Your third attempt is correct - but what is happening to guess_row before/after this code? For example, consider the following:

a = "Hello"
try:
    a = int(input("Enter a number: "))
except ValueError:
    print("Not an integer value...")
print(str(a))

If you enter a valid number, the final line will print out the value you entered. If not, an exception will be raised (showing the error message in the except block) and a will remain unchanged, so the final line will print "Hello" instead.

You can refine this so that an invalid number will prompt the user to re-enter the value:

a = None
while a is None:
    try:
        a = int(input("Enter a number: "))
    except ValueError:
        print("Not an integer value...")
print(str(a))

Since Python 3, input returns a string which you have to explicitly convert to int, like this

x = int(input("Enter a number: "))
y = int(input("Enter a number: "))

You can accept numbers of any base like this

>>> data = int(input("Enter a number: "), 8)
Enter a number: 777
>>> data
511
>>> data = int(input("Enter a number: "), 16)
Enter a number: FFFF
>>> data
65535
>>> data = int(input("Enter a number: "), 2)
Enter a number: 10101010101
>>> data
1365

The second parameter tells it the base of the number and then internally it understands and converts it. If the entered data is wrong it will throw a ValueError.

>>> data = int(input("Enter a number: "), 2)
Enter a number: 1234
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<input>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 2: '1234'

For values that can have a fractional component, the type would be float rather than int:

x = float(input("Enter a number:"))

Differences between Python 2 and 3

Summary

• Python 2's input function evaluated the received data, converting it to an integer implicitly (read the next section to understand the implication), but Python 3's input function does not do that anymore.
• Python 2's equivalent of Python 3's input is the raw_input function.

Python 2.x

There were two functions to get user input, called input and raw_input. The difference between them is, raw_input doesn't evaluate the data and returns as it is, in string form. But, input will evaluate whatever you entered and the result of evaluation will be returned. For example,

>>> import sys
>>> sys.version
'2.7.6 (default, Mar 22 2014, 22:59:56) \n[GCC 4.8.2]'
>>> data = input("Enter a number: ")
Enter a number: 5 + 17
>>> data, type(data)
(22, <type 'int'>)

The data 5 + 17 is evaluated and the result is 22. When it evaluates the expression 5 + 17, it detects that you are adding two numbers and so the result will also be of the same int type. So, the type conversion is done for free, and 22 is returned as the result of the input and stored in the data variable. You can think of input as the raw_input composed with an eval call.

>>> data = eval(raw_input("Enter a number: "))
Enter a number: 5 + 17
>>> data, type(data)
(22, <type 'int'>)

Note: You should be careful when you are using input in Python 2.x. I explained why one should be careful when using it, in this answer.

But, raw_input doesn't evaluate the input and returns as it is, as a string.

>>> import sys
>>> sys.version
'2.7.6 (default, Mar 22 2014, 22:59:56) \n[GCC 4.8.2]'
>>> data = raw_input("Enter a number: ")
Enter a number: 5 + 17
>>> data, type(data)
('5 + 17', <type 'str'>)

Python 3.x

Python 3.x's input and Python 2.x's raw_input are similar and raw_input is not available in Python 3.x.

>>> import sys
>>> sys.version
'3.4.0 (default, Apr 11 2014, 13:05:11) \n[GCC 4.8.2]'
>>> data = input("Enter a number: ")
Enter a number: 5 + 17
>>> data, type(data)
('5 + 17', <class 'str'>)

You could try to cast to an int, and repeat the question if it fails.

i = 1
while True:
    timeNum = input("How many times do you want to repeat the sequence?")
    try:
        timeNum = int(timeNum)
        break
    except ValueError:
        pass

while i <= timeNum:
    ...
    i += 1

Though using try-catch for handling is taboo in some languages, Python tends to embrace the "ask for forgiveness, not permission approach". To quote the section on EAFP in the Python glossary:

Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. This common Python coding style assumes the existence of valid keys or attributes and catches exceptions if the assumption proves false. This clean and fast style is characterized by the presence of many try and except statements.