Coding for Carrots is Google’s first-ever coding Doodle, released on December 4, 2017, to celebrate 50 years of kids’ programming languages. It’s a charming introduction to computational thinking where you help an adorable bunny collect carrots by snapping together visual code blocks. No typing required — just drag, drop, and watch your program run.
The game was developed through collaboration between three teams: the Google Doodle team, Google Blockly team, and researchers from MIT Scratch. It draws direct inspiration from Scratch, the visual programming language designed for children, and pays homage to Logo — the pioneering kids’ coding language created by Seymour Papert and MIT researchers in 1967. Logo let children program the movements of an on-screen turtle; Coding for Carrots updates that concept with a bunny hopping across tile-based maps.
Across six progressively challenging levels, you’ll learn fundamental programming concepts without even realising it. Early levels introduce basic movement blocks — forward hops and left or right turns. By level three, loops enter the picture, letting you repeat sequences of commands multiple times with a single block. This is where the real puzzle-solving begins. The challenge isn’t just completing each level, but finding the shortest solution using the fewest code blocks possible. Efficient code earns you medals, encouraging players to think like real programmers and optimise their solutions.
What makes Coding for Carrots work so well as an educational tool is its instant feedback. Hit the orange play button and watch your bunny execute your instructions immediately. If it misses a carrot or hops off course, you can adjust your blocks and try again. There’s no penalty for experimentation, which is exactly how coding should feel when you’re learning.
How To Play Coding for Carrots
Drag code blocks from the tray into the programming area. Blocks snap together in sequence from left to right.
Start with the bunny block, then add movement commands. The forward arrow makes the bunny hop one tile ahead. Turn blocks rotate the bunny left or right without moving.
Click the orange play button to run your program and watch the bunny follow your instructions.
When loops are introduced, use them to repeat a sequence of commands multiple times. Place the blocks you want repeated inside the loop, then set how many times it should run.
Aim for the shortest solution — using fewer blocks while still collecting every carrot earns you a better score. If your solution doesn’t work, reset and rearrange your blocks until the bunny reaches all the carrots.