Card and board games game prompts for AI game makers
Classic tabletop rules in a browser. The AI is good at rule engines if you spell out the rules, turn order and what the computer opponent does.
Tips for card and board games games
List the full rules in short numbered sentences. Board games have many edge cases, and the AI fills unlisted ones with guesses.
Ask for highlighted legal moves. It teaches the rules and reveals rule bugs immediately while you test.
Start with a simple computer opponent (random legal move or a basic greedy rule), then improve it in a later prompt.
starter
Four in a row drop
Make a four-in-a-row disc dropping game on a 7-column, 6-row board. Players take turns dropping a disc into a column by clicking/tapping the column or pressing keys 1-7; the disc falls to the lowest empty spot with a short drop animation. Four in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins; highlight the winning line. Full board is a draw. Modes: two players on one device, or vs computer (computer wins if it can, blocks if it must, otherwise picks a centre-leaning column). Red and yellow discs, also marked with different patterns.
A simple ordered strategy for the computer gives a fair opponent without heavy search code.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a hard computer using minimax with depth 5.
Add an undo button for two-player mode.
intermediate · tested ✓
Solitaire, klondike rules
Make a klondike solitaire card game. Standard 52-card deck drawn with code (rank and suit symbol, red and black). Seven tableau piles, four foundations, stock and waste. Draw 1 card from stock on tap. Move cards by dragging (mouse and touch) or by tapping a card to auto-move it to the best legal place. Rules: tableau builds down in alternating colours; only kings to empty piles; foundations build up by suit from ace. Undo button (unlimited), move counter, timer, and an auto-complete button when all cards are face up. Win animation of bouncing cards.
Tap-to-auto-move makes a drag-heavy game comfortable on phones.
Follow-up tweaks
Add draw-3 mode.
Add a daily deal with a fixed seed.
starter
Memory pairs
Make a memory matching game. A grid of face-down cards (4x4 for easy, 6x6 for hard). Tap two cards to flip them; matching pairs stay face up, non-matching flip back after 1 second. Cards show simple shapes and symbols drawn in code in different colours. Count moves and time; show stars based on moves. Two-player mode: players alternate and a match earns another turn. Smooth 3D flip animation using CSS. Best score saved for each size.
The 'match earns another turn' rule makes the two-player mode feel like the real tabletop game.
Follow-up tweaks
Let me upload my own images for the card faces.
Add a 'shuffle the remaining cards' twist every 10 moves in hard mode.
intermediate
Checkers with forced captures
Make a checkers game on an 8x8 board. Pieces move diagonally forward one square; captures jump over an opponent piece to an empty square. Captures are mandatory, and multi-jumps must continue. Reaching the far row crowns a king, which moves diagonally both ways. Highlight the selected piece and its legal moves; if a capture is available, only capturing pieces can be selected. Win when the opponent has no pieces or no legal moves. Modes: local two-player or vs computer (prefers captures, then safe moves). Classic wood board.
Forced captures and multi-jumps are named explicitly, the rules most often missed.
Follow-up tweaks
Add an option to turn off mandatory captures.
Add a move history list in the side panel.
starter
Snakes-free ladders race
Make a family board race on a 10x10 numbered board. Players (2-4, local) take turns rolling a die by tapping a big die button; the token moves square by square with a hop animation. Ladders move tokens up; slides (playground slides, not snakes) move tokens down. Exact roll needed to land on 100, otherwise bounce back. Positions of 8 ladders and 8 slides are in an editable list. Each player picks a colour and a name. Winner screen with confetti.
Defining the exact-finish rule avoids an unclear ending.
Follow-up tweaks
Add 'question squares' that ask a quiz question; right answer moves forward 2.
Add a computer player option.
intermediate
Crazy eights card game
Make a shedding card game for 1 player vs 2 computer players. Each player starts with 7 cards. Play a card matching the top discard by suit or rank; eights are wild and the player chooses the next suit. If you can't play, draw one card; if it's playable you may play it. First to empty their hand wins the round; others score penalty points for cards left (eights 50, face cards 10, others face value). First to 100 penalty points loses the match. Computer players play the highest-scoring legal card and keep eights for last. Show each computer's card count and a short log of actions.
Scoring and computer play rules are fully listed, so rounds play out consistently.
Follow-up tweaks
Add special cards: 2 makes the next player draw two, Queen skips a turn.
