Lost at SQL
Learning and science
sql learning game
SHOW HN2023
Legend
Lost at SQL
A SQL game to help people learn / challenge their skills
lost-at-sql.therobinlord.comHow HN took it
11 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 10 mixed, 23 critical, out of 54 comments about the project. Thread score -0.22.
Design: 4 for, 6 againstExecution: 0 for, 9 againstDocs: 0 for, 6 againstIdea: 1 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Creative, polished production and artwork
From 3 comments
I love the production, it's artistic and lovable, and avoids perfectionism. The game also reminds me that the most annoying part of working with SQL is navigating the results.…
febeling on HNVery creative game. Pretty basic sql but that’s probably good anything heavier would be enraging. really wonderful production putting it all together. I enjoyed it. FWI On iOS…
duckqlz on HNGreat idea, its rare to see an FMV intro for a tech learning game. UI could be made more compact, to remove vertical scrolling and focus on task at hand, e.g. by displaying…
butz on HN
Objections
Spec and wording mismatches such as weight vs weight_kg and impostor typo
From 2 comments
Love it. Played through chapter 10 without even stopping. One complaint. The weight vs weight_kg. In the text for the task, it just references weight. But the column name is…
k_roy on HNFor the first case, everywhere says "impostOr" on the page, but you expect people to use "impostEr"in your sql :/
reraos on HN
Story text too slow and too much scrolling/bling
From 3 comments
As someone who does mostly infrastructure admin, and occasionally has to touch both PostgresDB and MySQL databases, I found this to be a fun set of challenges. I would like to…
mmh0000 on HNThis looks like too much javascript and bling. I'd like to get better at SQL and some challenge exercises would be great for that. Why not just give those, and chuck the game? It…
throwaway81523 on HNYou've done an incredible job buddy, so you get my upvote. As a bit of friendly feedback, the game feels like it's moving much too slow. Perhaps allow for a click to finish…
lbj on HN
Browser errors when cookies are blocked and multiple scrollbars
From 2 comments
"ERROR Error: Uncaught (in promise): GetDBFromStore: No available storage method found." Yes, there's a banner at the top that says "this site uses cookies" blah blah, but if…
dylan604 on HNLooks cool, the CSS is a bit janky with multiple scrollbars at least on Firefox.
nhinck on HN
Only SQLite supported, no other dialects
From 1 comment
Great idea, SQL is an undervalued skill Feedback: I did this exercise: https://lost-at-sql.therobinlord.com/challenge-page/case The specification says: > Clownfish are between…
ch33zer on HN
Requests
Skip ahead to harder challenges and table schema preview
From 2 comments
good job on creating this! one thing i'd improve is to have a way to jump to the harder sections without doing the easy ones if you are already good at sql. one other thing is…
weaksauce on HNHow do I see the table schema? It doesn't want to accept "show table" queries
8n4vidtmkvmk on HN
Support other SQL dialects
From 1 comment
Great idea, SQL is an undervalued skill Feedback: I did this exercise: https://lost-at-sql.therobinlord.com/challenge-page/case The specification says: > Clownfish are between…
ch33zer on HN
Better mobile support and compact UI
From 2 comments
Great idea, its rare to see an FMV intro for a tech learning game. UI could be made more compact, to remove vertical scrolling and focus on task at hand, e.g. by displaying…
butz on HNI love it! Super cute execution with the styling and scrolling story mode. Did not make it super far because on mobile ... But really fun. Seems way to elaborate for a one off…
simlan on HN
Volume control for sound
From 1 comment
If you're playing sound on a website, you need an easy way to disable it or adjust the volume.
LegitShady on HN
Questions
Does the game still matter given LLMs?
From 2 comments
Isn't this so much easier with LLMs now ?
arisAlexis on HNI want to hate this. Trivialising serious work makes all our luves worse.
smackeyacky on HN
Alternatives named
SQL Murder Mystery (Knight Lab)
From 1 comment
You may also find the SQL Murder Mystery from Knight Lab interesting. https://mystery.knightlab.com/
leetrout on HN
DataLemur SQL games
From 1 comment
This is super cool. Gonna add it to my running list of SQL games: https://datalemur.com/blog/games-to-learn-sql
NickSingh on HN
Schemaverse
From 1 comment
If you want to go pro you could head to Vegas and compete in Schemaverse at DEFCON. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375911
CalRobert on HN