A robot, a house and a few cards. Your child taps arrow cards into a program, then watches the robot run it. Six levels, a daily set of five, and printable worksheets.
Robot Path trains one skill: planning a whole list of steps before anything moves. This is called sequencing, and it is the first idea in computer programming. The child sees a grid with a robot and a house. They tap cards to build a program, then press Run, and the robot carries out every card in order. If the robot bumps a rock or a pool of water, it stops, and the child edits the program and tries again. Nothing on the screen needs reading beyond a few words that the speaker button reads aloud, so a child who is just starting to read can play alone. The puzzles are in the style of problems used in children's computing contests, written for ages 6 to 8. It is a screen game with a paper version: the same puzzles print as worksheets, so a child can trace the robot's path with a pencil away from the screen.
Level 1, Starter, uses a 4 by 4 grid and four arrow cards: Up, Down, Left and Right. The house is 3 or 4 cards away. Level 2, Rocks and water, moves to a 5 by 5 grid with 4 to 6 blocks in the way, still with absolute arrows, so Right always means the right side of the screen. Level 3, Turn and go, changes the cards to Go, Turn left and Turn right. Now the robot has a facing, shown by a small purple arrow, and Go moves one square the way it faces. This is much harder for a young child than absolute arrows, which is why it comes after them. Level 4, Which program, shows four short programs and asks which one gets the robot home. The child must run each program in their head, and exactly one works. Level 5, Repeat cards, adds Repeat x2 and Repeat x3 on a 6 by 6 grid. Repeat x2 runs the card right after it 2 times and Repeat x3 runs it 3 times, so Repeat x3 then Go moves three squares with two cards. The card limit is one more than the shortest possible program, so the repeat card is needed. Level 6, Star run, adds a star the robot must pick up on the way to the house, and the limit is the shortest possible program. Most children will need several tries at level 6.
Every puzzle starts from a random grid with a start square, a house, rocks and water. Before the puzzle is shown, the game searches for the shortest program that wins, counting cards, with the star and the repeat cards included where the level has them. If no program exists, the grid is thrown away and a new one is made. The search tracks the robot's square, its facing and whether the star has been picked up, so the shortest length is exact, not a guess. At level 5 the game looks for grids where a program without repeat cards needs more cards than the limit, so the repeat card is always needed, and the tests check this for every puzzle. At level 6 it looks for grids where collecting the star costs extra cards, so the star is a detour and not free. The check is a simulation. Any program that ends on the house, never bumps a block, picks up the star where required and fits the card limit is correct, so there is no single right answer to type in. The answer shown after a puzzle is one shortest program. The simulation also records which card made the robot bump, so a failed run can show where it went wrong.
The game moves up a level after 3 correct puzzles in a row and down after 2 wrong in a row, and you or your child can also pick a level by hand. Today's 5 is a set of five puzzles made from the date on your device, so the same date gives the same five. Print a worksheet lets you choose the level, 4, 6 or 8 puzzles, and Letter or A4 paper. The sheet shows each grid with the program written as arrows, and the child traces the robot's path and circles where it ends, or in the choice level circles the program that works. New puzzles are made every time, and the last page is an answer key with one shortest program for each grid. Your best level and recent results are saved in this browser. Nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and no timer.
This game does not teach a programming language, and it has no loops that run until something happens, no conditions and no variables. It teaches the idea behind them: a program is a list of exact steps, the computer follows it without guessing, and a bug is a step that is wrong. It does not give hints that reveal the whole answer. It is not a test, it has no ranking, and it does not replace play with a real toy robot or a floor grid made with tape, which are good next steps. Because turns depend on facing, children who confuse left and right may do better with a sticker on their left hand.
It is written for ages 6 to 8. Level 1 has 3 or 4 arrow cards on a 4 by 4 grid and needs no reading. Levels 5 and 6 use repeat cards and card limits that older children and adults also find hard.
Levels 1 and 2 use Up, Down, Left and Right, which always mean the screen's directions. From level 3 the cards are Go, Turn left and Turn right, which depend on the way the robot faces. The second kind is harder, so it comes later and is never mixed with the first in one puzzle.
Repeat x2 runs the one card right after it 2 times, and Repeat x3 runs it 3 times. Repeat x3 then Go moves the robot 3 squares using 2 cards. A repeat card with nothing after it, or another repeat card after it, is not a valid program.
Yes. Each grid is searched for a shortest winning program before it is shown, and the card limit is never below that length. The tests check 500 puzzles at every level, and also try every possible card string on a sample to confirm that no shorter program wins.
Yes. Choose the level, 4, 6 or 8 puzzles, and Letter or A4. Each sheet is new, and the last page is an answer key. Colour is never the only clue, so the sheets work on a black and white printer.
It saves the level and the results of Today's 5 in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, there is no account, and the page counts visits with Google Analytics but never your child's puzzles or answers.