Coding With Kids: From Paper Sketch to Playable Game

The Process (Exactly as It Happened)

We didn’t start with code.

We started with:

• A4 paper
• Pens

“What do you like right now?”

That week the answers were obvious:

• Minecraft
• Harry Potter

So we wrote a big headline at the top of the page and added 3–4 tiny mini-games.

Bad drawings.
Crooked arrows.
TNT blocks.
Potion labs.

Perfect.

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Step 1: Let Them Design

They decide:

• What happens in a round
• How you win
• What’s unfair
• What’s cool

You just ask questions.

No over-engineering. No “architecture discussion.”

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Step 2: Turn It Into Rules

We took a photo and used Google AI Studio
👉 https://aistudio.google.com/

Base prompt:

"Create a game based on our drawing for two players aged 8–10 years."

Optional:
"Please provide clear rules, round sequence, scoring and victory conditions."

Now the messy sketch becomes a structured game.

Not because AI is magical.

Because it forces clarity.

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Step 3: Make It Playable on Tablet

Then we refined it with the kids:

• Bigger buttons
• Clear rounds
• One screen per action
• Simple scoring

They tested it.
They complained.
We adjusted.

That’s product iteration. At age 8.

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Two Real Results

No theory. Actual repos:

🟩 Minecraft version:
https://github.com/voku/Minecraft_Game/

🧙 Hogwarts version:
https://github.com/voku/Hogwarts_Game

They started as messy A4 sketches.

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Why This Works

Kids don’t struggle with imagination.

They struggle with structure.

AI helps with structure.
Paper protects imagination.

That combination is powerful.

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The Only Rule That Matters

Let the kids:

• Draw first
• Decide first
• Argue about fairness
• Change rules

You’re not building a game.

You’re building thinking.

And honestly?

Watching them debug their own rules is better than most sprint reviews.