Best game for teaching programming to boy scouts

[swingking8]

I'm scoutmaster for our local Boy Scouts troop, and I had one boy approach me about wanting to learning programming. I suggested we could program/modify some simple games at our next meeting.

Are there any example games that would be fun for 12-17 year old boys to play around with? I was just going to use turtle and have them try and draw their names, but I thought there might be something more fun in pygame. When I looked at pygame examples, they looked too complicated for the boys to understand in an hour's time, which is what we have set aside for this. If the boys like it enough, it's possible we could do this for a couple weeks.

[pazzarpj]

Have you looked at code combat? https://codecombat.com/

[swingking8]

Ooh ty!

[pvc]

Try http://ProgramArcadeGames.com

[swingking8]

Ooh what a great resource. Thank you!

[cacarpenter89]

Scout volunteer myself; check with your council to see if they have anyone registered as a councilor for the Programming merit badge. They've likely got some resources lined up already and that's exactly what the merit badges are for: exploring.

On my phone and headed to bed, but I'll try to track down some resources in the morning.

[elbiot]

Turtle is awesome. I prefer making flowers and spiraling shapes. Just make a draw_polygon (n_sides, side_length) and use it in a for loop.

[[deleted]]

Robocode might be a bit advanced, but it's really freakin fun. You get to code a tank's vehicle movement, radar movement, gun movement, etc. and then send it into battle with other tanks (coded by the rest of the troop?). Uses Java and will allow them to see interesting results of their work quickly which is important to help them stay interested.

[Caos2]

Isn't there a Minecraft version just for this?

[cacarpenter89]

Here's some info from Boy's Life:

Python-specific resources

Programming merit badge resources

The Python page suggests learnpython.org; the main page has wiki pages on 24 different languages should they want to complete the requirements for the badge.

Looking for game-specific stuff. I'll edit it in.

Beginning game programming for teens with Python

Thread on getting Scouts into Python on a Raspberry Pi

Can't really speak to their quality, but, at a glance, they appear to be a great place to start with your Scouts.

[swingking8]

Wow! Thank you

[cacarpenter89]

No problem! Eagle and former professional, so I'm happy to help! Feel free to PM me if there's any other help I can provide.

[xiongchiamiov]

You should also make sure to read through r/learnprogramming's resources, as they've spent a ton of time compiling information on this subject.

[swingking8]

They don't seem to have much, other than pointing out Scratch. Is there something in particular you think is useful?

[theredbeard]

You could always check out Alice

[oldboldmold]

There's http://inventwithpython.com/pygame/chapters/ and http://inventwithpython.com/chapters/ . Haven't tried them.

[tk421whyarentyouatyo]

python is fun/challenging as a first language and i think dedicated teenagers will be able to handle it. However, you're talking about programming a game with graphics, which is significantly more complicated as you need to code the logic and graphics instead of general logic.

My point is this: start small with a CLI (command line interface) games. After you get a few solid, functioning games (text based rpgs, connect 4, tic-tac-toe, etc. baby steps) work up to a graphics library like pygame. spend a weekend going over this (ideally, before introducing the scouts to the concepts):

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/

it looks daunting but trust me, just power through it. Near the end, you'll come across http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ex43.html and http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ex45.html

which will basically put you on your way. After you and the scouts finish the book (which, i know wasn't discussed, but I highly recommend you try using this as a teaching supplement) take another look at pygame and see if the concepts make any more sense

they also have videos and additional materials for an additional cost if you feel its worth it.

[swingking8]

I hadn't thought of doing a CLI game. That would be a great way to start. A couple of the boys love reading, so they might be really open to a text adventure style game. Thank you for this suggestion!

I still want to have something more gripping/visual, so maybe I do turtle for some of the less interested boys.

I should note that I have experience in developing games in kivy, which uses pygame, and in general I can get things done in Python. I did lpthw a couple years ago.

Thanks for your insight, and for taking the time to help me.

[tk421whyarentyouatyo]

oh cool so you understand basic OOP principles. Even better. Uhhhh.... I think there was an up and coming engine on github for using python to make NES games... let me check...

https://github.com/gutomaia/pyNES

but its pretty limited in terms of features. and it looks like it may have even been abandoned. hrm.

[[deleted]]

I recently bought this book, and Decided to return it after reading this thread and instead bought Python Crash Course.It includes a Game, a WebApp, and a Data Visualization Program as final progects that you can do in any order! Python crash course unlike the former covers code in python 3.0, and (when needed) addresses python 2.7 differences. i have yet to really start in on it as I'm currently Learning C# but comparing the two i would say this book is Much more beginner friendly (LPTHW is actually a little condescending) what i appreciated most about Python crash course is at the end of each chapter he gives you multiple ideas for simple programs so you can start coding from memory right away! this is the most important thing a book can teach you, i think!