What does Ddolbeng Show the Way teach?

Sequence. A child lays out arrow cards in an order, predicts where the friend will go, and watches it happen one square at a time. Its own page puts it this way: what comes before block coding is not syntax, it is sequence.

My child can't read yet. Can they still play?

Yes. Each board on the map shows a friend's face, and the cards are arrows. The word for each direction sits under the arrow for children who are starting to read.

What happens when my child gets the cards wrong?

The friend walks into something, looks startled, and stops. There's no buzzer and no red cross, and the cards stay where they are, so your child can change one and press Go again.

Is there a repeat card?

No. To go three squares you lay three cards, so the child counts the squares.

Ddolbeng Show the Way: A Sequencing Game for Little Ones

“My child can’t even read yet. Isn’t it too early for coding?”

Here’s a sentence we love from the page of Ddolbeng Show the Way:

What comes before block coding is not syntax, it is sequence.

Ddolbeng Show the Way is one of the games in Ddolbeng, our village of games for little ones. A child lays out arrow cards in an order, presses Go, and watches a friend walk the plan. Let’s play three boards together, screen by screen. 🧭

Where to find it

The start of Ddolbeng Show the Way in English, with the title, "Lay out the cards and walk a friend across," and a Play now button

Open the game and press Play now, or tap its building in the Ddolbeng village.

CodingTeading appDdolbengPlay for little onesOpen →

Faces and arrows instead of words

The map in English: "Where shall we go?" above a trail of stones, each with a friend's face and name

The map asks “Where shall we go?” Every stone on the trail shows the face of the friend on that board, so a child can pick “the one with the fox” without reading a number.

And every board is open from the start. A child who’s stuck on one board can try another and come back later.

The cards are arrows, with the word (up, down, left, right) underneath for children who are starting to read.

Board 1: three cards to the right

Board 1 before any cards: Ddolbeng on the left, Posong on the right of the same row, and a single right card in the drawer

On the first board, Ddolbeng waits on the left and Posong waits at the far end of the same row. The drawer holds just one card: right.

One right card has joined the row after tapping the drawer

Three right cards in the row, one for each square

Notice what’s missing: there’s no “repeat three times” card. To go three squares, you lay three cards. That little choice gets children counting the squares themselves.

Ddolbeng walking: the second card is lit up, and footprints mark the squares already crossed

As Ddolbeng walks, the word for the step pops up over the board and footprints are left on the squares already crossed.

Ddolbeng and Posong cheering, with "You did it!" above the board and a Back to the map button

There are no stars and no score. Just the two of them cheering. Go Back to the map, and a flag is waiting on that stone.

Board 3: bumping into something

Board 3 with Nabi on the left, a gift on the right, a tree and a mushroom, and two cards laid out: right, then down

On board 3, Nabi is heading for a gift. Let’s try a plan on purpose: one right card, then one down card.

Nabi stopped above the mushroom with a startled face, and the down card still lit

Nabi takes a step right, tries to go down, walks into the mushroom and stops, startled. That’s all that happens. There’s no buzzer, no red cross and no “try again” box, and the cards are still there.

So you look at which card it stopped on, tap that card to take it out, and press Back to the start to try a new plan.

Board 5: turning a corner

Board 5 with Somi in the bottom-left corner, Bami in the top-right corner, and six cards laid out: three up, then three right

On board 5, Somi starts in the bottom-left corner and Bami waits in the top-right corner. This time the path has to turn.

Lay three up cards, then three right cards, and press Go. The cards light up one at a time as Somi follows the plan.

Somi has turned the corner at the top and is walking right, with the first right card lit and footprints up the left side

Somi and Bami cheering after the plan turned the corner

On this board, three right cards and then three up cards works too. It’s a lovely chance to show your child that there’s more than one right way.

Playing together at home or in class

Count first. Before laying cards, ask “How many squares do we need?” and count them with a finger.
Predict first. Before pressing Go, ask “Where will it stop?”
Find the card. When the friend bumps into something, skip the answer and ask “Which card did it stop on?”

The Grown-ups gate: "Hold the circle for three seconds."

The next step: picture blocks

Its own page says a child who can put four arrows in an order and say what will happen is ready for picture blocks. When that happens, Scratch for Children 2 is a great next stop, and you can follow your first 30 minutes step by step.

Next time: AI Teading Teens, where older kids go all the way down to how AI sees, hears and learns.

Coding before reading: Ddolbeng Show the Way