INTRODUCTION: This work investigates the use of programming games as a way to establish the high school students first contacts with programming concepts. Programming games are puzzle style games in which the player must solve problems that require algorithmic logic using some programming notation. OBJECTIVE: The research sought to evaluate which characteristics of the programming games are perceived positively by the students. METHOD: The research was carried out with 14 students who used three different programming games (Code Combat, NoBug's Snack Bar and Lighbot). They answered a questionnaire with open and closed questions about (i) preferred game, (ii) Engagement and fun, (iii) tutorial style (way of proposing problems to players); And (iv) perception about programming concepts involved. RESULTS: The Code Combat and LightBot games tied the students' preference, with Lightbot achieving a better engagement and fun score. The Tutorial style of Code Combat and NoBug's Snack Bar received the best scores. The students reported having understood the concepts of function (92.9%), Loop (92.9%) and variable (71.2%) after using the games and their perception of the difficulty of programming was easy or average (71.4%). CONCLUSION: The use of programming games in students' initial contacts can bring beneficial results by creating a less intimidating environment in which the student perceives himself capable of achieving his goals while having fun. It aids to avoid obstacles that the perception of the difficulty of programming could generate. Concepts such as loops and functions were better assimilated by students than the concept of a variable, suggesting the need to rethink the traditional organization of textbooks and introductory programming courses.