Alstergymnasium

Ever since the movie “Wargames,” it’s clear: an AI doesn’t like to lose. And even a draw can be just as frustrating. Still, a game of Tic Tac Toe can be a lot of fun – here is a version in Python, implemented using Turtle.

In the week of July 21, 2025, I had the pleasure of teaching 17 students of the Alstergymnasium in Henstedt-Ulzburg (Schleswig-Holstein) the basics of programming in Python for 4 days.

The “Schimpfolino” doesn’t just provide laughter. It also demonstrates working with lists (variables) and their random concatenation (using f-strings).

Basically one of the classics, whether it’s a programmable calculator, 8-bit home computer, or as shown here with Python; you have to implement this on every platform at least once. Perfect for first attempts with conditionals (if-statements).

With the “Harry Potter Quiz” you not only test your knowledge about the legendary wizard, you also become proficient in handling Python tuples (arrays). Even when they are multidimensional.

Everyone wants to learn more about their birthday. With simple calculation and transformation, this is child’s play in Python.