DAR Middle Students Build Interactive Board Games

Learning to code is one thing—turning that code into a playable, physical board game is a whole different level of hands-on learning. Students in Coach Sanderson’s Computer Science Class at KDS DAR Middle School recently put their technical skills and creativity to the test by designing, building, and programming their very own original board games.

The core challenge of the project required students to integrate a microbit—a pocket-sized programmable microcontroller—into the mechanics of their game. Instead of relying on traditional dice or paper scorecards, students had to write functional code to drive the gameplay experience.

Projects like this bridge the gap between abstract computer science concepts and practical application. By blending physical craft (game boards, rules, and themes) with hardware programming, students gain a deeper understanding of logic, conditionals, and user interface design. Plus, seeing their code power an actual game makes the technical learning process far more engaging.

Seeing these middle schoolers combine logic with creative design shows just how dynamic computer science education can be when students are given the freedom to build.

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