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Free Scratch Starter Guide

A step-by-step guide to creating your first Scratch game. Follow along block-by-block to build a playable character controller and collect coins!

Grab the ready-made starter project

The backdrop, player sprite and movement script are already set up. Open it in Scratch, then follow the steps below to make it your own.

To open it: in Scratch, click File then Load from your computer and pick scratch-starter.sb3.

⬇ Download starter (.sb3)

1 Create a New Scratch Project

Go to scratch.mit.edu and click Create.
A new project opens with the default cat sprite.
Click the blue flag at the top to test , the cat appears on a white stage.

What you should see: The Scratch editor with the Code tab open, the Stage on the right showing the orange cat sprite on a white background, and the Sprites panel below the stage.

2 Set Up the Stage (Backdrop)

Click the Choose a Backdrop button (bottom-right of the stage area).
Pick a backdrop you like , Blue Sky or Pattern work well for beginners.
Alternatively, use the Paint option to draw your own: pick a colour and use the rectangle tool to fill the background.

What you should see: The stage now has a background behind the cat sprite. The stage thumbnail in the bottom-right shows the backdrop image.

3 Set Up Your Player Sprite

We'll rename and resize the default cat sprite to be our player.

Click on the Sprites panel below the stage and select the cat sprite.
In the sprite properties panel, rename it from Sprite1 to Player.
Set the Size to 80% (or whatever looks good).
Position the player at x: 0, y: -100 (near the bottom of the stage).

What you should see: The sprite panel shows "Player" instead of "Sprite1". The cat appears slightly smaller and positioned near the bottom of the stage.

4 Add a Coin Sprite

Click Choose a Sprite (bottom-right, next to the backdrop button).
Search for Apple or Ball , any collectible-looking sprite.
Rename it Coin and set its size to 60%.
Position it at a random spot: x: 150, y: 50.

5 Code the Player Movement

Click the Player sprite, then go to the Code tab. Drag blocks from the left panel to build this script:

-- PLAYER MOVEMENT --

when green flag clicked
go to x: (0) y: (-100)
forever
    if key left arrow pressed? then change x by (-5)
    if key right arrow pressed? then change x by (5)
    if key up arrow pressed? then change y by (5)
    if key down arrow pressed? then change y by (-5)

How to build this: From the Events category, drag when green flag clicked. From Control, drag forever. Inside the loop, nest four if-then blocks. For each, use a Sensing key pressed? block inside the hexagonal slot. Add Motion change x/y by blocks inside each if.

What you should see: The script area shows a long "forever" loop with four nested "if" blocks. Each "if" block has a key sensor and a motion block inside. The blocks snap together like puzzle pieces.

6 Add a Score Variable

From the Variables category, click Make a Variable.
Name it score, choose For all sprites, and click OK.
A score display appears on the stage.

Add this script to the Player sprite (a separate script block):

-- SCORE RESET --

when green flag clicked
set [score] to (0)

7 Code the Coin Collection

Click on the Coin sprite and add this script:

-- COIN COLLECTION --

when green flag clicked
forever
    if touching Player? then
        change [score] by (1)
        go to x: pick random (-200) to (200) y: pick random (-150) to (150)

How to build this: Events → when green flag clicked. Control → forever. Inside: if-then with a Sensing touching Player? block. Inside the if: Variables change score by 1, then Motion go to x: y: with two Operators pick random blocks filling the x and y slots.

What you should see: When the cat touches the coin, the score goes up by 1 and the coin jumps to a new random position. It keeps happening every time you touch it.

8 Test and Play!

Click the green flag to start the game.
Use arrow keys to move the player around.
Touch the coin to collect it , the score increases and the coin respawns elsewhere.
Try adding more coins, obstacles, or a timer to make it more fun!

Ideas to expand:

Add a Timer variable that counts down from 60. Show "Game Over" when it reaches 0.
Add an enemy sprite that chases the player.
Use costume changes to animate the player while moving.
Add sound effects with the Sound category blocks.

Want more Scratch help?

Check out our Scratch Block Reference Cheat Sheet for a quick reference of every block category.

📘 Scratch Cheat Sheet →