Wikipedia safaris.
My son loves Crusader Kings 2 (and EU3), and had such an easy time in his history class because of this. He knew the geography of Europe down cold.
He's currently digging into Hearts of Iron IV.
To be honest these grand strategy games aren't really my thing but I should give them a shot. Their systems just seem overwhelming to a new player.
you're also 100% correct regarding geography. it's hard to get a real feeling for exactly how huge asia is until you're having difficulty getting supply to your front line deep in northwestern china. not to mention that i have a pretty good feeling for where all of the tiny pacific islands are now (attu island, i'm looking at you).
In particular:
Opus Magnum
Shenzhen I/O
TIS-100
SpaceChem