2.2 Run Marco – Jungle Trouble
Run Marco! games are my favorite games! In the “Jungle Trouble” game, Marco gets lost in the jungle and needs to follow a winding path full of obstacles to catch up with his friends. To navigate the path with turns, bushes, and missing tiles, Marco needs to use a simple block language.
Watch the videos below for step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the jungle trail. For each level, we explain in detail new concepts and new commands and then show you how to combine them into simple scripts that give Marco and Sophia clear directions to their destination. You can compare our solutions with yours and listen to our explanations. You may watch the videos first and then try on your own. Or, use the videos only when you get stuck.
To play the Jungle Trouble game, first click on All Can Code – Run Marco! Next, select a language of your choice. Then click the character that you like – either Marco or Sophia. And when you get to the “map” of different games, click on the jungle picture. The game itself is very intuitive and even small children can figure it out on their own or with little help.
As before, play this game multiple times. Try different solutions and get comfortable dragging block commands to the script area. It is OK to not complete all levels first time you play this game. In fact, we recommend trying a few first levels (say 10 or 15), then try a few levels of Run Marco – Winter Wonderland, and then come back to this game.
Also, for small kids, it’s OK to stop at level 15 or so and return back to this game a few month later, after trying multiple other games. The more advanced coding concepts like “repeat while something is true” need a bit more time to be fully understood and mastered.
Run Marco! game supports three types of commands – motion commands, iterations/loops, and conditionals. Let’s briefly discuss all three of them. For more details and step-by-step instructions, please watch the videos for each section.
Motion Commands
Motion commands are instructions like “step forward“, “turn left“, “turn right“, etc. They instruct the character to move in a specific way.
Watch the video above to learn about motion commands in the Run Marco! – Jungle Trouble game. We guide you step-by-step through the different commands and explain how to solve levels 1-9 of the game.
Motion commands can be combined into scripts that instruct Marco (or Sophia) how to move. For example, the script on the right instructs Marco/Sophia to make two steps forward, then turn left, and then step forward one more time.
Iterations
Iteration commands, also called loops or repeat statements, make our (coding) life easier and also more natural. When we give somebody directions, we don’t say: “Step forward, step forward, step forward, step forward.” Instead, we say: “Make 4 steps forward.” Or: “Repeat 4 times (step forward).“
The video above explains how to use simple repeat statements and shows how to solve levels 9-14 of the Run Marco! – Jungle Trouble game.
We can combine and nest repeat statements and motion statements into advanced scripts. For example, we can say: “Repeat 3 times (turn right and make 4 steps).“
Watch the Nested Loops video above to learn more about combining repeat statements and motion commands into advanced scripts. We also provide solutions to levels 15-19.
In addition to the “repeat n-times” loops, Run Marco! game uses more advanced repeat statements called “while loops“. They instruct the character to keep doing something while a condition is true. We could for example say: “While there is a bridge path in front, keep stepping forward.” This again makes the code more similar to the way we talk.
Watch the video above to learn about while loops and see solutions for levels 19-22 of the Run Marco! – Jungle Trouble game.
Conditionals
Conditional statements, also called the if-then-else statements, help us deal with more complex situations. For example, when thinking about your plans for tomorrow, you can say: “If it’s sunny, then I’ll go to the park and play, else I’ll stay at home and do my homework.”
The code snippet on the left gives Sophia these (very clear) instructions: “If there’s a bush in front, then jump forward, else step forward.”
Run Marco! game also uses a more simple if-then statement where Marco/Sophia should do something if a given condition is true (and do nothing otherwise). For example, you can tell Marco to turn left at the bridge or, in a more coding-like language: “If there is a bridge on the left, then turn left.“
To learn more about simple, if-then conditionals and see our solutions to levels 23-29 of Run Marco! – Jungle Trouble game, please watch the video above.
As was the case with iteration statements, conditionals and motion commands can be combined creating powerful scripts.
The example tells Sophia to make a step forward if there is a tile path ahead of her, or to turn left if there is a tile path to the left, or turn right.
And, as you may expect, motion commands, conditionals, and loops can be combined into very powerful scripts. For example, we can say “Keep stepping forward and when there is stone path to the left, turn left, and when there is stone path to the right, turn right.” With a simple script like this, one can navigate fairly complicated paths.
It the last video from the Run Marco! – Jungle Trouble game, you learn about if-then-else conditionals and how to nest conditionals into powerful scripts. We also provide solutions to levels 30-36 of the game.
Conclusion
Thank you for following our instructions all the way till the end! Hopefully you (or your child) have learned something useful and fun! Even though we have described this game in just one (long) page, it does not mean that you should play it just once. We suggest to keep playing this game and keep coming back to this page and the videos for any bits of advice you may have missed the first time through.
Let us know how you (or your child did). Was it easy? Hard? Did you make it all the way to the last level? Did you get three stars each time?
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