How to make a small game you will actually finish

Most first games die because they are too big. A small game has one mechanic, one screen and an ending you can reach. It is the kind beginners actually finish, and finishing one teaches more than any tutorial.

Why small wins

A small game fits in your head. You can test the whole thing in two minutes, so every change shows. Game jams like Ludum Dare run over a single weekend for a reason: tight limits force one good idea. Flappy Bird (Dong Nguyen, 2013) is one tap and one obstacle.

One-mechanic games you can finish

Toss. Flick a paper ball into a bin. Add wind from a fan. Done.
Timing. Jump the rope as it speeds up, or stop the right car at a gate.
Dodge. Move left and right as things fall. Your score is time alive.
Stack. Drop blocks on a tower; the parts that hang over fall off.
Spot the odd one. Find the one face that is different. Each round adds more faces.
One-room escape. Three locks, three clues, one door.

A five-step plan

Write one sentence. "Flick the ball into the bin before the fan blows it away." If it needs two sentences, cut.
Pick a tool. Scratch, GDevelop or Godot for the classic route. All free. Or Roam on iPhone, where the sentence is the whole input.
Build the ugly version. Boxes and circles first. If it is fun ugly, it will be fun pretty.
Add one twist. A fan, a speed ramp, a boss. Just one.
Ship it. Send it to three people and watch them play without explaining anything.

Where Roam fits

Roam is a free iPhone app. Type your one sentence, and it comes back playable with art, sound and rules. Change it by talking: "the fan gets stronger every round". It is a small game made in one sitting that you can send to friends the same day.

Play it on Roam

Create a small game with Roam

Write one sentence with one action and one pressure. Play it on your iPhone and add the twist by asking.

Try: "flick a paper ball into a trash can, a desk fan blows it off course, 10 shots, bins further away score more"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

What is the easiest game to make?

A one-mechanic game like a dodge, toss or timing game. Pong and Flappy Bird clones are classic first projects.

How long does it take to make a small game?

A weekend in Scratch or GDevelop for most beginners. In Roam you describe it and can play it the same day.

What should my first game be?

Something you can finish: one screen, one action, a score. Make it, share it, then make a slightly bigger one.

Keep exploring

More on Roam: All Roam games Games to play, by kind