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There is always the scratch. Good for simple intro to programming. https://scratch.mit.edu
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SaaSHub
SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews. SaaSHub helps you find the best software and product alternatives
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He should pick an engine and just make games in it over and over until he's fluent with it. Doesn't matter if it's a simple little engine like Pico-8, something big and complicated like Unity, or something in between. Just pick some platform and start making games. They don't have to be fun, or pretty, or efficient. The goal is to get fluent with an engine. Here's a list of some engines. Some will require coding, some won't. If he's really interested in programming, PyGame might be a good start.
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