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Computational thinking (CT) has been introduced in curricula worldwide and is assessed in international competions every year. To be able to implement appropriate interventions the development of CT needs to be explored. However, there is a considerable conceptional variation and as of yet no consensus as to the defenition of the concept. Drawing upon earlier litterature, I present my own conceptual model of the concept to use as a foundation for further exploration of the development of the ability, where I include the CT skills of problem decomposition, abstraction, algorithmic solution, evaluation, and generalization. With a brand-new game-based assessment I explored the CT-skills of problem decomposition, abstraction, and generalization among chlidren in first grade (N=35). The findings showed that the children were capable of problem decomposition and abstraction. Furthermore, the results indicated a near statistically optimal level of performance, suggesting the children to be capable of using strategic search methods in the game.