New to Scratch? Start here.
You don't need to know any coding. Setting up takes about ten minutes. Then your child builds, and you cheer them on.
The online version, with a short video, is at tinkerpenny.com/start. Questions: support@prosperitylab.ai
What is Scratch?
Scratch is a free tool for children to make games and stories. They snap coding blocks together, like puzzle pieces. There's no typing of code.
It's made by the Scratch Foundation, with the MIT Media Lab. Millions of children use it at school and at home. Tinker Penny is separate from Scratch.
What you need
- A computer, laptop, Chromebook or tablet. Android tablets and iPads work. A phone is too small to build on.
- Internet, the first time. Scratch also has an app that works offline.
- A pack. Market Day is free, and a great place to start.
- About 20 minutes for the first session, side by side.
Five steps to your first game
Choose your device. The steps change to match.
Get Scratch
Scratch is free, with no ads. You don't need an account.
Windows or Mac: Open Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari and go to scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor. Or install the free Scratch app from scratch.mit.edu/download, which works offline.
Chromebook: Open Chrome and go to scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor. Or install the free Scratch app from scratch.mit.edu/download, which works offline.
Android tablet: Open Chrome and go to scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor. Or install the free Scratch app from scratch.mit.edu/download, which works offline.
iPad: Open Safari and go to scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor. There's no Scratch app for iPad, and you don't need one.
Open your guide
Open your order page (the link in your email) and tap Open the guide. The free pack opens from our Start here page.
Windows or Mac: Want it offline? Download the ZIP. On Windows, right-click it and choose Extract All. On a Mac, double-click it. Then open OPEN-ME.html.
Chromebook: Want it offline? Download the ZIP. Open it in the Files app and drag the folder inside to My files. Then open OPEN-ME.html.
Android tablet: Want it offline? Download the ZIP. Open your Files app, go to Downloads, tap the ZIP and choose Extract. Then tap OPEN-ME.html and choose Chrome.
iPad: Always use Open the guide. An iPad can't run a guide that's saved as a file.
Play the game first
Choose your edition at the top: Anywhere, UAE or India. Press the green flag and play the finished game together.
This is the game your child is about to build.
Load the starter
In the guide, go to step 01 and tap Download the starter. In Scratch, choose File, then Load from your computer. Pick the file ending in Starter.sb3 from your Downloads.
Windows or Mac: Put the guide and Scratch side by side, or switch between the two tabs.
Chromebook: Put the guide and Scratch side by side, or switch between the two tabs.
Android tablet: Switch between the guide and Scratch with the recent apps button. Many tablets can show both side by side.
iPad: Switch between the two Safari tabs, or use Split View to see both at once.
Build, then save
Follow the steps, one or two a day. Before you stop, choose File, then Save to your computer. Next time, load your saved file, not the starter.
Tangled up? Each step has a rescue file: the game as it should be after that step.
Your first session
- Play the game together. Let your child press the buttons.
- Read the first step aloud, or tap Read to me.
- Load the starter together. It's the trickiest part. After that, it gets easier.
- Let your child snap the blocks. Point, but let them use the mouse or their finger.
- Test it. Press the green flag. It works? Cheer! It doesn't? Compare with the picture in the guide.
- Save before you stop. File, then Save to your computer.
Words you'll see
- Stage
- The box where the game plays.
- Sprite
- A character or a thing in the game, like Sprout or a coin.
- Costume
- A sprite's picture. A sprite can have several.
- Block
- One coding piece. Colours show what kind it is.
- Script
- Blocks snapped together. It runs from top to bottom.
- Green flag
- Starts the game.
- Variable
- A box that holds a number, like Coins.
If something goes wrong
The guide looks blank, or its buttons don't work.
Your device is showing a quick preview of the file. Use Open the guide on your order page instead. On a computer or Android tablet, you can also open OPEN-ME.html in a web browser.
I can't find the file I downloaded.
Look in your Downloads folder. On a tablet, open the Files app and choose Downloads.
Scratch asks me to sign in.
You don't need to. Close that box. Use File, then Load from your computer and Save to your computer.
The blocks went into the wrong place.
Each sprite has its own blocks. First tap the right sprite in the list under the stage. Then build. The guide says which sprite each time.
The game is all tangled up.
Save your work first. Then load the rescue file for the last step that worked. It's in the guide, at the end of each step.
There's no sound.
Turn the volume up. On a tablet, tap the stage once first. Some tablets only play sound after a tap.
Key presses don't work on our tablet.
Scratch on tablets can't use the keyboard blocks. Our games use taps, so you won't need them.
Where did my child's saved game go?
It's in Downloads, as a file ending in .sb3. Rename it with your child's name, so it's easy to find next time.
Still stuck?
Write to support@prosperitylab.ai. Tell us your device and what you see. We reply within two working days.
Try it now with Market Day.
It's free, with no sign-up. Open it, play the game, then build it.