Are there any on the list here that are best for learning algorithms in a manner similar to a course curriculum and has explanations? I'm asking from a self-taught web dev (django) perspective where I have holes in my knowledge. Some algo books I have so far seem too mathy. While not afraid of math, I understand it better when coding them out myself.

I wish projecteuler would provide more hints/explanations. Adventofcode problems are fun but are random (not like a curriculum). Other websites are competitive programming focused which I'm not sure is comp-sci enough (correct me if I'm wrong).

So for beginner/intermediate alg/data structures challenges with explanations and solutions I would recommend the following resources:

1. Read the Algorithm Design Manual.

2. Practice coding simple and then more advanced algorithms on sites like Coderbyte (aimed at beginners -> intermediate) and HackerRank (a bit more mathy).

3. Read as many algorithm explanations and code examples as you can on GeeksforGeeks.

4. Try and implement basic algorithms yourself like: shortest path, minimum spanning tree, DFS/BFS, tree traversals, different sorting algs, min/max heap, etc. and learn their running times.

* Also this article may be helpful for you: https://medium.com/coderbyte/how-to-get-good-at-algorithms-d...

Not on the list, but you might find http://interviewbit.com more structured

Yeah, +1 for InterviewBit. Courses here are a way more structured and gamified.

I can recommend 2 books "competitive programmer handbook" and "algorithms unlocked" - none of these books is too mathy

Leetcode seems like something u are looking for as well

http://www.hakank.org/picat/ has the most examples, good explanation of the problems, and elegant, short solutions.

Also http://rosalind.info/

halite.io reminds me of screeps on steam

Ah yeah I forgot to mention screeps which is awesome!

Some more I actually should have mentioned:

https://flexboxfroggy.com (CSS)

https://www.datacamp.com (data science challenges)

https://www.codingame.com/start (learn to code via fun games)

https://screeps.com (cool MMO AI game w/ JS coding)