Variables

A variable in Python is what it was in Scratch and JavaScript — a named box holding a value.

The only difference is how little you type:

score = 0
player_name = "Ananya"
lives = 3

No let, no set block, no semicolons. Name, equals sign, value. Python works out whether it's a number or text by itself.

This trips up everyone who learned maths first.

In maths, x = x + 1 is nonsense — nothing equals itself plus one.

In programming, = means "put this value into this box", working right to left:

score = score + 1

Read it as: take what's in score, add 1, put the result back into score. Not a statement of fact — an instruction.

When you later need to check whether two things are equal, you'll use ==, and that difference matters enormously.