Short, punchy versions of real sports: one shot, one kick, one swing. Simplify the rules and make the physics generous.
Tips for sports games
Pick one moment of the sport (a penalty kick, a putt, a free throw) instead of a full match. One great moment beats a broken simulation.
Describe the aiming method precisely: drag back and release, a swinging power bar, or a two-tap aim then power. It's the core of most sports games.
Ask for generous collision boxes and a little 'magnet' near goals or holes. Real-world precision feels unfair on a phone.
starter
Penalty shootout
Make a penalty kick game. View from behind the ball facing a goal with a keeper. The player swipes/drags from the ball toward the goal: direction sets aim, swipe speed sets power (keyboard: arrows to aim, hold Space for power, release to shoot). The keeper dives to a random side with some bias toward the ball's direction on later rounds. 5 shots each; then the player is the keeper for 5 shots, tapping left, centre or right to dive. Most goals wins; sudden death if tied. Simple stadium with flat colours and crowd dots.
A single-moment design avoids the AI attempting a full team sport it can't balance.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a curve: swiping in an arc bends the shot.
Add a tournament with 4 opponents of rising keeper skill.
starter
Mini golf nine holes
Make a top-down mini golf game with 9 holes. Drag back from the ball and release to shoot; a dotted line shows direction and power (capped). The ball rolls with friction and bounces off walls. Obstacles: sand patches (slow), water (reset to last position +1 stroke), bumpers and a moving windmill blade on hole 5. A hole is complete when the ball goes in at low speed (fast balls skip over). Show strokes per hole and par. Scorecard at the end. Bright green felt and wooden borders.
The 'low speed to drop in' rule is what makes putting feel right.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a slope area that pushes the ball in one direction, shown with arrows.
Add a two-player hot-seat mode with alternating turns.
starter
Basketball free throws
Make a basketball shooting game in side view. The ball sits at the bottom; swipe up (or click and drag up) to throw with a simple arc. Swipe angle sets the angle; swipe speed sets power. The hoop has a rim the ball can bounce off and a net that wiggles when scored. 60 seconds; each basket +2, swish (no rim touch) +3. After 10 points, the hoop starts sliding left and right. Best score saved. Gym floor and a big scoreboard.
Explicit swish detection gives skilled players a higher target.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a fire mode: 3 baskets in a row and the next ones count double.
Add a wind gauge on an outdoor court level.
intermediate · tested ✓
Table tennis vs computer
Make a top-down table tennis game. The player's paddle at the bottom follows the mouse or finger horizontally; the computer's paddle at the top follows the ball with limited speed and a small reaction delay. Hitting the ball with the edge of the paddle sends it at a sharper angle. The ball speeds up slightly with each rally hit. First to 11, win by 2. Serves alternate every 2 points. Show the rally count. Computer difficulty selectable: easy, medium, hard (changes speed and reaction delay).
Defining the computer's limits (max speed and delay) makes it beatable but not dumb.
Follow-up tweaks
Add spin: moving the paddle while hitting curves the ball.
Add a local two-player mode on one keyboard.
intermediate
Bowling alley
Make a bowling game with 10 pins in a triangle, shown in a slightly angled top-down view. Step 1: a marker slides left and right; tap to set position. Step 2: an arrow swings; tap to set direction. Step 3: a power bar fills and drops; tap to set power. The ball rolls and knocks pins with simple circle physics; pins can knock other pins. Full 10-frame scoring with strikes and spares calculated correctly, including the 10th frame bonus balls. Show the scorecard row at the top. Retro bowling alley colours.
Calling out correct strike/spare scoring prevents the most common error in AI-made bowling games.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a hook: holding a direction during the roll curves the ball.
Add pass-the-phone multiplayer for up to 4 players.
intermediate
Ski jump
Make a ski jumping game in side view. The skier slides down the ramp automatically; tap/Space at the end of the ramp to jump (timing affects launch speed). In the air, hold to lean forward (more distance, risk) or release to lean back (stable). Land by tapping when close to the slope: a good landing angle adds style points; landing badly is a tumble (no distance counted). Wind arrow changes each jump. 3 jumps; best distance counts. Snowy mountain background, a distance marker line.
Splitting the jump into three timed inputs gives depth with one button.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a judges' panel that scores style 0-20.
Add a tournament against 5 computer jumpers with random results near the player's skill.
starter
Archery range
Make a calm archery game. The target sits at a distance; the bow is on the left. Hold mouse/finger to draw the bow (the aim gently sways); release to shoot. The arrow flies in an arc affected by gravity and a small wind value shown as an arrow and number. Rings score 10 to 1 from centre out. 10 arrows per round; targets move further away each round. Total score and best score saved. Meadow background with trees. No living targets.
A sway mechanic gives a skill element without complicated controls.
Follow-up tweaks
Add moving targets on a slider in round 3.
Add a hold-breath button that reduces sway for 2 seconds.
starter
Air hockey
Make an air hockey game for one phone or computer. Two players: one controls the bottom mallet, the other the top, each by touch (multi-touch) or mouse vs a computer opponent. The puck slides with very low friction and bounces off walls. Goals are slots in the top and bottom walls. First to 7 wins. Add a speed limit on the puck so it never tunnels through mallets, and check collisions in small steps. Glowing table with neon mallets.
Naming the tunnelling problem (fast puck passing through mallets) gets a collision fix included from the start.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a power-up that appears in the centre and gives a bigger mallet for 10 seconds.
Add a computer opponent with three difficulty levels.
intermediate
Track and field button mash
Make a track and field mini-games set. Event 1, 100 m sprint: alternate pressing left/right arrow (or tapping two buttons) to run; rhythm matters more than speed (too fast = stumble). Event 2, long jump: run the same way and press Space at the board to jump; hold to set angle. Event 3, hurdles: run and jump hurdles with up arrow. Show medal times for each event (bronze, silver, gold). Overall medal tally at the end. Simple stick-figure runners with chunky colours.
Rhythm-based running avoids a pure button-mashing game that hurts on phones.
Follow-up tweaks
Add a javelin event with angle and release timing.
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.