Want to study Linux? These 5 video games make it enjoyable – they usually’re free

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• If you’ll want to up your Linux abilities, play a sport.
• There are a number of video games, every specializing in a distinct talent.
• These video games are free to play as typically as you want.

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For many, the concept of studying Linux is a activity finest left to the geeks. The excellent news is that desktop Linux has turn into really easy to make use of that you do not have to fret in regards to the challenges which will have saved you from diving in. With trendy Linux desktop distributions, there is not any want to study the command line or the extra superior instruments (akin to YaST).

Now, if you wish to actually get probably the most out of Linux, or are contemplating a profession as a Linux administrator, you will have to study significantly extra… together with the command line. Now that could be intimidating, particularly to those that’ve by no means opened a terminal window or typed a command.

Also: The first 5 Linux instructions each new person ought to study

There’s a bit of fine information. You could make studying extra superior Linux ideas simpler with the assistance of some video games.

If you have by no means skilled “gamified learning,” you are in for a deal with as a result of it not solely makes studying straightforward but additionally enjoyable.

There are a couple of video games which can be geared particularly for studying Linux abilities, and I’m going to introduce you to them now.

1. OverTheWire

OverTheWire is a set of web-based video games that problem you to carry out duties. One of the perfect issues in regards to the OverTheWire video games is that they train you easy methods to remedy issues by yourself and achieve this with Linux instructions, file permissions, community protocols, textual content encoding, and extra. 

Also: I’m a command-line professional and that is the perfect terminal app I’ve ever used, because of AI

Currently, there are 12 video games, akin to Bandi, which is geared toward absolute newbies and teaches the fundamentals essential to play the opposite video games. There’s additionally:

• Natas, which teaches the fundamentals of server-side net safety.
• Leviathan, which teaches primary Linux instructions.
• Krypton, which teaches file encoding.
• Narnia, which teaches primary exploitation.
• Behemoth, which offers with common vulnerabilities.
• Utumno, which teaches extra superior ideas (and even leaves out an outline, so you don’t have any concept what you are stepping into).
• Maze, which teaches extra superior exploitation methods, programming, and reverse engineering.
• Vortex, which teaches connecting to non-standard ports.
• Manpage, which is all about breaking widespread Linux C programming misconceptions.
• Drifter, which is analogous to vortex however is extra superior.
• Formula One, which teaches you safety ideas.

2. cmdchallenge

The concept behind cmdchallenge is straightforward: remedy issues given to you with nothing greater than the command line. This is a web-based sport, so there’s nothing to put in. For instance, you is perhaps challenged to print “hello world” on the terminal with a single command (echo “hello world”) or print the present working listing (pwd). 

Also: 10 open-source apps I like to recommend each Windows person obtain – without spending a dime

Every time you get a command proper, you’re requested to unravel one other problem. As you full every activity, it will get barely more difficult, so the longer you play, the extra you will study.

3. Terminus

Terminus is an fascinating terminal journey app sport the place you discover a digital world by way of Linux instructions. For instance, you challenge the ls command to see what places can be found. You may see WesternForest listed, so that you go there with cd WesternForest. When you try this, a picture seems to indicate you what you see. 

Also: 5 causes to modify to an immutable Linux distro at present

You hold exploring totally different places and fixing puzzles with instructions like ls, cd, much less, and so on. The purpose of this sport is to discover ways to navigate the Linux filesystem.

4. Bashcrawl

Bashcrawl is a sport you set up in your Linux machine that can assist you study the fundamentals of Linux, BSD, and UNIX terminals. You do not truly set up the app, however obtain the supply, unpack it, after which cd into the doorway subdirectory of the newly created listing. You can then learn the scroll file with much less scroll to seek out out what to do subsequent. 

The enjoyable actually begins when you’ll be able to forged “spells” with instructions, like ls -F. Directories (rooms inside the “catacombs”) finish with /, and encounters (applications) finish with *. You acquire treasure and do all kinds of dungeon crawler-esque issues. 

5. Root Me

Root Me is extra superior and targeted on cybersecurity. This is just like WarGames, in that it hosts a number of totally different challenges in a single location. With Root Me, you sort out real-world challenges, akin to file forensics, privilege escalation, and extra. 

Also: How a lot RAM does your Linux PC really want in 2025?

Root Me shouldn’t be for newbies, however for these with sufficient Linux abilities to grasp the ideas and challenge the right instructions. You do need to create an account, but it surely’s free to make use of. There are over 600 challenges to tackle with Root Me, in addition to 178 totally different digital environments, and 6063 options.

All of the above video games are free to make use of as a lot as you want, and might actually aid you begin to grasp numerous Linux ideas and instructions.

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