SpriteBox is a new app by the creators of Lightbot that introduces coding using icons to solve puzzles. The app was released in time for Computer Science Week 2016, but I just found out of it today. It works on Android, iOS, and in web browsers (using Flash).
SpriteBox combines game play using arrows to collect coins and sprites, with coding challenges. The focus is mainly on game play. The coding challenges are introduced with in the course of the game, to help solve the challenges. In this way, the play is emergent.
It’s important to note that there are some written instructions. When I tested this with a friend’s 5 year old daughter, she could sound out many of the words, but needed help to make sense of many of the instructions. The on-screen demos for using icons to solve the coding puzzles were helpful to her, but they would not be sufficient for her to figure out the game without reading assistance.
I’ve used Lightbot with children in Kindergarten, but for most of them, procedures and functions are too complex. I think that SpriteBox is more appropriate for introducing coding to the youngest children, and will present that option to Kindergarten.
Participating in Hour of Code is a great way to celebrate Computer Science. However, there is no need to confine coding to Computer Science Week, or to Hour of Code. Introduce SpriteBox to a child in your life.