Add pass-the-phone multiplayer with a hide screen between turns.
intermediate
Mancala stones
Make a mancala-style sowing game. Board with 2 rows of 6 pits and a store at each end; each pit starts with 4 stones. On your turn, pick one of your pits; stones are sown one by one counter-clockwise into following pits and your store, skipping the opponent's store. If the last stone lands in your store, take another turn. If it lands in an empty pit on your side, capture it and the stones in the opposite pit. The game ends when one side is empty; remaining stones go to the other player's store. Animate stones moving one at a time. Modes: local 2 players or vs computer.
Each rule is stated in the order it's applied, which is exactly how the code needs to run.
Follow-up tweaks
Show the predicted landing pit when hovering a pit.
Add a stronger computer that looks one move ahead.
advanced
Hex territory
Make an original territory board game on a hexagon grid of radius 4. Two players alternate placing a stone on an empty hex. When a stone is placed, any opponent stones fully surrounded by the placer's stones and board edges are converted to the placer's colour. The game ends when the board is full; the player with more stones wins. Highlight hexes that would cause a conversion when hovered. Computer opponent picks the move that converts the most stones, breaking ties toward the centre. Calm stone-and-wood art.
An original rule set avoids copying an existing board game while still being easy to code.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a pass move and end the game after two passes in a row.
Add a board size selector.
starter
Dice poker
Make a dice poker game. Roll 5 dice; tap dice to hold them; reroll the rest up to 2 times. Score the final hand: five of a kind 50, four of a kind 30, full house 25, straight 20, three of a kind 15, two pair 10, pair 5. Play 10 rounds vs a computer that holds the most common value. Show both scores and the hand names. Dice drawn with pips, a quick roll animation and held dice shown with a coloured border.
A full scoring table in the prompt makes hand evaluation correct.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a betting system with chips (no real money) where each round starts with an ante.
30 fill-in master templates with worked examples, 12 multi-step build recipes (what to prompt, what to check after each step, and the fix prompt when it breaks), 40 bug-fix prompts by symptom, 20 art-direction briefs with upload tips, and a game-design + launch checklist. Markdown files, instant download.
One-time $12. Use and adapt the prompts in your own games, commercial ones included. 14-day fix-or-refund if it doesn't work as described. Secure checkout by Stripe.
Free sampler
T01 · Path defense master template (template)
Use it for: classic tower defense with a fixed route and placed towers. The most reliable starting point for the genre.
Variables
Variable
What to write
Example
{{theme}}
Setting in a few words
backyard garden
{{enemy}}
Who walks the path
slugs
{{base}}
What the player protects
the garden gate
{{waypoints}}
Path as a waypoint description
6 waypoints snaking left to right
{{tower_1..3}}
Name, price, role
Pea Shooter, 25, single target
{{start_money}} / {{reward}}
Economy
100 / 5
{{lives}} / {{waves}}
Lose and win conditions
10 / 12
{{palette}}
Visual style
flat bright greens and browns
Master prompt
Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game set in a {{theme}}.
PATH: {{enemy}} walk a fixed path through {{waypoints}} to {{base}}. Draw the path clearly. Enemies move from waypoint to waypoint and never leave the path.
BUILDING: The player clicks or taps an empty build tile beside the path to open a small menu of towers:
- {{tower_1}}
- {{tower_2}}
- {{tower_3}}
Greyed-out buttons when unaffordable. Tapping a built tower shows its range circle and a Sell button (refund 50%).
ECONOMY: Start with {{start_money}} coins. Each enemy defeated gives {{reward}} coins with a floating "+{{reward}}".
WIN/LOSE: {{base}} has {{lives}} lives; each enemy that reaches it costs 1. Survive {{waves}} waves to win.
WAVES: Waves start with a Start Wave button. Use a wave list: each wave adds enemies and +10% enemy health; every 4th wave adds a faster enemy type; the last wave has a boss with a health bar.
FEEDBACK: Enemies flash white when hit, pop into particles when defeated, and the screen shakes briefly when a life is lost.
HUD: coins, lives and wave number at the top; Start Wave and Pause buttons.
STYLE: {{palette}}, simple shapes drawn in code, no external images.
CONSTRAINTS: one HTML file, works with mouse and touch, all movement based on elapsed time, Restart button on the win and lose screens.
Worked example
Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game set in a backyard garden. PATH: slugs walk a fixed path through 6 waypoints snaking from the left edge to the garden gate on the right… Towers: Sprinkler, 10 coins, slows enemies 40% in range; Pea Shooter, 25 coins, single target; Bee Hive, 40 coins, small area damage. Start with 100 coins, 5 per slug. 10 lives, 12 waves. Flat bright greens and browns…
After the first generation, check: enemies stay on the path; towers only fire within the drawn range; selling refunds the right amount; the boss appears on the last wave.
