How to make a game for kids, and with kids

Kids can make real games from about age five with the right tool. The trick is matching the tool to the age and keeping the first project to one afternoon. Here is what fits each age and a simple plan to finish a first game.

Tools by age

Ages 5 to 7: ScratchJr. A free app for young kids on tablets. Snap picture blocks together to make characters move, jump and talk. No reading-heavy menus.
Ages 8 to 16: Scratch. Free block coding, made at the MIT Media Lab and now run by the Scratch Foundation, designed mainly for ages 8 to 16. You build on the Scratch website or in the Scratch app. It is made for computers and tablets, not phones.
Older kids: Roblox Studio. Free on Windows and macOS. Kids who play Roblox love building there, but real gameplay needs Luau scripting, so it suits kids comfortable with typing and patience.
Describe-it apps: Roam. On iPhone, Roam turns a sentence or a photo into a playable game. Kids who are not ready for blocks can still design rules by describing them. Parents should check Roam's App Store age rating first.

A one-afternoon first game

Hour 1: the idea. Ask: who is the hero, what do they want, what stops them? Draw it on paper. A cat collecting fish while avoiding dogs is a whole game.
Hour 2: build it. In Scratch: one hero sprite, one item, one enemy, a score. Let the child make the choices, even odd ones.
Hour 3: test and show. A sibling or parent plays. The child watches and picks one thing to fix. Then show it to someone new.

Tips for parents

Let the kid own the idea. Your job is to keep it small and help when they are stuck, not to make it good.

Celebrate the finished, not the polished. A game with one level that works teaches more than a big plan that never runs.

Talk about sharing. Scratch has its own community rules, and every platform has privacy settings worth setting together.

Create a game together with Roam

Sit with your kid, describe their idea in one sentence, and play it on iPhone. Check Roam's App Store age rating first.

Try: "a cat collects fish on a rainbow bridge, dogs chase it, 3 lives, the fish get faster each level"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

What is the best game maker for kids?

ScratchJr for ages 5 to 7, Scratch for 8 to 16, and Roblox Studio for older kids ready to learn scripting.

Can kids make games for free?

Yes. ScratchJr, Scratch and Roblox Studio are all free.

Can kids make a game on a phone?

ScratchJr runs on tablets, and Scratch is made for computers and tablets. Describe-it apps like Roam work on iPhone; check the age rating first.

Keep exploring

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