17 Best Coding Games for Kids In 2023

As a parent, you’re probably trying to give your kids as many skills that will benefit them in the real world as possible. Though there are tons of topics, you can teach your kids, and computer coding is one of the very best choices.

With technology advancing at an increasingly fast rate, computer programming has become one of the most sought-after skills in the job market. If you’re keen on introducing your children to computer programming and software engineering, coding games for kids are some of the best ways to do so.

This post will cover 8 of the best coding games for kids that will help build your children’s software interest and develop their brains. These games require no prior experience, and kids can play most of them right from an iPad!

8 Best Coding Games for Kids

From games that teach real programming languages like Javascript and Python to games as simple as something like Roblox Studio, here are 8 of the best coding games for kids that will appeal to students of different grades and backgrounds alike.

1. CodeMonkey

Ages: six to fourteen years old
Price: varies based on the plan ($6 / month for one child account)
Features: a game builder/game design tool, cross-curricular coding courses, block-based courses for younger kids, a coding Android and IOS app.

Want to introduce your kid to the world of software engineering? Click here!

If you want a simple coding game/course that will introduce your kid to the world of software engineering (and won’t break your bank), CodeMonkey might be a good choice for you.

CodeMonkey is an educational platform that teaches coding for beginners and prepares children for actual STEM programming in the future. CodeMonkey has an intuitive curriculum where students learn to code in real computer programming languages, solve tons of puzzles, and partake in fun games.

However, don’t let its simple layout and monkey theme fool you. CodeMonkey covers universal subjects such as function calls, arguments, variables, arrays, loops, objects, and more.

By the time your child is through with CodeMonkey, they will be well-versed in collecting virtual bananas as well as coding in CoffeeScript, Python, or both!

Click here to learn to code in real computer programming languages.

2. Codecademy

Ages: teen to young adult
Price: varies based on the plan ($19.99 / month for Pro membership)
Features: interactive content, three different plans, easy to open an account, 14 different programming languages offered, many free courses, youtube video lessons, dedicated forums for each class.

Click here to start your hands-on learning today!

Codecademy is an online coding platform that offers tons of classes to help people of all ages learn to code. Coding is not an easy skill to learn, and Codecademy provides interactive and hands-on learning to make it easier. Regardless of your age or skill level, Codecademy has something in store for you and provides you with all the skills you need to enter the professional world of coding.

Click here to start your hands-on learning today!

3. CodeSpark

Ages: five to nine years old
Price: seven-day free trial and then $9.99 / month
Features: personalized daily activities based on progress, new content every month, a Game Maker section where kids can create their code, supports three child profiles, cancel at any time.

To start a seven-day free trial, you can get started by clicking here.

CodeSpark is a simple game-based app that teaches kids coding through interactive drag and drop games. CodeSpark teaches children foundational coding concepts such as boolean logic, variables, sequencing, and even conditionals based on the scratch programming language.

At only $9.99 a month, CodeSpark is highly affordable, and kids as young as five years old or as old as nine years old play it. Tons of new content comes out every month (including puzzles, mini-games, and stories), and the best part is that CodeSpark is completely multi-sensory, meaning that kids don’t even need to be able to read to engage. So your kids will be learning to code before they can even read!

Click here to start learning foundational coding concepts!

4. Juni Learning

Ages: seven to eighteen years old
Price: varies based on plan ($140 / month for 1 session / month)
Features: live support and access to Juni advisors, progress targets like certificates of completion, a tightly knit community (Juni clubs and events), hand-matched instructors for your child.
Juni was built to prep kids for real life, showing them a path to success by teaching them to start early and learn by doing. Connected to credible instructors, Juni’s students develop the creativity, confidence, and grit. Sign up here for more!

Juni Learning was founded in 2017 by Vivan and Ruby, two students on a mission to provide kids with the proper support system, mentors, and community required to learn to code effectively. Juni Learning provides an accessible and safe way for kids of all ages to learn the skill of computer programming and has a free trial period where students can test out the program to see if they like it or not.

Juni Learning offers computer science classes and English and Math courses as a digital classroom. Bonus: the more your child attends, the cheaper Juni Learning becomes.

Click here to learn how to code effectively!

