Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet is inspired by how the Internet works, the possible dangers online, and how one can stay safe in the cyber space. Learn about networking and cybersecurity concepts - all without any computers!
Dear Product Hunt Community,
Iām Aditya, the Co-Founder & CEO of Codomo, an educational technology company based in Singapore. In September 2017, we launched our very first game, Potato Pirates, on Kickstarter. The game teaches anyone age 6 and above fundamental computer programming concepts in just 30 minutes, without the need of a computer.
The overwhelming response from our first game has been a very strong affirmation that people enjoy learning abstract concepts in a social setting with fun and games. This spurred our team to embark on a new journey to explore other esoteric yet relevant concepts that can be made accessible to the general public using this approach. With Potato Pirates, we aim to bridge the gap between the rapidly changing technological concepts and slow-to-adapt educational curriculum as well as breaking the barriers between the layperson and seemingly complicated computer science concepts.
After 2 years, 3 Design Awards, over 25,000 decks and one too many potato puns, Potato Pirates is back with an all-new game on cybersecurity and computer networking. This cyber-fueled board game for ages 10 and up teaches basic networking and cybersecurity concepts - once again, with no screens attached! Potato Pirates: Enter The Spudnet is designed for 3-6 players and is perfect for gamers, parents, and educators alike.
In the game, the spudnet is a web which connects shipping routes throughout the Carbobbean Seas, much like the world wide web which connects our world. You play as a Potato Pirate, competing with other factions to be the most reliable delivery service over on the spudnet.
Dispatch ships from your warehouses and use your power-ups to either get ahead of your competition or launch cyberattacks to gain the upper hand. Be warned, what goes around comes around. For a Potato Pirate, cybercrime always pays! Be the first to fulfill all your orders to gain the trust of the potato folks in your spud-tastic service and win the game.
We are now live on Kickstarter and would sincerely appreciate your help in sharing our campaign with your friends and family who are into tech, board games, learning, or all of the above! :)
Playtested it at the launch party! It was great fun. A brilliant way to introduce cybersecurity and networking concepts. Things like client-server architecture, botnet and DDoS are integrated seamlessly and the potatoes are SOOO CUTE, awesome game that will definitely appeal to people of all gender and ages. Good job!
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This is such a brilliant concept. As an avid board gamer myself, I have to say this tipped the scales for me when I had a go at it at one of their local play tests. Indeed a great way to visualize how data travels across the internet. Would be a great investment for my kiddos, take my money!
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Absolutely loved this game!! As a father of two, aside from the cute potatoes (which my kids are crazy about it), the thing I like the most about this game is how easy it is to teach "servers" and "clients" to children who only know how to switch on a computer and double click on Minecraft.exe. With these basics, it enables me to teach them more advanced concept like DDoS but I'll probably do that later due to age reason. But this game really hits the bullseye in making games to teach computer stuff. It's really awesome that such a product even existed.
I'm gonna give 11/10 from an educational aspect (I'm probably overly excited), 8/10 for game mechanics, 9/10 for the gorgeous drawing.
- Father of two
At least for verified teachers, it would be great if the lesson resources were included. Otherwise, my students were engaged, requested to play more and demonstrated a more in depth understanding afterwards. I will continue using this in my classroom!
(I also got some of my administrators to play, and it increased their understanding of what is taught in my courses - always a bonus!)
Rolljak
Rolljak