about an hour, most of it playing ↓

Make your own game

No GitHub, no terminal, no programming. You draw, you talk to Claude, and a few minutes later your friends are playing on their phones.

1

The short version

  1. Get a Claude subscription at claude.ai (Pro or higher), and install the Claude app.
  2. Open the Code tab and choose an empty folder, for example a new folder in Documents.
  3. Copy the text below into the chat. The web address in it is how Claude finds our tools.
  4. Add your drawing: attach a photo of your sketch.
  5. Describe your game where the dots are.
  6. Press send, then play. Claude downloads the tools, builds the game and tells you what to open on the big screen and on your phone.
copy this into ClaudeLet us make a game with Prompt a Game. First read https://promptagame.org/make/for-claude.txt and follow it.
My sketch is attached.
The game: ...

Claude does the technical part (installing, starting, fixing) and explains in plain words. If something is missing on your computer, it tells you and asks before it installs anything.

Tip: ask for small steps. First a ship that moves, then shooting, then points. After each step, try it on your phone and tell Claude what you feel: "too fast", "I cannot see my score", "make the shots bigger".

Not sure what to draw? A sheet of paper in two parts: on one side the big screen (what everybody sees), on the other the phone (the buttons, and an arrow if you steer by tilting). Name your game. Rough is perfect.

2

What you need

Claude

A subscription (Pro or higher) and the Claude app with its Code tab. It writes and runs the game for you.

A computer

A Mac works best. Claude may ask to install a free program called Node.js; say yes, or get it yourself at nodejs.org.

Phones

Any phone with a browser, on the same Wi-Fi as the computer. No app to install.

A big screen

A TV or projector is the point, but a monitor works too. The computer shows the game full screen.

3

Play it

Claude tells you the addresses when the game runs. In short:

  1. Big screen: open http://localhost:8080/ on the computer and make it full screen. Click once on it to turn the sound on (the sound comes from the computer, not from the phones).
  2. Phones: on the same Wi-Fi, open the address the big screen shows. The first time, the phone warns about the certificate: choose "visit this website" (iPhone) or "Advanced, Proceed" (Android). That is normal: the computer makes its own certificate, and nothing leaves your Wi-Fi.
  3. Choose a name, tap JOIN and allow motion. Hold the phone upright and tilt it. Everybody can join at any time.

No phones around? Ask Claude to add pretend players, so you can test alone.

4

When it does not work

The phone cannot open the address

Phone and computer must be on the same Wi-Fi. Guest networks and some office networks keep devices apart. A good fix: let the computer join the Wi-Fi hotspot of a phone.

The buttons work, but tilting does nothing

Tilting only works on a secure (https://) address, and only if you allowed motion. Reload the page and allow it when asked. If you refused earlier, close the tab and open the address again.

The steering goes the wrong way

Tap the button with the two circling arrows in the corner of the phone. It turns the direction round at once.

There is no sound

A browser keeps a page silent until you click on it. Click once on the big screen, or press any key.

The computer says "port already in use"

Another game is still running. Close it, or ask Claude to start yours on other ports.

On Windows it says it cannot make a certificate

Install Git for Windows (it brings OpenSSL) and try again. Meanwhile Claude can start the game without the secure address, but then tilting will not work.

Something else

Copy the message and paste it to Claude: "this went wrong, please fix it". Or write to promptagame@sndrv.com.

5

What next

  • Make it yours: new levels, new sounds, your own look. Ask Claude.
  • Share it: send the game folder (zipped) to a friend, who plays it with their own Claude.
  • Show us: write to promptagame@sndrv.com with a photo of your game being played.

Want to run a game like this on your event?

Read the instructions: the shared screen, and the links for your participants.

6

Prefer to do it yourself?

Claude fetches the starter kit by itself, so you do not need this. But if you would rather have the files, here they are: a tiny working example game, plus the two tools it is built on (the server with the big-screen part, and the phone controller). Unzip it, open the folder my-game in Claude Code, and ask it to run npm install and npm start.

download the kit
prompt-a-game-starter.zip · about 45 KBYou get three folders: my-game, screen-space-time and gyro-controller. What Claude reads.