🎢 8 Episodes · Ages 10+ · OpenRCT2

OpenRCT2 World Workshop
Mod Your Own Theme Park

OpenRCT2 is a free, open-source remake of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, and it lets you change the park with code. Start your park, learn how a mod is laid out, then add your own shops and items in Python and write real plugins in JavaScript.

👶 Ages 10+ ⏱️ 8 Episodes 🎢 OpenRCT2 ✓ Free workshops
🧩 Mod folders 🐍 Python basics 📜 JavaScript plugins 🛍️ Custom shops 🎡 Park logic 🎢 Coaster Marshal badge
🎢 Start Episode 1 🛠️ Open the Mod Studio
Daytime This little park is drawn live: a coaster train runs the track and guests wander the paths. Click to change the time of day.
🛡️
What you need: OpenRCT2 is free and open source, and it needs your own copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (the classic game) to read the original art. Think of this as a home-computer workshop best done with a grown-up. The code you write is all yours.
🔥
Ember says: a mod here is just a small text file that changes the park. We start by getting the folders right, then we write a few lines that add something real, like a new shop. Small steps, real results.
🛠️ Open the OpenRCT2 Mod Studio A browser playground for this series: name a plugin, choose when it runs and what it does with the park, read a broken console log and choose the fix, then download a real plugin folder as a zip. No install, works on a school computer. Start building →
⏱️ Your first 15 minutes (no install)
  1. Open the Mod Studio.
  2. Give your plugin a name and pick when it runs, then tick something for it to do.
  3. On the Download your plugin tab, grab the zip. That is a real plugin file.
  4. Then do Episode 1 to get OpenRCT2 running and drop the .js into your plugin folder.

No install needed to build the plugin. You only need OpenRCT2 and the game to watch it run for real.

Your progress
0 / 3 episodes complete
Start Episode 1 to get set up.
🎢 Coaster Marshal
Finish all 8 episodes to earn the badge.

The 8 Episodes

Follow them in order. Each episode builds on the last and ends with something you can run.

Episode 1 · Beginner
Get Set Up 🎢
Install OpenRCT2, find the plugin folder and see the whole journey ahead.
Episode 2 · Beginner
Your First Plugin 📜
Write a tiny plugin, watch the game load it and read its message in the console.
Episode 3 · Beginner
Events and Messages 🔔
Make your plugin react to the park and send messages at the right moments.
Episode 4 · Improver
Money, Guests & Rides 📊
Read the real park: cash, rating, guest count and ride queues.
Episode 5 · Improver
Working with Guests 🧍
Find guests, read their mood and change what happens to them.
Episode 6 · Advanced
Build Swim Rescue 🛟
Build a full tool that catches guests in the water and saves them.
Episode 7 · Advanced
Test and Debug 🔍
Read the log like a detective and keep the game crash-free.
Episode 8 · Capstone
Design and Share 🚀
Give your plugin a personality, package it and share it safely.
Reference · Printable
OpenRCT2 Cheat Sheet 📋
Folder paths, the mod layout, plugin hooks and the common errors, all on one page.

🧰 What you need

A computer, the free OpenRCT2 program, your own copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, and a grown-up to help with the first setup. The Builder workshop works in any browser too.

🎢 The badge

Finish all 8 episodes to earn the Coaster Marshal badge on your progress page.

📋 Keep it open

The cheat sheet has the folder paths and plugin hooks so you never have to guess.

🎢
Go deeper: once Episode 2 has your first plugin running, the Python Builder is a gentler way to practise mod logic, and Swim Rescue is a full worked version of Episode 6 you can read line by line.