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🕹ī¸ Builder ¡ 6 missions ¡ First edition

Bounce Lab: Build a Web Game

Create a browser platformer, tune movement, add a checkpoint, and use playtests to defend your design.

Web browser ¡ Keyboard and touch ¡ Ages 9-10, 11-13, 14-16

Open the first mission →Download starter project ↓

A parent or guardian unlocks the missions. Starter projects use fictional data and require no paid AI key.

Course readiness: Authored from family project evidence with an original teaching starter. Classroom timing and the actual learner devices need a facilitator rehearsal; this draft is not classroom validated.

Your project

Original Bounce Lab starter inspired by BOUNCR

  • Explain input, state, rules, and drawing.
  • Tune one rule using evidence.
  • Implement checkpoint recovery.
  • Show a complete game and test record.

Before you begin

  • Comfort editing a number or short line.
  • An adult can prepare a local static server and optional Node test runtime.

Materials

  • Computer and keyboard
  • Paper for brief and tests
  • Optional touch device

Your tools

Bounce Lab starter
Complete original browser game with no account or package dependencies.
Download /lab-starters/arcade-games.zip and follow README.md.
Browser, editor, Python or static server
Edit and preview local JavaScript modules.
Run python3 -m http.server 8080 --bind 127.0.0.1 in the unzipped folder.
Node model checks
Repeat rule and route checks without drawing.
With Node installed run npm test; npm install is not required.

Your mission sequence

  1. MISSION 1 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Choose the player and make the first bounce

    Run Bounce Lab and turn a game idea into a testable promise.

    Architect skill: A brief connects a player, a repeating loop, and a visible finish.

  2. MISSION 2 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Make the rules predictable

    Trace and tune one movement rule using a repeatable experiment.

    Architect skill: Deterministic steps make cause and effect easier to test.

  3. MISSION 3 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Design controls for real players

    Improve control instructions and compare keyboard with buttons.

    Architect skill: Different input devices should express the same game intention.

  4. MISSION 4 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Add a checkpoint that helps players recover

    Implement one complete middle-platform checkpoint feature.

    Architect skill: A feature needs state, a trigger, feedback, and a recovery rule.

  5. MISSION 5 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Become a failure detective

    Find a reproducible mismatch, fix it, and repeat the evidence.

    Architect skill: A test compares an observation with an expectation written beforehand.

  6. MISSION 6 ¡ 90 MINUTES

    Open your mini arcade

    Demonstrate a working loop and defend one design decision.

    Architect skill: A useful handoff states purpose, evidence, and limits.

Learn online

Six weekly 90-minute sessions: 10 minutes to predict, 15 to explain, 40 to build, 15 to test, and 10 to reflect.

Plan around 90 minutes per session; pause and revisit at your own pace.

Adult support: A facilitator prepares tools and operates AI through JR Playground or an adult-managed assistant. Learners make choices, edit, and verify; no personal AI account is required.

Build at camp

Five days with 180 planned minutes per day, including project work and group activities. The course outline does not reserve a camp place.

  1. Day 1: Day 1 — Brief and working model

    • Complete the first two lessons in paired studios.
    • Alternate driver and navigator and take a movement break between studios.

  2. Day 2: Day 2 — Controls

    • Rotate through keyboard and touch stations and record misunderstandings without coaching.
    • Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.

  3. Day 3: Day 3 — One meaningful feature

    • Partners try to break written recovery rules by falling at different moments.
    • Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.

  4. Day 4: Day 4 — Failure detectives

    • Award bug-hunt points for clear reproduction notes, not the number of complaints.
    • Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.

  5. Day 5: Day 5 — Future Architects showcase

    • Host an arcade gallery where visitors leave one observation and one question.
    • Use remaining studio time for rehearsal, peer feedback, breaks, and individual practice.
Facilitator preparation
  • The same six outcomes apply online and at camp; additional camp studio time supplies practice, not extra required content.
  • Choose guided, independent, or stretch tasks by confidence. Ages 9–10 often pair with an adult; ages 11–13 own bounded changes; ages 14–16 can justify and test architecture choices.
  • Prepare starters before class. Keep family repositories and personal data out of student workspaces.

Show what you built

Deliver a small playable game for a chosen player, demonstrate a tested improvement, and explain its input, state, rules, output, and one design tradeoff.

Purpose
A brief names the player, loop, finish, and one idea left for later.
Working system
A fresh run reaches the intended finish; recovery and restart match the specification.
Evidence
A record contains normal, boundary, failure, and repeated-after-fix checks with device details.
Architect explanation
The learner explains a changed rule, a tradeoff, and how an AI suggestion was checked.

Portfolio badge: Arcade Architect

Use the rubric with a guardian or mentor and record your evidence in your builder notebook.

Build with care

  • Use fictional player names and original shapes; no child photos, contacts, passwords, or API keys belong in the starter.
  • An adult operates external AI and manages any public sharing; verify each suggested change with a prediction and check.
  • Take movement breaks and offer partner-operated controls when needed.

Inspired by our projects

BOUNCR web
Canvas game loop, jump physics, checkpoint recovery, collectible stars, and data-driven levels.