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Dev tools · August 3, 2026

Punter.js

We host work experience students at Orca Scan. This year I mentored one myself. Schools teach programming theory, maybe some Python. Students rarely leave with something to show their friends. When I started coding on a ZX Spectrum, I typed in listings from INPUT magazine. Tweak a number, get more lives, you’re hooked. I wanted that same effect. So I pulled the JS engine we built for OrcaCam out into its own thing: punter.js. One file, ~2000 lines, plain ES5, no dependencies. Starting with Pong, a student can write a working game in an HTML file and have it live in 15 minutes. My goal is to…

Punter.js launched on August 3, 2026 with 6 votes, #1,590 of 23,274 launches that month and more than 75% of that year's launches.

What it does

Punter.js is a small JavaScript game engine built for teaching. The goal is to get students from theory to something tangible they can show their friends in as few steps as possible. The API is deliberately small: less to learn, sooner to build. Pick a game, play it, edit the JavaScript and see the changes immediately. Nothing to install, no build step, and it’s open source.

Learn JavaScript by building and editing browser games with a tiny, beginner-friendly 2D game engine

Punter.js was created by the Orca Scan team to teach students how to build browser games with JavaScript. We also simplify barcode trackingfrom punterjs.org

In the maker’s words, at launch

We host work experience students at Orca Scan. This year I mentored one myself. Schools teach programming theory, maybe some Python. Students rarely leave with something to show their friends. When I started coding on a ZX Spectrum, I typed in listings from INPUT magazine. Tweak a number, get more lives, you’re…

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