5. CodeWizardsHQ

Ages: eight to eighteen years old
Price: varies based on the plan ($149 per 12-week course)
Features: classes on real-world coding languages (Python, HTML, CSS, and Javascript), teachers dedicated to your child’s learning, support outside of class time, different programs offered to kids of differing ages, and programming ability.
If you want hands-on project based learning along with a path to real-world intership, sign up here for more!

CodeWizardsHQ is less of a game and more of a coding course for which you can sign your kids. The live online coding classes by CodeWizardsHQ give your children the programming knowledge, skills, and tools they need to succeed in the digital world.

Teachers use a student-first approach to teach classes of less than seven students, ensuring engagement and learning among all. All assignments and projects are incredibly hands-on, and there is a money-back guarantee (if you find that your child isn’t getting as much out of it as you wanted).

At $149 per course, CodeWizardsHQ is undoubtedly not a cheap option. Still, if you have a child passionate about coding and interested in improving, CodeWizardsHQ could be a good investment.

Click here to learn the tools needed to succeed in the digital world!

6. CodeCombat

If you’re looking for a game that is engaging for kids and teaches in-depth computer science skills, look no further than CodeCombat. With CodeCombat, kids get the opportunity to code their way through levels and write simple programs that will help them solve problems. 

CodeCombat also has various tools that allow parents and educators to participate in the learning process. Their mission is to democratize the learning of coding for everyone, and with every student that signs up, they are one step closer to achieving their goal.

Click here to start writing simple programs that can solve real programs!

7. Tynker

Ages: eight to eighteen years old
Price: Free
Features: maker studios, new courses, Tynker workshop, learning paths, video tutorials.
Looking for an educational platform that will engage your kids? Click here to begin.

When it comes to computer games for kids, no other educational platform can engage kids quite as well as Tynker. Tynker is a web-based platform that aims to help children learn coding from a young age. It uses simple blocks to get kids started and then advances the topics as children progress (until they can eventually develop their very own Minecraft mods). It is visually attractive, and children can access Tynker from almost any platform.

The best part? Tynker allows you to provide coding for kids free of cost! Not many coding games have that option.

Click here to start coding for free!

8. Coding Town

If your kids love Minecraft, they’ll have a blast with Coding Town. Coding Town is a simple 3D game that resembles the worlds of Minecraft and Roblox at first glance. The character is required to build items and automate systems using code, with the overall objective to make as many sales as possible.

Combining the feel of a real game and the simplicity of drag and drop code, Coding Town is a game that almost any kid will be interested in checking out.

9. Lego Boost

Lego Boost is one of the highly-rated coding games on the Apple Apps Store and Google Play Store. It is a mobile-first coding game for teens that combines the fun and creativity of Lego bricks with basic coding concepts. It is designed for beginners and teens, making it an excellent tool for introducing them to coding. 

This game has a Lego kit with motors and sensors that teens can program to move and react to their surroundings. In addition, the Lego Boost kit includes over 840 Lego bricks, which can build five different models: a robot, a cat, and a guitar. Children can follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the game to build the models or create their designs using the Lego bricks.

Teens can download this free app from the iOS App Store and Google Play. The app features a simple and intuitive coding interface that enables children to drag and drop coding blocks to program their Lego creations. The coding blocks of this game are color-coded and represent different coding concepts such as loops, conditionals, and variables.

Once children have programmed their Lego creations, they can watch them come to life and interact with their surroundings. For example, they can program their robot to move forward when it detects an obstacle or make their cat meow when it hears a loud noise. 

Unlike most coding games, Lego Boost has a physical kit, which includes Lego blocks, allowing kids to create the robot in real life. This kit costs around $289 on Amazon.

10. Code Master

Code Master is an exciting programming logic board game for children ages eight and above. This coding game is ideal for parents and educators looking to introduce young children to the fundamentals of programming and computer science in a fun and engaging way. The game is designed to teach kids the basics of coding without the need for a full-size personal computer. 

While playing this game, students assume the role of an Avatar, and they must navigate around a board to collect power crystals and land at the portal. The game has 60 different levels, so kids can enjoy a variety of challenging puzzles that teach programming basics such as planning, sequential reasoning, and problem-solving skills.

