Debug the Code Game

In my teenage years, I grew up playing RPGs like Tunnels & Trolls and Lonewolf with my older siblings and cousins. When I started working in Bay Area startups, the rise of tabletop games exploded as fun lunchtime breaks and happy hour activities. I am interested in playing multiplayer games that can be played within 15 to 20 mins. I got to hangout with my coworkers and brainstorm different winning conditions for these games.

I am an advocate for young kids to learn coding. I brainstormed a fun game that both kids and parents can play together and learn something new. Debugging faulty code is an important trait to practice and master. You should be able to debug code snippets by tracing lines of code without using a compiler.

“Hello visiting adventurers, you have landed in the town of Bugsville. Mason the Magnificent is a wandering hungry troll who enjoys taking bites from different code snippets. To help clean Mason’s mess, young adventurers ages 9+ are tasked to solve these faulty code snippets by debugging solo or partnering with a young/veteran adventurer of your choice."

As your GM, I have set the recommended ground rules. The town of Bugsville has townspeople who code in Javascript. Adventurers will need to use their wits and have basic Javascript knowledge. Other neighboring towns code in different languages. You can print out the various code snippets and use pencil and paper to trace the code. You are a friend of the Treefolk and rather debug these snippets on a tablet.

There are currently ten code snippets to choose from. If you solve 5 of them, you get a high five. If you solve 10 of them, you level up to two high fives. Thank you for playing the game. Let’s debug!