15 Scratch Project Ideas for Beginners (Easy to Advanced)

Looking for Scratch project ideas for beginners that a child can actually finish? Here are 15 projects, sorted from easy to advanced, each with the skill it teaches and the exact blocks to use. Pick one that matches your child's level and start building today.

Before you start

You need a laptop or desktop computer and the free Scratch editor, either in a web browser or as the offline app. A mouse is easier than a trackpad for small hands.

An adult should create the online account, pick a username that does not contain the child's real name, and remind the child never to share personal details in project notes or comments. The offline app needs no account at all.

All 15 projects at a glance

Project	Level	Main skill	Time
1. Animated name	Easy	Events	20 minutes
2. Dance party	Easy	Loops	20 minutes
3. Two character story	Easy	Sequence and timing	30 minutes
4. Chase the mouse	Easy	Forever loops	15 minutes
5. Virtual pet	Easy	Events and costumes	30 minutes
6. Catch the apple	Medium	Variables	45 minutes
7. Maze game	Medium	Conditions	45 minutes
8. Quiz game	Medium	Input and if else	40 minutes
9. Pong	Medium	Sensing	45 minutes
10. Drawing pad	Medium	Pen extension	30 minutes
11. Clicker challenge	Medium	Variables and timing	40 minutes
12. Space shooter	Advanced	Cloning	1 to 2 hours
13. Platform jumper	Advanced	Gravity with variables	1 to 2 hours
14. Adventure with levels	Advanced	Broadcasts	2 hours
15. Flying bird game	Advanced	Clones, broadcasts, variables	2 hours or more

Easy Scratch project ideas for beginners

These five need no variables. They suit ages 7 and up, or any child in the first week of Scratch.

1. Animated name

Teaches: events, where a click makes something happen.

1. Add one letter sprite for each letter of a nickname.
2. On each letter, start with when this sprite clicked.
3. Attach a different action to each: change color effect by 25, turn 15 degrees or play sound Pop until done.

2. Dance party

Teaches: loops.

1. Choose a dancer sprite with several costumes and a stage backdrop.
2. Build when green flag clicked, then forever with next costume and wait 0.3 seconds inside.
3. Add a second forever loop that plays music with play sound until done.

3. Two character story

Teaches: sequence and timing.

1. Add two sprites facing each other.
2. Give the first say Hello! for 2 seconds.
3. Give the second wait 2 seconds, then its own say block, so they take turns.
4. Finish with switch backdrop to for a new scene.

4. Chase the mouse

Teaches: forever loops and motion.

1. Start with when green flag clicked and a forever block.
2. Inside it, place point towards mouse-pointer and move 5 steps.
3. Change the 5 to see how speed works.

5. Virtual pet

Teaches: several events on one sprite.

1. Pick an animal sprite with two costumes.
2. Use when this sprite clicked with switch costume to and say Yum! for 1 seconds.
3. Add when space key pressed with change y by 30, wait 0.2 seconds and change y by -30 for a jump.

Medium projects: adding scores and rules

These six bring in variables and if then blocks. Try them once the easy projects feel comfortable.

6. Catch the apple

Teaches: variables and conditions.

1. Move a bowl sprite with when right arrow key pressed and change x by 10, and the left arrow with -10.
2. Make a variable called score. On the apple, loop change y by -5 inside forever.
3. Add if touching Bowl then with change score by 1, then send the apple back up with go to random position and set y to 170.

7. Maze game

Teaches: conditions and color sensing.

1. Draw a maze backdrop with walls in one color.
2. Move a small sprite with four arrow key events using change x by and change y by.
3. In a forever loop, add if touching color then with go to x: -200 y: 150 to return to the start.
4. Add a goal sprite and say You win! for 2 seconds on touch.

8. Quiz game

Teaches: user input and if else.

1. Use ask What is 7 + 5? and wait.
2. Add if then else with the green equals block comparing answer to 12.
3. Put change score by 1 in the first gap and say Try again! for 2 seconds in the second. Repeat for five questions.

9. Pong

Teaches: sensing and direction.

1. On the paddle, loop set x to mouse x inside forever.
2. On the ball, loop move 10 steps and if on edge, bounce.
3. Add if touching Paddle then with point in direction pick random -45 to 45.
4. Draw a red line at the bottom and use if touching color then with stop all.

10. Drawing pad

Teaches: the Pen extension.

1. Add the Pen extension from the button at the bottom left.
2. In a forever loop, use go to mouse-pointer, then if mouse down? then pen down, else pen up.
3. Add when space key pressed with erase all.

11. Clicker challenge

Teaches: two variables working together.

1. Make variables called score and time. On a star sprite, use when this sprite clicked, change score by 1 and go to random position.
2. For the countdown, use set time to 30, then repeat 30 with wait 1 seconds and change time by -1.
3. End with stop all.

Advanced projects: clones and broadcasts

These four suit children who have finished several medium projects. Expect more than one sitting.

12. Space shooter

Teaches: cloning.

1. Hide the laser sprite. On when space key pressed, use create clone of myself.
2. Under when I start as a clone, add go to Rocket, show, then repeat until touching edge with change y by 10.
3. Finish with delete this clone. Clone the enemies the same way.

13. Platform jumper

Teaches: gravity built from a variable.

1. Make a variable called speed y. In a forever loop, use change y by speed y and change speed y by -1.
2. Add if touching Ground then with set speed y to 0.
3. Inside that, add if key up arrow pressed? then with set speed y to 12 for the jump.

14. Adventure with levels

Teaches: broadcasts, where sprites send messages to each other.

1. When the player touches a door sprite, use broadcast level 2.
2. On the stage, add when I receive level 2 with switch backdrop to.
3. On the player, add the same hat block with go to x: -200 y: -100 to reset the position.

15. Flying bird game

Teaches: clones, broadcasts and variables together.

1. Give the bird gravity as in project 13, with when space key pressed setting speed y to 8.
2. On the pipe, loop create clone of myself and wait 2 seconds.
3. Each clone uses set x to 240, then repeat until x position < -230 with change x by -5, then delete this clone.
4. On the bird, if touching Pipe then broadcast game over.

Tips for parents when a child is stuck

• Ask, do not fix. Try: "What did you want it to do? What is it doing instead?"
• Read the blocks aloud together, top to bottom, like a recipe. The mistake often shows itself.
• Click a single block to run just that piece and see what it does.
• Check which sprite is selected. Code placed on the wrong sprite is the most common beginner bug.
• Make the problem smaller. Pull blocks out until something works, then add them back one at a time.
• Take a break after twenty minutes of frustration. Tomorrow it often takes two minutes.

What to do after these projects

Ask your child to remix a finished project: add a second level, a high score or a new enemy. Changing a working game teaches more than starting a new tutorial.

A child who can build the advanced projects alone is usually ready for a typed language such as Python. If you would like a teacher to guide that step, Core Minds Academy offers live 1:1 and pairs coding classes for kids, and you can book a free trial class to try one. More project guides are on our blog.