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It's been an exciting ride for us since the campaign finished in October last year (we only listed with InDemand on 4th May). The first few months were spent filling all the orders we received and since then the game has been featured on the BBC news, reviewed, recommended and is being used in many primary schools throughout the UK and the world. 

Thanks to everybody for their support in making Bits and Bytes a reality.

Children of today are the computer coders of tomorrow and not being able to code in the future will be the equivalent of being illiterate today. Hence why the UK government has made it compulsory to teach all children in primary school coding. Bits & Bytes can start your child on the path to the world of computer coding.

Bits & Bytes is a fun card game that teaches the fundamentals of computer coding to primary school children through play-based learning. It requires no coding knowledge on behalf of the parent/teacher, it is very affordable, inspires creativity, encourages collaboration and it appeals to children in all years of primary school. 

By playing Bits & Bytes children are learning computer concepts like algorithms, problem solving and sequencing of instructions, without even realising it. And best of all they're learning without using a computer.

But Bits & Bytes does more. 

The back story of the game explains how computers actually work, the font used is commonly found in coding environments, the character names are computer terms. Everything about the game has been designed to make children comfortable with and prepared for the world of coding.

When you see children playing with Bits & Bytes it's an amazing experience. It appeals equally to both boys and girls and its flexibility encourages creativity.

"Coding is creative, poets make the best coders. Code is empowering. Get them coding and you won't hear a squeak out of them"
-- Ian Livingstone  (CBE, Founder - Games Workshop) on children and coding

If we can make Bits & Bytes a reality then we can empower primary schools, parents, teachers and children to learn about computer coding. This will provide children with a huge advantage in life.

Bits & Bytes can help prepare children for a successful future.

"The game was popular with children from reception through to year 6. The rules were easy to understand and the game appealed to both girls and boys who enjoyed playing it"
-- Mrs Gill Little - Primary school teacher

"We were impressed to discover that Bits and Bytes held as much appeal for our Year 6 computer experts as it did for our Reception pupils"
-- Ms Vicki Gray - Year 5 and 6 school teacher

"The game is a great platform for encouraging the use of coding vocabulary - pupils were eager to teach each other the game and resources were easy to organise. It was useful to have the children learning computer skills without the need for a PC"
-- Ms Shannon Thewlis - Year 5 and 6 school teacher

"As a parent, teacher and member of the school council, I feel this is an invaluable tool to help primary aged pupils learn about computer programming in a fun way. It supports all the values of the curriculum for excellence."
-- Alison Ford, Special needs teacher

“The way we work, live and experience the world is changing. Digital tools are helping everyone, not just engineers and computer scientists, to create exciting new experiences, products and services. If we want our kids to be more than just passive consumers – if we want them to become a generation of creators and makers – we need to teach them about the building blocks of today’s world.”
-- Joanna Shields, the Chair of Tech City UK and a Non-Executive Director of the London Stock Exchange Group.

The goal of Bits & Bytes is for each player to guide their character (program) to their home by issuing instructions (turn right, turn left, move forward, turn around). At the same time they have to avoid walls, bugs and the dreaded Seepeeu (pronounced CPU).

Sounds simple, right? But that's the point.

Children are playing a card game, but at the same time they are creating computer concepts, like algorithms and the sequencing of instructions, and they are learning the invaluable skill of problem solving. By doing so they are developing a logical mind-set, which is a fundamental requirement for coding/programming. 

By playing Bits & Bytes, children are developing the logical foundations for programming computers, thus when they do start to learn programming languages later in life they already have the required mindset. After all, actual coding (programming) is little more than issuing a set of instructions to a computer.

Being a card game Bits & Bytes is incredibly flexible. The default grid (layout of the cards) is 8 x 8, however to make the game easier (or quicker) the grid could be 6 x 6. Once a child has mastered the game it can become more difficult by combining two decks together making the grid 11 x 11. Or they can plan and lay out their program's steps (instructions) in advance and then move their program through each step. If they encounter a bug they need to debug their instructions and then re-run their program to see if it works - just like actual programmers!

We have limited space here to tell you everything about Bits & Bytes, but if you want to learn more about how the game works and/or the benefits it provides then please click here.

Bits & Bytes is an intuitive, fun game with vibrant characters that appeal to children of all ages.

The UK government has made it compulsory to teach children in primary school coding from September 2014, which is an ambitious target given the lack of training, budget and equipment provided to primary schools. 

Complicating the matter further is the lack of tools available for primary schools to use that don’t take up precious space, require specific training/knowledge by the teachers (adults), or that work equally for children in reception (age 4) as well as children in year 6 (age 11).  And, most importantly, tools that are affordable. 

As Bits & Bytes is a card game it doesn't take up space, it's very affordable and the game is flexible so it can become harder (or easier) as children master the game. Teachers and parents don't even have to be experts in coding to teach the fundamentals of coding with Bits & Bytes.

There are few tools to teach coding to children and most require the purchase of a computer or tablet device (and there aren't many primary schools who can afford to provide every child with a computer). One game of Bits & Bytes, which can be used by 4 children at once, will cost 10% of a netbook (that only one child can use).