Getting a codeGetting in
Windwright is free to play, with no code to enter and nothing to install. On a computer, press Play on the front page and the first garden opens.
Windwright is still being made, and for now the playtest is invite-only. Codes come in two kinds:
- A personal invite code, sent to one person. It works once.
- A shared code, given to a group such as a class or the readers of an article. Everyone in the group types the same code, until it has let in as many players as it was made for, or its time runs out.
Where to find yours:
- If you came from Instagram, the code is in the bio of our Instagram account.
- If a class or an article sent you, use the code they gave you.
- Otherwise, write to us.
Type the code on the code screen. Dashes and spaces do not matter, and a link with the code in it fills it in for you. Your browser then remembers it for 180 days, so that computer will not ask again.
Already playing? If you are 16 or older, the game can send you a note when new clearings open. It offers one after you finish a clearing, and you can ask for it any time in the settings, under "Get a note about new clearings".
What you need
- Chrome or Microsoft Edge, on a computer. These are the browsers we test in.
- A keyboard. You write the code yourself, so Windwright is played on a computer, not a phone or tablet.
- Graphics turned on in the browser. If the browser cannot draw the garden, the game tells you and explains what to check.
Windwright is played on a computer with a keyboard. Send it to yourself and play it there later. Your code goes with it.
Safari and Firefox may work, but we have not tested them yet. If you try one, we would like to hear how it went.
The first load
Python runs inside your browser, so the first time you open the garden the browser downloads about 24 MB, half of it the Python interpreter, and then starts Python up. That takes longer than an ordinary web page. The loading cover shows how far it has got.
Your browser keeps those files, so later visits start sooner.
Where your garden is saved
Everything is saved as you go, in this browser on this computer: the garden, the code on every slate, and your settings. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no account. Your Python runs on your own computer.
That also means another browser or another computer starts a fresh garden, and clearing this site's data in your browser deletes it. To start again on purpose, use Start over in the Guide.
When you are stuck
Need a hint?
The Tasks note in the corner says what the garden needs. Its hint button gives one more clue each time you press it, so you can take only as much as you want.
Teach me
Teach me, on the Tasks note, writes a worked answer onto the slate a line at a time, says what each line does, and leaves the last lines for you to type.
The Guide
The field guide keeps a page for every Python idea you have met, under its real name, to read again whenever you like.
Errors
When a program stops with an error, the slate marks the line it stopped on and says what went wrong in plain words.
How much help, and other settings
At the start the garden asks whether you have written code like this before. Your answer sets how much help you get on the same tasks:
- Brand new: every small step on its own, and the last hint can show the lines themselves.
- Acquainted: small steps folded together, and hints in words.
- Pro: one goal per creature in each clearing.
You can change it any time in the settings, under "How much the garden shows you". The settings also hold:
- How much Whist, the wren, teaches: Full, Fewer or Quiet.
- Graphics detail: Full, Gentle, or Auto to match your computer.
- Whether the camera moves during lessons, the sound, and the music.
The slate has its own speed dial, from Breeze up to Storm, for how fast the creatures carry out your code.
Telling us what went wrong
Send feedback, at the bottom of the screen, opens a letter that comes straight to us. Say what happened and where. The letter adds which clearing you were in and which browser you use, and tells you so before you send it. If you are under 16 it is sent without a name.
See the privacy policy for what is kept and for how long.