Factorio has been talked about a lot on HN for it's parallels to programming. I think it would be an excellent learning tool for people looking to get into programming, and I think this also extends to spreadsheeting too.
As you say, to start out the ratios are simple enough, but to a beginner it'd be a good exercise to plop the Red and Green science ratios into a spreadsheet for practice. Once you upgrade your assembly machines there is a modifier bonus applied across the board, now you need to account for that in your ratios. Not only can you pump out more product from the same footprint, but you potentially need to rebalance your ratios to account for the modifier.
Once you get into speed/efficiency/productivity modules complexity can really ramp up. In addition to getting the ratios correct for the machines, belt speeds need to be factored in, production rates need to be considered...
As you say, to start out the ratios are simple enough, but to a beginner it'd be a good exercise to plop the Red and Green science ratios into a spreadsheet for practice. Once you upgrade your assembly machines there is a modifier bonus applied across the board, now you need to account for that in your ratios. Not only can you pump out more product from the same footprint, but you potentially need to rebalance your ratios to account for the modifier.
Once you get into speed/efficiency/productivity modules complexity can really ramp up. In addition to getting the ratios correct for the machines, belt speeds need to be factored in, production rates need to be considered...