According to the latest data, the post-pandemic economy will be mainly driven by information and communication technology (ICT) investment. ICT-related job creation could grow by as much as 50% in the first quarter of 2022 to eventually overtake even the most orthodox sectors like the construction sector. There is little doubt that looking further ahead, careers related to big data, artificial intelligence, computer programming, or more emerging ICT disciplines will be the most in-demand – and rewarded.

But not everyone sees computer programming in the same light. Mastering the Counter-Strike console is one thing, and knowing how to code is another one. Likewise, you may know the rudiments of your PC but feel utterly lost by what you see when you open the box to upgrade the RAM in your personal laptop. At the end of the day, computing, in all its disciplines and strands, will be a core field of knowledge for the future. And we want to make learning these kinds of skills uncomplicated.

Many people are intimidated by textbooks nowadays or the mere thought of reading a whole huge pile of written material to learn anything useful. They try to find better ways to gain information: by watching YouTube tutorials, reading short guides by their most trusted assignment writer, or playing games. This is why this article is here to compile a list of video games designed to make even the most clumsy and uninterested in traditional learning people lose their fear of computer programming. And not only that but to have a less tiring way to get the understanding in the world of computer science. Titles mentioned in this article will awaken your curiosity and even open doors for you in the future workplace if you want to continue learning.

1. PC Building Simulator

This small simulator is more than a game – it’s a sensation. No one could imagine that building a PC could be fun for people who have no idea about hardware. Still, PC Building Simulator does just that, demystifying computer building and customization, using a simplified 3D environment to represent components signed by real-world manufacturers.

Thanks to this title, you can build your next PC without fear, even if you don’t yet know how much thermal paste to put on your processor or where to route your graphics card cables to get the best airflow. There’s even a Career mode where you become a repairman who has to maintain dozens of PCs on a schedule. There’s also an eSports expansion aimed at creating top-performing rigs within pre-allocated budgets, which you can get around by doing extra jobs.

Skills you can learn with this game: hardware installation, component repair, and even business basics.

2. Human Resource Machine

Human Resource Machine started out as a small indie project by Tomorrow Corporation with no major ambition but has ended up defining its own niche: visual programming games. Released in 2015, it puts us in the role of an office worker who must perform all sorts of tedious tasks in his company, which must be executed by moving objects between different departments using a card system that emulates the basics of assembly language.

Some notions of computer programming covered by this videogame are opcodes, registers, and memory addresses, concepts that are developed in fun and almost natural way in a title that, at first glance, seems like just another puzzle title, but with which you will learn to program without even realizing it.

Skills you can learn with this game: basic concepts of visual programming and Assembly language without burning your eyelashes looking at code.

3. Shenzhen I/O

With a very suggestive visual design, Shenzhen I/O puts you in the role of an engineer who travels to Shenzhen (China) to work in an electronics company dedicated to designing circuits. As part of your responsibilities, you will have to create the hardware and software required by your clients, solving a series of puzzles that you will have to set yourself to bring them to a successful conclusion.

It is a puzzle as enjoyable as didactic, with a very well-scaled difficulty and a simple but attractive graphic appearance.

Skills you can learn with this game: integrated circuit board design (including a large number of components), Lua scripts, and basic programming skills using a language similar to Assembly.

4. Exapunks

With absolutely blistering Steam scores, Exapunks is a game that combines a dystopian post-apocalyptic story with mechanics designed to teach you how to program using opcodes and various ideas inspired by real operating systems. Notions you will have to master as a hacker since it is up to you to execute the missions entrusted to you by artificial intelligence in exchange for the money you need to treat a mysterious virus that threatens to turn you into a machine.

Exapunks is remarkable because it has a much higher story component than other programming games, providing a dense and coherent story rather than just a bunch of puzzles to solve.

Skills you can learn with this game: opcode and general code design.

5. 7 Billion Humans

The creators of Human Resource Machine are back with 7 Billion Humans, a problem-solving game in which you must organize a huge mass of workers to solve over 60 levels of puzzles. To do this, you must learn an imaginary programming language created specifically for this game but which maintains the design through the movement of data cubes or cards. It’s great fun, even when you mess up and don’t know that you’re doing.

Skills you can learn with this game: basic programming notions in an assembler-inspired language.

6. Hackmud

This is not a programming game like the rest. For starters, it doesn’t even have a graphical environment as such. Still, it runs in a stylized command-line interface inspired by fantasies like the movie Hackers and the old MUD (multi-user domains) multiplayer RPGs, which used text instead of sprites (bitmaps created by specialized graphics hardware).

The plot is evocative and mysterious, making us a hacker who, after escaping from a local network, reaches a strange internet of an alternative future populated by artificial intelligence and other hackers with whom we must fight or ally ourselves, learning new commands with which to launch scripts adapted to each situation. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like the protagonist of War Games or a hacker from CSI, this is the game for you.

Skills you can learn with this game: scripting using JavaScript.