Unfortunately I think this is not the case -- it might just be that the async/await issue is getting pushed into the next milestone tag with each release. In the most recent roadmap video[1] Andrew said that the main focus right now is compilation speed, and that async/await specifically was going to take a long time. My memory is that he says something about how it doesn't work well with LLVM and is generally a hard problem that they would prefer to do correctly instead of quickly.
If you're interested in a more detailed survey of rpg theory I highly recommend the recently published "Role-Playing Game Studies: A Transmedia Approach" and specifically the chapter "RPG Theorizing by Designers and Players". For a much broader historical work there's also Playing at the World by Jon Peterson. For something more bite sized (and free) check out http://analoggamestudies.org/
What I should have said is that Zachtronics has the market cornered on programming puzzle games for programmers. I could suggest Human Resource Machine to someone who has never programmed before, but I would never do that with TIS-100.
Making a TIS emulator in Elixir sounds like a fun and useless project.
For really good non-programming puzzle games, I'd recommend Snakebird[0] and Stephen's Sausage Roll[1]. Try out Snakebird first, it's cheaper and works great on mobile devices. Don't let the cute art fool you, it's a monstrous game. If you get through most of Snakebird and still don't hate yourself, look into SSR. It's much more hardcore, but has some mind blowing puzzles.
As far as programming puzzle games go, Zachtronic basically has the market cornered.
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is a solid choice. It gets dark, but so does Harry Potter, so fair game. I would say late grade school for the first book, adolescent for books 2 and 3.
Tamora Pierce has written a number of kid appropriate fantasy books with solid writing and strong female characters. I have seen countless grade school girls get hooked on her work. Some of her books just start to get into more mature relationship themes, but it's enough to embarrass your kid a bit, not scar them.
As a child I enjoyed C.S. Lewis, but was personally affronted when I got to the last Narnia book and discovered that good story had been compromised for christian allegory. Lewis won't make your child a bible thumped any more than Pullman will make them an atheist. Just make sure you know what your kid is reading, and find opportunities to discus the material with them critically!
Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series is another excellent option. I believe when I read it in grade school I found the pacing too slow, so I skipped ahead a lot and inferred a number of plot points. Nonetheless, I'm certain I enjoyed it the first time, it influenced my view of fantasy literature, and I have returned to reread the series multiple times since.
The Hobbit is a great kids book.
Alison Croggon's Pellinor series is less well known, but perfect for pre/early teens that love fantasy.
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede feature a princess who runs away from home to work for a dragon. Solid writing, strong female characters, Pratchett-esque subversion of fantasy tropes. Fun and appropriate for grade school kids.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
That's off the top of my head. Of these books I consider Pullman, Le Guin, and Tolkien to be literature (worth an adult's time), while the others are just fun and well written.
It's at the bottom of the article, but I think it's worth noting that Jon Peterson does some impressive work for role playing game historical documentation. His book Playing at the World is a labor of love, giving not only a detailed history of the early days of wargames and tabletop rpgs, but a history of the science fiction and fantasy genres, a history of games in general, and how those lead to the creation of modern rpgs. He then wraps things up with a chapter on how tabletop gaming influenced the star of the video game industry.
The scope is huge, the book is giant, and he published it under his own imprint so that no one could tell him to cut things. I found the section on Kriegsspiel particularly interesting. Highly recommended if you're an enthusiast for the subject, otherwise you'd probably get very frustrated.
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eL_LcxwwHg