At Code Club, we believe learning to code should be as fun as it is empowering — what better way to start than making your own game?

Whether it’s about pixelated pirates, racing robots, or a time-travelling llama, creating a game is one of the most exciting ways to explore coding. We’ve seen young people go from “I like Minecraft” to “I’ve built a space adventure with hedgehogs” in no time at all.

Why games?

Games are more than just fun. They’re also a brilliant gateway into problem solving, creativity, and computational thinking. When you create your own game, you learn how to:

• Use logic and sequences to control what happens
• Trigger events and interactions through code
• Build characters, stories, and rules — and see them come to life

And perhaps most importantly, you get instant feedback. If your code doesn’t quite work, you’ll know right away, and you’ll have the chance to fix it, test it, and improve it.

Three fun game projects to try today

We’ve created a free library of step-by-step game projects that work in a browser, that require no previous experience, and that let imagination lead the way.

Here are three brilliant beginner-friendly projects to try at Code Club or at home:

Catch the dots

• Learn: Basic events and movement in Scratch
• Make: A quick-fire reaction game where you catch a moving dot
• Try: Changing the sprites or making the dot move faster over time

Target practice

• Learn: Broadcasting, scorekeeping, and setting difficulty
• Make: A game that tests your speed and accuracy
• Try: Adding levels, custom backgrounds, or sound effects

Don’t collide!

• Learn: Cloning, timers, and collision detection
• Make: A fast-paced game where the player must dodge incoming objects
• Try: Changing the game to set it in space, underwater, or inside a volcano

What does the community think?

Games are a great starting point because they’re naturally motivating: young people see what they’ve made work, and that’s incredibly empowering.

“I started with ‘Catch the dot’. I changed the sprite to a spaceship and then added power-ups and space cats. Now I’m making my own levels!”
– Lila, 11, Creator

“When my son made his first Scratch game, it was the first time he explained what a loop was to me. Games build confidence.”
– Laura, parent and Code Club Mentor

Build, remix, and level up

Once you’ve finished a project, the real fun begins. With just a few changes, creators can build their own levels or make the game more challenging, design custom characters and backdrops, or invent brand new rules and mechanics.

And if they want to share ideas and collaborate with others, joining a Code Club is the perfect next step.

Ready to get started?

You can find all the projects mentioned here — and many more — on the Code Club projects site. They’re free to use and designed to help creators grow in confidence as they learn to code.

All our projects focused on game creation can be found here.

Every coding journey begins with a single click. Let’s press start!