Scratch alternatives, including ones that work on a phone
Scratch is the best free way to learn block coding, but it is built for computers and tablets, not phones. These alternatives cover the gaps: more advanced blocks, tablet editors, real engines, and Roam for when you just want the game.
What Scratch gets right
Scratch was created at the MIT Media Lab, is run today by the Scratch Foundation, and is free. It is designed mainly for ages 8 to 16. You snap blocks together, see the sprite move, and learn loops, variables and events without typing code. The community lets you remix other people's projects, which is how a lot of kids learn.
The limits show up when you want a bigger game, or when the only screen you have is a phone. Its Android app is aimed at tablets and Chromebooks, and on a phone screen it is awkward.
Five alternatives, by what you want
- Snap! (browser, free). A free block language by Jens Mönig and Brian Harvey, hosted by UC Berkeley. It looks like Scratch and goes further, with custom blocks and lists of lists. Best for students ready for real computer science.
- ScratchJr (tablets, free). The younger sibling for ages 5 to 7, on iPad, Android tablets and Chromebooks. Simpler blocks, good for a first taste.
- Pocket Code (Android, iOS, free). An open-source block-coding app from the nonprofit Catrobat project, built for phones. You learn logic step by step and make simple games slowly.
- GDevelop (iOS, Android, desktop, free). A no-code engine with events instead of blocks. A real step up from Scratch: you can export and publish.
- Roam (iPhone, free). No blocks at all. Describe the game in a sentence or a photo and it comes back playable. You change it by talking.
Learning to code vs making a game
These are two different goals. If the point is to understand how a game works inside, stay with Scratch or move to Snap! or GDevelop. You will be slower, and you keep the skill.
If the point is a game to play with friends today, Roam is the shorter path. Write "tag in a school, my brother is it, 3 rounds" and play it. You can do both: Roam for the idea, Scratch for the class.
Make the game without the blocks
Roam is free on iPhone. Type the game you would have built in Scratch and see what comes back.
Try: "cat chases mice through a maze, 3 lives, cheese gives a speed boost, my sister is the cat"Questions people ask
Is there a Scratch app for phones?
Not one built for phones. Scratch runs on the web and as a desktop app, and its Android app is aimed at tablets and Chromebooks. ScratchJr works on iPad, Android tablets and Chromebooks.
What is better than Scratch for older kids?
Snap! for deeper block coding, or GDevelop if they want to build and publish a real game.
Do I need to code to use Roam?
No. The input is a sentence or a photo. No blocks, no engine, no project files.
Keep exploring
- Game makers for kids, by age and device
- The best app to make games: an honest phone-first list
- The best AI game maker, compared by what you get
- Games where you can make your own games
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