Ddolbeng Rolls: a block-coding puzzle adventure with no words to read
In Ddolbeng Rolls, children place arrow blocks and press play to roll Ddolbeng across floating islands after a runaway festival poster. No words on the blocks, and mistakes end in a laugh.
The wind has snatched the festival poster, and Ddolbeng is off to get it back. To get there, a child lines up arrow blocks and presses ▶. That’s the whole idea of Ddolbeng Rolls, a new block-coding puzzle adventure starring Ddolbeng and friends. 🎈
A story that starts with a gust of wind
The front page sets up the adventure in one line: The wind blew the festival poster away! Ddolbeng rolls after it from island to island, meets a friend on each one, and when everyone is together, the festival can begin.
Ddolbeng Rolls is its own site, a member of the CodingTeading family. You’ll recognise the faces from the Ddolbeng village, but it isn’t one of the village games.
Each island brings a friend and one new way to use blocks. The labels on the front page say what’s coming: Sequence, then Following the trail with Piyo, Repetition with Bami, Moving together with Dodam, and Conditions with Arong (If it’s water, hop!). Islands open one after another, so a child meets each idea in turn.
No words on the blocks
Press Start the adventure, then tap the ball that rolls onto the screen. A short story plays with pictures only, and then the first board appears.
Everything a child needs is a picture:
- Tap an arrow in the drawer on the right, and it joins the row at the bottom.
- Tap a block in the row, and it comes back out.
- Press the green ▶, and Ddolbeng rolls one square per block, in order, leaving a trail of dots.
While Ddolbeng rolls, the block being carried out lifts a little in the row, so you can see which instruction is running.
One short, then just right
On the first board we placed two arrows on purpose. Ddolbeng rolled two squares, stopped one short of the poster, and looked around. No red cross, no message. The two blocks simply stayed in the row.
One more arrow, ▶ again, and Ddolbeng reached the poster with both arms up. Flowers popped up along the path, and stars dropped in at the top of the screen.
Mistakes are funny
A few boards later a tree stands in the way. Go straight for the poster, and Ddolbeng bonks into the tree, with stars spinning round the head and a bump on the bottom. The front page has a whole section on this, titled Mistakes are funny.
The fix is a different order: go down a row, along, and back up. Changing the order changes the path, which is exactly what the first island is about.
For grown-ups
The front page has a For grown-ups section, and the game has its own corner for adults behind the lock button. To open it, hold the circle for three seconds, so a quick tap won’t open it.
Coming up next
Next time: Zoomputer, a trip into a computer, from a laptop all the way down to a single transistor.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child need to read to play Ddolbeng Rolls?
No. The blocks are arrow pictures with no words, and the story scenes have no text either. The words on the site's front page are for grown-ups.
Is it part of the Ddolbeng village?
It's a separate CodingTeading site where Ddolbeng and friends appear. It opens in the browser on its own address.
What happens when a child gets it wrong?
Something funny. Ddolbeng might bump a tree and see stars, or look around one square short of the goal. The blocks stay in place, so the child can fix them and roll again.
Where are the settings for grown-ups?
Behind the lock button in the corner of the game. Hold the circle for three seconds to open it. You'll find sound, progress, story scenes and a time reminder there.