Variable Vault — Variables & data types

How to play

Each level asks for one or more variables with specific values. Write them in the editor and press Run. Your code is executed on a real Python interpreter, then every variable the level cares about is shown in a box with its value and its type — which is the whole point of this game. Most beginner confusion about variables is really confusion about types, and the boxes make the difference impossible to miss.

A check only passes when both match. age = "30" will never satisfy a check that wants the integer 30, and the failure message tells you exactly that.

What each level teaches

1. Open the vault — assignment. A variable is a label pointing at a value, not a box containing one.
2. Mind the type — int versus str. Quotes change what a value is, so "30" + 1 is an error while 30 + 1 is 31.
3. The swap — multiple assignment. a, b = b, a works because Python evaluates the whole right-hand side first.
4. Convert it — int(), float() and f-strings. Data arrives as text; converting it is step one of nearly every real program.
5. Empty and nothing — falsy values and None. An empty string is a value; None is the absence of one.
6. Unpack the pair — tuple unpacking, the mechanism behind returning several values from a function.

Three mistakes this game is designed to catch

• Storing numbers as text. Everything looks fine until you try arithmetic. The type badge shows it immediately.
• Confusing None, 0, False and "". All four are falsy; none of them are equal to each other in the way beginners assume.
• Thinking = means equals. It means "store this here". == is the one that asks a question.

The written explanation of all of this is in the tutorial on Python variables and data types, which pairs with this game level for level.

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Frequently asked questions

Keep going

• Read the variables & data types tutorial — the written explanation behind every level here.
• Operator Arcade — numbers & operators.
• String Surgeon — strings & slicing.
• Gatekeeper — if, elif and else.
• 20 Python practice exercises with worked solutions.

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