summer camp · ages 8 and up
Scratch Game Coding Camp for Kids in Frisco, TX
Ninjas explore different programming concepts as they create various arcade-style games inspired by Breakout, Snake, and Flappy Bird using a block-based programming language called Scratch.
- Scratch
In the camp
What they do
The projects they work through in the camp, one at a time.
Eat the Donut
The first one, assembled from blocks with the comments still on them: move the cat with the arrow keys, make the donut vanish and reappear somewhere else, make the cat say so.
A catch game of their own
A hero sprite they pick, a collectible they pick, and points for catching it. They plan three ideas for each on paper before they touch a keyboard.
A crossing game
Get from one side to the other without being hit. Same tools, a different kind of problem to solve.
An arcade of their own games
The week ends with everyone playing everyone else's, which is the only review that counts with an eight-year-old.
The concepts behind it
What they are actually learning
The camp is the reason they turn up. These are the ideas they use to do it, shown the way they meet them, and they are the same ideas behind any programming language they pick up later.
Coordinates
go to x 0 y 0change y by -10until y position = -180The stage is a grid from -240 to 240 across and -180 to 180 up. Every sprite is somewhere on it, and moving something means changing a number.
Loops
foreverrepeat until touching edgechange y by -10A loop repeats a chunk of code. A repeat-until stops when something happens; a forever loop runs until the game does not.
Variables
make a variable Pointsset Points to 0change Points by 1A named box holding a number or some words, so the game can remember the score between one moment and the next.
Conditionals
if touching herochange Points by 1hideCode inside only runs when the answer is true. It is what turns a sprite bumping into another sprite into a point.
Debugging
if touching herochange Points by 1wrap in forever so it keeps checkingThe catch game is taught broken on purpose. The score does not update, then it updates too fast, then the collectible vanishes for good - and each one is found and fixed.
What they leave with
By the end of camp
Taken from the camp's own curriculum, not written for this page.
- Learned fundamental coding skills and concepts such as variables, conditionals, loops, functions and more
- Learned how to use Scratch and coded 10-15 fun and original games
- Collaborated with others, shared feedback and played each other's games
- Demonstrated their skills in a final game-making arcade project
After camp
Loved our camp? Keep building all year.
Create is our core coding program, where a ninja builds real games in JavaScript and works up through the belts. The first session is free, so they can try it before you decide.
Before you ask
Common questions
Does my child need to have used Scratch before?
No. The first game is assembled from blocks that are already on the screen with comments explaining them, so a ninja who has never opened Scratch starts by making something work.
Is this just following tutorials?
The first game is a guided build. After that they choose their own hero and collectible, plan three ideas on paper and build their own version, which is why no two finished games look alike.
What happens to the games at the end?
They stay in the ninja's own Scratch account, so they can keep working on them at home and show whoever they like.
Will they just be playing games all week?
They play each other's on the last day. The rest of the week they are building them, and a good part of it is spent finding out why something does not work yet.
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