Code Master has a straightforward and intuitive UI, making it easy for kids to play and learn the basics of coding, including loops, conditionals, and functions, which are essential building blocks for coding. As the students complete each level, they develop their programming skills and confidence, ready for more advanced challenges.

You can buy Code Master at $17.97 on Amazon, which provides access to all the features and levels of the game. The only downside is that this game doesn’t have a free trial that you can use to try it out before committing to the premium version. However, it has good reviews on Amazon (4.5/5 stars from 722 ratings), so it is worth trying. 

11. Swift Playgrounds

Swift is Apple’s in-house programming language to help developers create apps for Apple’s products much faster and more efficiently. To make this language easier to learn, Apple created Swift Playgrounds, a coding game that suits people at different stages of their programming journey, including teens. 

Swift Playgrounds is a free app you can install on your iPad and Mac. The app teaches programming concepts using the Swift programming language, including commands, loops, operators, functions, conditional statements, parameters, types, and variables. 

It features various challenges and puzzles that gradually increase in difficulty, making it suitable for teens and more experienced coders. If you want to build apps for the Apple ecosystem, this coding game is for you. 

12. Lightbot

Lightbot is among the most popular educational puzzle games, designed to teach programming concepts to teens or anyone beginning their journey to learn to code. Some fundamental concepts you will learn while playing this game include sequencing, overloading, procedures, recursive Loops, and conditionals. 

The goal of this game is very straightforward; players are to guide a robot to a designated tile by programming its actions. The good news is that Lightbot is available on all major platforms, including iOS, Android, and Amazon platforms. 

Players can access this game on both mobile devices and computers. In addition, the game is free to play, making it ideal for teens who usually don’t have money to spend on these kinds of tools. 

13. Robocode

Robocode is another programming game for teens that allows them to design and program their virtual robots to compete against other players’ robots. This game was first released in 2000 and is still popular among developers, students, and coding enthusiasts. It is available for both desktop and mobile devices. 

The main goal of Robocode is to develop a robot battle tank to battle against other tanks using the Java Programming language. Players must design a robot to navigate a virtual battlefield and destroy enemy robots using different weapons and strategies. 

The game’s coding interface is straightforward, making it easy to learn coding fundamentals and advanced concepts such as object-oriented programming, inheritance, and polymorphism to create complex and sophisticated robots.

After designing the robot, players can test it against other robots in single-player or multiplayer mode, where they can compete against other players’ robots in real-time battles. The game also provides a built-in leaderboard that displays the top-ranking robots and their creators.

The good news is that Robocode is open-source and free to play, making it accessible to anyone interested in coding. 

14. Minecraft Education

If you closely follow the gaming industry, you should already be familiar with Minecraft since it is one of the most popular games. Minecraft has now been adapted for educational purposes to help beginners, including teens, learn how to code. 

Minecraft Education Edition is a version of the game specifically designed for educational use. In addition, it has a mobile version, available on iOS and Android alongside the web version. 

This game features several tools and resources that allow students and educators to explore, create, and learn in a virtual world. Among the key features of Minecraft’s coding game is its coding interface. 

Its block-based UI allows students to drag and drop blocks to create programs and mods within the game. Minecraft uses a similar approach to Scratch, another popular block-based programming language designed for kids and teens. 

While playing this game, students can learn fundamental coding concepts such as loops, conditionals, and variables in a fun and engaging way. The Education Edition of Minecraft costs $5 per user per year, making it an affordable option for schools and educators who want to use Minecraft as a teaching tool. The game also has a huge community, allowing students to share knowledge and help each other solve problems. 

15. Algorithm City

With over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store, Algorithm City is among the popular coding games for teens and anyone starting their coding journey. Algorithm City is a free platform that teaches the basics of programming and algorithms to teens and even younger kids. 

In addition, the platform features a fun and simple interface that is not intimidating for beginners to get started with coding. 

The main objective of this platform is to teach children the fundamentals of programming concepts, such as command sequencing, variables, algorithms, functions, and loops, in a fun way. In addition, it uses gamification elements to make the learning process more engaging for children. 

While using this Algorithm City, students must guide their characters by collecting golds and solving levels, reinforcing their understanding of programming concepts. In addition, the platform has a user-friendly UI, making it accessible to children of all ages, and requires no prior coding experience. 

