Developers: 3 Programming puzzle platforms to challenge your brain

Programming puzzles are short programming challenges designed to help developers improve and evaluate their skills. If you’re a developer, programming puzzles are a valuable resource at any stage in your career – but they’re particularly useful for newer coders who are actively building their skill sets. 

Often written in Python, programming puzzles usually require the user to find an input that makes the program produce a specified output. They’re objective, with no ambiguity about whether you’ve successfully solved the puzzle or not  – the only thing you need to test your solution is the source code of the verifier. 

Programming puzzles are used by both human and AI problem-solvers, to gain knowledge and experience and improve their ability to solve programming problems. And they’re often used in schools, universities, and STEM education programmes – as a tool to promote creativity and logical thinking. 

We love any accessible tool that upskills the tech community, and helps you achieve your goals. So we’ve put together a list of three programming puzzle platforms you can use to challenge your brain. 

Why should you use programming puzzles? 

You can use programming puzzles to: 

• Grow your skill sets and gain long-lasting skills. Puzzles focus on the core problem-solving techniques that will help you approach any technical infrastructure with the tools you need to navigate it. So you can transfer the skills you gain through these puzzles into your work long-term, regardless of the programming language you’re working in.
• Prepare for technical interviews. When you’re interviewing for a technical role, your potential employer might use programming puzzles to assess your ability to solve problems. Using programming puzzles regularly means you’ll be well prepared for this type of interview setup when it comes around.
• Learn from your peers. Some programming puzzles enable you to compare your solutions with others, exposing you to a wide range of different coding techniques.
• Refresh your motivation. If you’re studying a technical subject or learning to code, and you’re feeling low on enthusiasm, programming puzzles offer a light, fun, low-commitment way to remind yourself why you enjoy the challenge of coding and problem-solving.
• Evaluate your own skills and progress. By using puzzles regularly, you can develop a strong awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses, and clearly see the progress you’ve made. 

Here are three programming puzzle platforms you can start using now. 

3 Top programming puzzle platforms 

1. LeetCode

The wide variety of problems available on LeetCode makes it a popular coding challenge platform – covering topics from system design to data structures, and more. With so many puzzles to choose from, you can build a comprehensive coding set of coding skills. 

It’s also a popular platform for technical interviews, so worth exploring if you’re considering a new role in the near future. 

2. HackerRank

This platform’s online coding tests and technical interviews are effective at simulating a real coding interview experience – covering communication skills and the ability to explain your thought process while under pressure, as well as technical problem-solving itself. 

Apart from interviews, HackerRank is valued as a way to practise the problem-solving skills that will elevate your abilities as a programmer, although some coders argue it’s not the best platform for acquiring new skills. 

3. Codewars 

Through a variety of small coding exercises, called ‘kata’, Codewars allows you to strengthen your abilities in a range of different coding techniques. The code kata are created by the community, and some coders opt to do a couple of kata at the start of their working day, to exercise their coding muscles before they confront real-life coding challenges. 

Sharpen your coding skills

Programming puzzles aren’t going to teach you everything you need to know. But as a practice tool, they’re a goldmine of experience that you can gain online, for free or low cost, to sharpen your problem-solving abilities and build your confidence as a coder.