I just came across a very interesting puzzle game called Alligator Eggs.

Although the author has intended it to be a non-computer game (i.e. you print things on physical paper and play with those) it reminds me a lot of the classic computer “game/puzzle” life (no relation to the board game of the same name). I wonder how long before someone creates a computer simulation for it.

The thing I really like about this game is that it teaches some very advanced algorithms and logic patterns (all having to do with Untyped Lambda Calculus for those of you that are truly geeky) in a very approachable (and cute!) way. That’s no small task (lambda calculus is normally very dry, believe it or not 😉 ).

This also reminds me of Nell’s Primer in The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. The Primer made use of similar games/puzzles to teach children programming concepts without them knowing that they were learning such things.

Even though it is unlikely that Untyped Lambda Calculus questions will appear on any No Child Left Behind standardized tests, I believe that these kind of puzzles inform our knowledge of the modern computer-driven world more than memorizing historical dates (not that I think that knowledge is unimportant, just not as likely to be useful).

I’d be interested in hearing from anyone that successfully plays this with their kids. Not that it’ll ever replace Candyland or Chutes And Ladders, but if your child enjoys this kind of game you may have a future computer scientist on your hands.