16. Codemoji

Codemoji is an online gaming platform that uses a unique approach to teach coding to young kids. This platform uses emojis to teach coding concepts to children aged 5-14 (1st-8th grade). Codemoji designed this platform to ensure it is fun and engaging, using a simple drag-and-drop interface and colorful emoji characters to teach basic programming concepts.

Codemoji’s approach uniquely uses visual elements like emojis to represent programming concepts. For example, children can drag and drop emoji blocks to create simple code commands like loops, conditionals, and more. This approach is particularly helpful for young children who may not fully grasp the written language.

The platform also has a dashboard for parents, allowing them to stay in touch with their child’s progress in class. It also enables them to get active customer support and features so that they can learn code with their child proactively both in and out of class. 

The curriculum of Codemoji includes Designing with HTML & CSS, writing code with JavaScript, splitting problems into smaller pieces, recognizing important patterns, creating and computing models, and automating solutions to problems using algorithms.

Regarding pricing, Codemoji offers a free trial for parents and educators before subscribing. The free trial includes access to a limited number of features and games. Access to all features requires paying for the paid plan, which costs $10/month for students, $15/month for parents, and $30/month for teachers (supporting teaching up to 30 students). 

17. Scratch

Scratch is a free visual coding platform developed by MIT to introduce kids to fundamental and advanced coding concepts. With Scratch, users can create interactive stories, animations, and games by dragging and dropping code blocks. The target audience for this coding platform are kids aged 8-16. However, anyone in the early stages of coding can use it. 

One of the unique aspects of Scratch is that it has a large community of users who share knowledge and collaborate on projects. Scratch is available online and works on any device with an internet connection. In addition, it is a free tool for teens, who can access it through your browser on your computer. 

Benefits of Coding Games for Kids

Before getting into the best coding games for kids, it’s essential first to understand WHY you’d ever want to get your kids interested in coding in the first place. There are five main benefits to teaching children coding:

1. Coding develops computational thinking and logical reasoning.
2. Coding helps children learn how to problem-solve.
3. Coding enables kids to be more creative.
4. Coding develops math skills and makes STEM subjects more fun.
5. Coding builds good habits in children.

For starters, coding helps children develop computational thinking, a beneficial skill in the 21st century. Computational thinking is an approach to solving multi-disciplinary problems, and many professionals from various fields use it. Kids will naturally pick up ways to employ computational thinking by learning how to code.

Though coding can be enjoyable, almost any coder can tell you that it can also get quite challenging. Children learning to code will develop persistence and problem-solving skills that are hard to find anywhere else.

Though the coding process is highly logical, the overall activity is still creative. After all, with coding, you start with nothing and finish with a fully functional system (that YOU created). Coding is a great way to introduce children to creative thinking and encourage them to be more curious about the world.

It’s not easy to get children to learn math. After all, very few kids want to sit at a table and memorize multiplication tables all day long. Coding, however, can teach children math without them even realizing it. Of course, coding is an inherently logical process, and you’ll find that kids passionate about coding will pick up math much faster than their peers.

Coding is highly hands-on and promotes learning habits in children that they are sure to carry with them in life. Not only that, but coding also teaches kids that it’s ok to be wrong (as everyone invariably makes mistakes when coding) and encourages them to keep trying and stick with the process.

Final Thoughts: The Best Coding Games for Kids

As a parent, you’re likely trying your very best to prime your children for the future. One of the best ways is to introduce your kids to coding and software engineering as early as possible.

In today’s world of AI and new tech coming out every day, coding is becoming an increasingly essential skill. As a result, the value of coding keeps rising year after year, and people entering the workforce with some coding background find they have a much better chance at earning a job.

The question then becomes: how should you best introduce coding to your kid? One possible solution is via coding games for kids. This post has outlined 8 of the best coding games for kids of all backgrounds and skill levels. As a quick recap, the eight games are:

1. Codecademy
2. CodeSpark
3. Juni Learning
4. CodeWizardsHQ
5. CodeCombat
6. Tynker
7. CodeMonkey
8. Coding Town

From in-depth courses that will teach your kids advanced computer science concepts to simple drag and drop games to introduce your child to the basics of programming, you’re sure to find something on this list that you can sign your kid up for. If any interest you, don’t wait to jump on it! Your kid will thank you in the future for it.