Abstract
This study explores how university students experience learning programming through educational games in extracurricular computer science education. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed to interpret the meanings students attribute to game-based learning rather than to evaluate instructional effectiveness. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 60 undergraduate students who participated in supervised extracurricular programming activities involving educational coding games. The analysis revealed that educational games transform programming from a formal academic subject into an exploratory problem-solving activity supported by immediate feedback. Students described a reduction of anxiety and perceived the environment as psychologically safe for experimentation. However, gameplay alone produced an intuitive yet fragmented understanding, requiring instructor explanation for conceptual structuring. The experience of learning was therefore characterized as a transition from experiential discovery to reflective comprehension. The findings indicate that educational games function as an experiential entry point through which students begin to interpret programming as a meaningful activity, while instruction supports conceptual articulation. This study contributes to understanding the pedagogical role of educational games not as substitutes for teaching but as mediating environments shaping students' perception of programming.