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Vim Tutorial as an Adventure Game

vim-adventures.com Tools, games & demos Computer games Education & learning Class of 2015-03 Hall of Fame
Screenshot of vim-adventures.com captured 2026-07-20
Page preview · captured 2026-07-20

Resurfaced independently across 12 calendar years, with breakout response in 4 of them.

submissions
18
submitters
17
observed span
2012–2026
peak thread · 125 comments
497 pts
latest 20+ return · 2022-09-23
78 pts

Submission timeline

2007–2026

One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.

First comments on top threads

HN comment order

Congratulations to that very nice and useful game! I loved to play around with the first 2 levels. It's a pity that the project's state is totally unclear (at least to me, a casual visitor). Is it meant to become a community project? Is it a demo of something that will be sold in the future? The explaining text behind the "Unlock Levels" button adds even more confusion: > Additional levels are currently being developed for you to play and…

vog·497-point thread·

I finished VIM adventures a few years ago and found this approach quite helpful to improve my VIM muscle memory. What's very unfortunate though is that the licenses are limited to 6 months. Occasionally I wish I could go back to one of the levels focusing on a specific feature, but paying another $25 every time just seems excessive.

wjakob·285-point thread·

> - 6 months access to VIM Adventures > - 13 fun and engaging levels > - More than 60 commands and motions > - Covers most of the keyboard > - Now for only $25 I personally think it is a wonderful idea and love how it is implemented(got very excited the first time I saw it). But I can not justify $ 25 for a game I can only use for 6 months, but I will pay $…

Hahaha… Vim adventures again. People, if you are curious about Vim, just run the command below if you are on any UNIX-y machine: $ vimtutor That's really all you need. If you don't have Vim installed, just install it and run vimtutor anyway. Once you have got the basics right, no bullshit payware game or online drillings or online interactive tutorials will help you improve your skills. Only your accumulated experience, curiosity and willingness to learn will.

The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.

Breakout years
4

100+ points or 50+ comments

Total points
1256

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Total comments
326

reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking

Every submission

DateTitle as submittedByPointsComments
2012-04-23Learning VIM while playing a gameFirst breakout · Best threadyogsototh497125
2013-05-11Vim AdventuresDanielRibeiro14054
2013-11-23VIM AdventuresAshuu30
2014-02-17Vim Adventurespyotrgalois10
2015-01-28Learning Vim while playing a gamerhapsodyv10
2015-03-23Learning Vim while playing a gameHall inductionerbdex20071
2016-11-29VIM Adventuresjaybosamiya20
2017-06-28Vim Tutorial as an Adventure GameKirinDave28559
2020-03-13Vim adventures: learn vim by playing a gamejCalamari20
2020-08-29Vim Adventures – Learn Vim While Playing a Gameselljamhere260
2022-01-28Learn Vim while playing a gameJonathanBuchh40
2022-03-06Learn Vim while playing a gamegraderjs40
2022-09-22Show HN: Vim Tutorial as RPGkouh20
2022-09-23Show HN: Vim Tutorial as RPGLatest 20+ point returnkouh7815
2023-12-24Vim Adventures: Learn Vim while playing a gamexanderlewis22
2024-06-03Vim Adventures: Learn Vim while playing a gametosh10
2025-07-24VIMAdventures Learning Vim while playing a gameBluestein60
2026-05-20Learning VIM while playing a gamejuliangoetze20