For games, my first choice would be "Human Resource Machine" either from GOG (https://www.gog.com/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/game/human_res

For games, my first choice would be "Human Resource Machine" either from GOG (https://www.gog.com/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/game/human_resource_machine) which has no DRM or from Steam. It conveys the basics of machine language programming in an offbeat yet fun way. If he's a bit more advanced, take a look at Screeps (https://screeps.com/ https://screeps.com/). It's an online game that lets you write code in JavaScript to control a robot that battles other player robots. If the subscription fee or being online is an issue, there are similar games like RoboCode. Steam has a category of programming games that you can browse as well: https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Programming/ https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Programming/ Some people will recommend Zachtronics games (TIS-100, Shenzhen I/O, etc.) but I do not think they're particularly good for beginner programmers. The games are puzzles dressed up as coding and, while they are fun, have little to do with how real coding is done.