Puzzle (match, slide, logic) game prompts for AI game makers
Match-3, sliding tiles, logic grids and physics puzzles. Clear rules, an undo button and a guaranteed-solvable board are what make them satisfying.
Tips for puzzle (match, slide, logic) games
Ask the AI to guarantee solvability: generate sliding puzzles by shuffling from the solved state, and check match boards for at least one valid move.
Request an Undo button and a Restart button in the first prompt. Puzzle players expect both, and adding them later can break the move history.
Spell out the exact match or move rule with an example ('three or more in a row or column, not diagonally'). One ambiguous rule produces a game that feels random.
starter
Gem swap match-3
Make a match-3 game on an 8x8 grid with 6 gem colours, each also with a different shape so it works for colour-blind players. Click or tap a gem then an adjacent gem to swap; on touch, a swipe also swaps. A swap is only kept if it makes a line of 3 or more in a row or column; otherwise it swaps back. Matched gems pop, gems above fall down, new ones drop in from the top, and chain reactions count as combos (x2, x3 points). Start with no matches already on the board. 30 moves per game; show score, moves left and best score. If no valid move exists, shuffle the board with a message.
Covering invalid swaps, starting matches and dead boards handles the three bugs match-3 games usually ship with.
Follow-up tweaks
Matching 4 creates a striped gem that clears its whole row when matched.
Add level goals: 'clear 20 red gems in 25 moves'.
starter
Sliding number tiles
Make a classic sliding tile puzzle. A 4x4 grid with tiles 1 to 15 and one empty space. Click/tap a tile next to the empty space to slide it in; arrow keys also slide the tile on the matching side. Create the starting board by making 200 random legal moves from the solved state so it is always solvable. Count moves and time. When solved, show the moves and time with a Play Again button. Let the player choose 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5. Wooden tiles with a soft shadow and a smooth slide animation.
Shuffling from the solved state is the simple fix for the 50% of random boards that can't be solved.
Follow-up tweaks
Let me use an uploaded picture split into tiles instead of numbers.
Add a 'show solution path' hint that highlights the next best tile.
intermediate · tested ✓
Pipe connect
Make a pipe puzzle. A 7x7 grid of tiles, each showing a pipe piece (straight, corner, T, cross). Clicking/tapping a tile rotates it 90 degrees. Water flows from a source tile on the left edge; the goal is to connect it to the drain on the right edge. Tiles connected to the source glow blue, updated after every rotation. Generate the level by first building a valid path, then filling other tiles randomly, then rotating every tile randomly. 10 levels with growing grids. Count rotations; fewer rotations earn more stars (3 stars within 120% of the minimum).
Building the solution first, then scrambling, guarantees every level can be solved.
Follow-up tweaks
Add locked tiles (shown with a bolt) that can't rotate.
Add a second source and drain in a different colour that must not cross.
starter
Lights out grid
Make a 5x5 lights puzzle. Each cell is on (bright yellow) or off (dark). Tapping a cell toggles it and its up/down/left/right neighbours. The goal is to turn all lights off. Create puzzles by starting from all-off and applying 10 random taps, so every puzzle is solvable. Count moves; show 'Solved in N moves' at the end. Include Undo, Restart and New Puzzle buttons. Add a soft glow and a click sound made with the Web Audio API.
Toggle rules are tiny to code, and generating by random taps from solved keeps it fair.
Follow-up tweaks
Make the grid size selectable: 3x3 to 7x7.
Add a hint that flashes one cell that is part of a solution.
intermediate
Box push warehouse
Make a box-pushing puzzle game. The player moves one tile at a time with arrow keys/WASD or swipe. Pushing a box moves it one tile if the space behind it is free; boxes can't be pulled and the player can't push two boxes at once. Win when every box sits on a target tile. Levels are text grids (# wall, . floor, $ box, * target, @ player). Include 8 short handmade levels of rising difficulty that are definitely solvable. Undo with Z or a button (unlimited), restart with R. Show moves and pushes counters. Clean top-down warehouse look.
Giving the exact level format lets you add your own levels later without regenerating the game.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a level editor where I click tiles to design a level and copy its text grid.
Mark boxes on targets in green.
starter
Number merge board
Make a number merging game on a 4x4 board. Arrow keys or swipes slide all tiles in that direction; two touching tiles with the same number merge into their sum (only once per move). After each move that changes the board, a new 2 (90%) or 4 (10%) appears in a random empty cell. Game over when no moves are possible. Score is the sum of all merges; best score saved locally. Each number has its own warm colour; tiles slide and pop smoothly. Include an Undo button usable once per game.
The 'merge only once per move' rule is the detail most generated versions get wrong.
Follow-up tweaks
Make a 5x5 mode and a 3x3 hard mode.
Add a stone tile that can't merge and disappears after 10 moves.
advanced
Laser mirrors
Make a logic puzzle with lasers and mirrors on a 8x8 grid. A laser emitter on the edge fires a beam that travels in straight lines. The player places diagonal mirrors (/ or \) from a limited inventory by tapping empty cells; tapping again flips the mirror, a third tap removes it. Beams reflect 90 degrees on mirrors and stop at walls. The goal is to hit all target crystals. Draw the beam live as the player edits. 12 handmade levels from a list of text grids. Show mirrors remaining. Dark background, glowing red beam, crystals light up when hit.
Live beam drawing gives instant feedback, which is what makes logic puzzles readable.
Follow-up tweaks
Add splitter blocks that send the beam in two directions.
Add coloured lasers that must hit matching coloured crystals.
starter
Colour flood
Make a colour flood puzzle. A 14x14 grid of random tiles in 6 colours. The flood starts from the top-left tile. The player picks a colour from 6 buttons (or keys 1-6); the flooded area changes to that colour and absorbs all touching tiles of the same colour. Win by making the whole board one colour within 25 moves. Show moves left and a progress percentage. Each colour button also shows a symbol. New Game button. Smooth wave animation as tiles join.
The win condition and move cap are explicit, so the difficulty is measurable from the start.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a two-player mode where each player floods from opposite corners.
Add a daily board using the date as the random seed.
advanced
Physics stack and balance
Make a stacking puzzle with simple 2D physics. A narrow platform sits in the middle of the screen. Each level gives the player a set of shapes (rectangles, triangles, circles) shown in a tray. Drag a shape to position it above the platform, rotate with Q/E or a rotate button, release to drop. After all shapes are placed, a 3-second timer runs; if nothing falls off, the level is won. Write your own small physics (gravity, box collision, friction) or keep shapes axis-aligned if rotation physics is too complex. 8 levels. Clean pastel shapes, a wobble meter showing movement.
Allowing a simpler fallback stops the AI from producing unstable home-made physics.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a wind level where a gentle side force pushes the stack.
Add a star rating based on the final stack height.
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.