Treasure Trail puts directions to work on bigger grids with rocks in the way. Coders follow arrow programs, then plan and build their own routes to the treasure.
What your child will learn
- Follow a program of arrows on a 4×4 grid
- Plan a route around obstacles
- Build a program that reaches the goal
- Know there can be more than one correct program
More than one right answer
Any route that reaches the treasure without hitting a rock is correct. Some are shorter than others — finding the shortest is a great extra challenge. Tracing the route with a finger before pressing Run is a habit real programmers use too.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. The robot follows the arrows. Which letter does it stop on?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Show answer
Answer: B. Move one square for each arrow: ↓ ← ↑ ↑. The robot stops on B.
2. The robot follows the arrows. Which letter does it stop on?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Show answer
Answer: B. Move one square for each arrow: ↑ ← ↓. The robot stops on B.
3. The robot follows the arrows. Which letter does it stop on?
- A
- B
- C
- D
Show answer
Answer: C. Move one square for each arrow: ↑ ← ↑ →. The robot stops on C.
Tips for grown-ups
- Draw a treasure map on squared paper and write arrow directions to the X.
- Give each other arrow directions around the living room.