Strong follow-ups
"Add a 2x speed button. Don't change anything else."
"Add upgrades: tap a tower to upgrade to level 2 (+50% damage) for 1.5x its price."
T13 · Classroom quiz engine template (template)
Use it for: any subject quiz you'll reuse with new questions every week.
Variables
Variable
Example
{{subject}}
Year 6 science: forces
{{questions}}
your list, pasted in the format below
{{timer}}
20 seconds, or "no timer"
{{teams}}
2 to 4 teams, or "single player"
{{reward}}
a star burst and a "Great thinking!" message
Master prompt
Make a quiz game for {{subject}}.
DATA: put all questions in an editable array at the very top of the code, clearly labelled QUESTIONS. Each item: question, four answers, index of the correct answer, optional explanation. Use exactly these questions:
{{questions}}
FLOW: shuffle questions and answer order; never repeat within a game. One question at a time with four large buttons (keys 1-4 also work).
TIMER: {{timer}}.
TEAMS: {{teams}}. If teams: show whose turn it is; correct = +10 to that team; turns rotate each question.
FEEDBACK: correct: {{reward}}. Wrong or timeout: chosen answer red, correct answer green, explanation shown for 3 seconds.
END: scoreboard, list of missed questions with correct answers, Play Again.
DESIGN: high contrast, at least 28 px answer text, readable on a projector and a phone.
CONSTRAINTS: one HTML file, works offline, no external fonts or images.
Question format to paste
Q: What force pulls objects toward Earth? | Friction | Gravity* | Magnetism | Air resistance | Gravity pulls everything with mass toward the Earth's centre.
(An asterisk marks the correct answer; the last field is the explanation.)
Check: the asterisk is removed from displayed text; explanations show for wrong answers only; teams rotate correctly after a timeout.
Ship a tower defense in 6 prompts · Step 1 of 6 (recipe-step)
Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game. Cartoon beetles walk a fixed path of 6 waypoints from the left edge to a tree stump on the right. The player clicks or taps a grass tile to place a Leaf Turret for 25 coins; it shoots the nearest beetle within 120 px once per second. Start with 100 coins; each beetle gives 5 coins. The stump has 10 lives; each beetle reaching it costs 1. A Start Wave button sends 8 beetles. Show coins, lives and wave at the top. Shapes drawn in code, flat greens and browns. Restart button on game over.
Check after:
Beetles follow the path exactly and never cut corners through grass.
Turrets can't be placed on the path or on top of each other.
Coins rise on each defeat; lives drop when a beetle reaches the stump.
If it breaks:
*Beetles leave the path:* "Move enemies from waypoint to waypoint in a straight line at constant speed; when within 2 px of a waypoint, snap to it and target the next one. Don't change anything else."
*Towers placed on the path:* "Mark path tiles as unbuildable using a grid; highlight buildable tiles on hover in green and unbuildable in red."
A cozy farm in 8 prompts · Step 1 of 8 (recipe-step)
Make a cozy farming game with a 6x4 grid of soil plots. Tap a plot to cycle: till, plant, water. Seeds: Turnip (2 coins, 2 days), Carrot (5, 3 days), Pumpkin (12, 5 days), chosen from a seed bar. A Sleep button advances the day. Watered plots grow one stage per day (3 visible stages); unwatered plots don't grow. Tap a ripe plant to harvest into a basket. Start with 20 coins. Show coins and day.
Check: crops only grow when watered; watering resets each morning.
Checklist · Core loop (checklist)
[ ] I can describe the game in one sentence: the player does X to achieve Y while avoiding Z.
[ ] The main action is fun on its own for 30 seconds, before any upgrades or levels.
[ ] Every action gives an immediate visible result.
[ ] There's a reason to do the action again (score, progress, story, collection).
[ ] The game has a clear end state for a session (game over, level complete, day end) or a natural stopping point for idle/cozy games.
[ ] I removed features that don't support the core loop.
Fix prompt: "Remove [feature]. It doesn't support the core loop. Don't change anything else."
Checklist · Mobile and touch (checklist)
[ ] The game works with touch only, without hover.
[ ] Touch targets are at least 48-64 px, with space between them.
[ ] Multi-touch works (move and jump at once).
[ ] The page doesn't scroll, zoom or pull-to-refresh during play.
[ ] The game fits portrait and landscape, or clearly asks to rotate.
[ ] HUD stays clear of notches and rounded corners.