Course Summary: Games

You can now build browser games here is everything this course covered and the skill you developed

What You Learned

Types of games you can build

15 or more game genres across five categories covering card and memory, arcade and canvas, word and puzzle, clicker and idle, and quiz and trivia. Each rated by complexity and best use case. Memory Match is the fastest first build. Snake is the best canvas foundation. Clicker games work as products. Word games are ideal for educational tools.

How browser games work

Game state is the source of truth and everything visible is a reflection of state. The game loop using requestAnimationFrame or setInterval runs update-then-render continuously. DOM games change CSS classes on HTML elements while canvas games redraw the entire frame 60 times per second. Input is captured via keydown, click, and touchstart event listeners.

Memory Match game

Fisher-Yates shuffle for random card order on every game start. A lockBoard boolean prevents clicking a third card while two are being compared. Two-card comparison checks emoji values, marks matched cards and increments the counter on success, and flips both back after a 1000ms delay on failure. CSS transform rotateY(180deg) on the flipped class creates the card flip and requires transform-style preserve-3d and backface-visibility hidden on both faces.

Snake game

Grid is 20 by 20 cells at 20px each for a 400 by 400 canvas. Snake state is an array of x,y segments where the head is snake[0]. Move by adding a new head with unshift() and removing the tail with pop(). If food is eaten skip the pop and the snake grows. A direction buffer called nextDirection prevents double-reversal in one tick. Speed formula is Math.max(80, 150 minus Math.floor(score divided by 5) multiplied by 5) milliseconds per tick. Self-collision checks if the new head x,y matches any existing segment.

Clicker game

Auto-earn loop uses setInterval every 100ms and adds perSecond divided by 10 each tick. Upgrade cost scaling uses baseCost multiplied by Math.pow(1.15, owned) for an exponential cost curve. Number formatting uses K, M, B, and T suffixes for large numbers. Full save state goes to localStorage every 10 seconds. Offline earnings on load are calculated as perSecond multiplied by offlineSeconds multiplied by 0.5, capped at 8 hours.

Word game

Two-pass colour algorithm: first pass marks greens which are exact matches and marks those secret letters as consumed, second pass marks yellows which are letters elsewhere in the word from the remaining unconsumed pool. Keyboard key states only upgrade from absent to present to correct and never backwards. Tile reveal uses sequential flip animation with animation-delay of tileIndex multiplied by 300ms. Statistics tracking covers games played, win percentage, current streak, max streak, and guess distribution.

Sound effects

Web Audio API follows the pattern AudioContext then Oscillator then GainNode then destination with no files and no CDN. Create AudioContext lazily on first user interaction to comply with browser autoplay policy. Frequency reference is 523Hz for C, 659Hz for E, and 784Hz for G for pleasant ascending jingles. Wave types are sine for smooth, square for retro, and triangle for soft. Mute toggle is stored in localStorage.

High scores and persistence

High score uses parseInt(localStorage.getItem('key') || '0') on load and saves if beaten on game over. Statistics object is JSON-encoded, stored as one key, loaded and parsed on start. Guess distribution chart uses divs with width set to count divided by maxCount multiplied by 100 percent in pure CSS. Offline progress is Date.now() minus lastSaved divided by 1000 seconds multiplied by perSecond rate multiplied by 0.5 efficiency. Reset button shows a confirm dialog then calls localStorage.clear() and location.reload().

Mobile and touch

Viewport meta tag uses width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no. Swipe detection records start coordinates on touchstart, calculates delta on touchend, with a 30px minimum threshold. Canvas scaling uses Math.min(window.innerWidth minus 32, CANVAS_SIZE) with a scale multiplier. Prevent scroll during swipe with e.preventDefault() using the passive: false listener option. Minimum tap target is 44 by 44px for all interactive elements. On-screen d-pad for directional games shown only on touch devices.

The master game prompt

Eight sections covering game type and mechanics, files, design, layout, state variables, game logic, input, and features. A self-check section tells Claude to test before delivering. Game-specific additions for Snake, Memory Match, Clicker, and Word game. Batch fixes in one follow-up prompt rather than fixing issues one at a time.

The Skill You Developed

You now think in game systems: state, loop, input, and render. These are the four primitives behind every interactive experience and not just games but also dashboards, editors, and any UI that reacts to the user in real time.

When a game does not behave correctly you now know which component to examine. Is it a state problem with wrong data, a loop problem where something is not updating, an input problem where something is not being captured, or a render problem where something is drawing incorrectly?

That diagnostic thinking is what separates someone who can fix a Claude-generated game from someone who is stuck waiting for Claude to guess what is wrong.

What to Build Next

If you want to ship a product, build the clicker game themed around your niche and share it in your community. Clicker games have natural sharing mechanics where players say they reached a certain level and challenge others to beat it.

If you want to impress people, build Snake or Brick Breaker with sound effects and a polished design then send the Netlify link.

If you want to serve your audience, build a themed word game with words specific to your industry or a quiz game covering knowledge your audience needs. Both have natural use cases in communities.

Deploy using Netlify Drop the same as all other courses. Three files, one drag, and live in 60 seconds.