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…
Does a similar job
all alternatives →- IMI made a web game called Almost Pong2022 · lessmilk.com · ▲1,135
Hi HN! I made many small web games in the past with Unity or Phaser. But this time I wanted to make something completely on my own. So I coded a basic game framework in plain JavaScript, and used it to make Almost Pong. This was a really fun project that taught me a lot about JavaScript, and I plan to make more minimalist games with this framework. Interesting fact: Almost Pong doesn't load any assets, all sprites and sounds are generated with code. Happy to answer questions, and please let me know if you have any feedback on the game. Thanks!
- ITI taught my little brother JS, and he made this videogame in a week2019 · s-poony.github.io · ▲1,079
Lander, a lunar lander style web game2023 · ehmorris.com · ▲564I’ve been working on this game for the past few weeks. It’s written in plain JavaScript, mostly with canvas, with no dependencies. The code is here: https://github.com/ehmorris/lunar-lander

- MAmade a html5 game, polished it many many times2011 · hotbazooka.com · ▲211
hi all, I've always wanted to make my own game, but couldn't afford a thousand-dollar adobe (flash+photoshop) license. I'm not a talented programmer, have no degree in CS. But I understand some elements of design. So I got me a copy of ImpactJS, and after about 5 months of steep learning curve (at least for me), I managed to come up with a game. I also integrated it with a highscore and badge system, similar to what you get at Kongregate. You need to login with Google/OpenID to earn badges/scores. link is: http://www.hotbazooka.com/privatejoe hope to hear some feedback/questions from you guys!
I built an autopilot for the lunar lander game2023 · szhu.github.io · ▲277I got pretty good at (and very addicted to) the lunar lander game from a few days ago... so I decided to make an autopilot for the lander based on what I felt like was the best strategy! Now I can have perfect landings every time without lifting a finger :D Writing the autopilot code was a lot more fun than I expected! It felt a bit like programming a robot. Source code: https://github.com/szhu/lunar-lander-autopilot Original lander HN post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35032506
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