Programming puzzles
Breakpoint lists 18 programming puzzles you can solve in any language, link-checked every 12 hours. Updated 26 Oct 2026.
Programming puzzles are problems where you submit an answer, not code. You read the puzzle, write a program in whatever language you like, run it on your own machine and paste the result. That makes them the most open kind of code puzzles: no judge limits your language, your editor or how long your program takes, only whether the answer is right.
Some are puzzle sets you can work through at any time, from classic number problems to bioinformatics. Others are yearly events, like Advent of Code, whose past years stay open all year, so there's always a calendar to catch up on. Many people use them to learn a new language, since the puzzles stay the same and only the language changes.
Puzzle sets you can start today
Open all year. Work through them at your own pace, in any language.
- RosalindAlgorithms · Solve real bioinformatics problems with code in any language
- Code AbbeyAlgorithms · Solve programming problems in any language and submit your answer
- ProtohackersNetworking · Build network servers from a spec and let a checker test them
- Coding ChallengesMulti-language · Build real tools like wc or a Redis server in any language
- i18n PuzzlesI18n · Solve twenty puzzles about text encodings, time zones and Unicode
- Al Zimmermann's Programming ContestsAlgorithms · Find the best answers to one hard optimization problem per contest
- HackatticMulti-language · Fetch a problem from an API, solve it with code, post the answer
- RankkSecurity · Climb nine levels of programming, crypto and logic challenges
- Project EulerAlgorithms · Solve hard math problems by writing programs that find the answer
Yearly puzzle events, with their archives
Past years stay playable. Dates for the next editions are on the seasonal calendar.
- Everybody CodesAlgorithms · Story-driven November coding quests, one each weekday
- Advent of CodeAlgorithms · Daily December coding puzzles you can solve in any language
- National Cyber LeaguePaidSecurity · Compete in a student cybersecurity CTF season, solo and as a team
- Kaggle Santa CompetitionAlgorithms · Optimise a Christmas-themed combinatorial puzzle against thousands of teams
- SANS Holiday Hack ChallengeSecurity · Solve yearly holiday-themed hacking challenges in a story world
- ICFP Programming ContestMulti-language · Tackle a strange new programming task with your team over 72 hours
- GenuaryVisual · Write code that makes art from one new prompt every day of January
- Infi Advent of CodeAlgorithms · Solve one festive two-part programming puzzle each December, in Dutch
- Advent of CyberSecurity · TryHackMe's free 24-day December event for learning cyber security
More ways to puzzle
- A puzzle a day: Wordle-style daily coding puzzles.
- Programming puzzle games for PC: TIS-100, Opus Magnum and other games built around puzzles.
- Coding challenges: sites that run and judge your code, by language.
Programming puzzles: common questions
What's the difference between programming puzzles and coding challenges?
- Coding challenge sites run your code on their judge, in a set of languages they support. Programming puzzles only check your answer, so you can use any language or tool.
Can I still play past Advent of Code puzzles?
- Yes. Every past year stays online, and you can solve them at any time for the same stars. Breakpoint lists Advent of Code and the other yearly events on the seasonal page.
Which programming puzzles are good for learning a new language?
- Sets with many short puzzles of rising difficulty, such as Project Euler or a past Advent of Code year. Solve the first few in a language you know, then redo them in the new one.