For club leaders
Coding club ideas that work every week
The best clubs have a rhythm kids can count on and a fresh twist each time. Here's a one-hour run sheet you can reuse, and eight challenge cards for the twist. You don't need to know how to code.
The one-hour run sheet
- Warm-up
Everyone plays one game from last time, theirs or a friend's.
- The challenge
Read out today's challenge card (see below). Write it on the board.
- Build
Kids build. You float around and ask “what are you trying to make happen?”
- Swap and test
Pairs swap devices and play each other's game. Each tester says one thing they liked and one thing to fix.
- Fix
One quick fix from the tester's note.
- Show
Two or three volunteers show their game on the big screen.
Eight challenge cards
Print these, shuffle them, and draw one per session.
One-word change
Change your game using only one-word requests. “Faster.” “Purple.” “Bigger.”
Opposite day
Make everything in your game do the opposite. Gravity goes up. Enemies run away.
Silent movie
No words allowed on screen. The game must explain itself with pictures and sound.
Tiny world
Your whole game must fit on one screen. No scrolling.
Hero swap
Draw a new hero in the drawing studio and swap it into last week's game.
Sound first
Make the music and sounds before anything else, then build a game that fits them.
Three-rule game
Your game can only have three rules. Write them down first.
Remix relay
Start a game, then pass it to the next person, who adds one thing.
Tips from the room
Ask, don't fix. When a kid is stuck, ask what they expected to happen. Saying it out loud usually unsticks them.
Mix the pairs. Swap testing partners each week so everyone plays lots of games.
Celebrate weird. The strangest game in the room is often the one everyone wants to play.
No rankings. Shout-outs for specific things, like “best sound” or “funniest hero”, beat a winner.