An educational game for learning programming? [closed]

Question

Is there any fun, educational game (maybe a flash game, etc.) that help learning the concept of programming and training your brain to think like a programmer?

Actually, I am not the one who will be playing it; it'd be my friend instead. I tried to help out my best friend through the university Java course (at my university, it is a kinda "sucky" course). I have practiced programming for many years, so for me it is not a problem. However, my best friend, whose major is not in computer engineering (but must take this course due to it being required), has a very hard time being introduce to Java by the boring professor and very confusing textbook.

I tried to simplify many context for my friend, but still it seems he gets bored with those confusing context very fast. Therefore, if possible, I'd like to introduce it to him in a more enjoying way such as a game.

Answer 1

There are several games available, this one is closest to programming and fun I've encountered so far:

light-Bot

light-Bot 2.0

Update Here are the newest versions of the game, which include better explanatory texts and a friendlier drag/drop interface:

Lightbot

And a version for young kids in particular: [ages 4-8]

Lightbot JR