Game Design is about what makes games fun and how designers create them. You'll study games you know, change the rules, and build and test a game of your own. Every playtest teaches you something new.
Why it's worth it
Every game you love started as a rough idea on scrap paper that got tested, broken, and fixed over and over. This badge puts you on the designer's side of the table. You'll learn why some rules make a game tense and others make it boring, and how to watch players and turn what you see into a better design. Those skills work far beyond games: engineers, teachers, and app designers all build, test, and improve the same way.
Start this week
- Play one game you already own tonight and jot down one thing that makes it fun and one thing that annoys you.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Game Design counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Start your design notebook now. A plain composition book works fine; date every page.
- Pick your four games for requirement 1 and make sure they're different kinds, like a card game, a board game, a video game, and an outdoor game.
Stay safe
- If you share or test a game online, keep your real name, school, and location private, and don't message with strangers. Testing with family, friends, and your troop works great.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
Analyzing games
Tips for this section: Pick four very different games, like a card game, a board game, a video game, and a sport. Think about what makes each one fun to play.
Example for this section: For tag, the play value might be physical challenge and chasing. For chess, strategy. For a cooperative board game, teamwork against the game. For a story-driven video game, exploring and discovery. Write a short paragraph on each.
- Requirement 1a
Analyze four games you've played, each in a different medium: name its medium, objectives, player format, rules, resources, and theme (if any). Discuss with your counselor how each plays and what you like and dislike, and chart how they compare
- Requirement 1b
Describe four kinds of play value, giving a game built around each. Talk with your counselor about other reasons people enjoy games
- Requirement 2
Discuss FIVE of these 17 terms with your counselor, each tied to a game: balance, depth, pace, difficulty, replay value, setting, story, characters, level design, play sequence, interface design, age appropriateness, single-player vs. multiplayer, real-time vs. turn-based, cooperative vs. competitive, strategy vs. reflex vs. chance, abstract vs. thematic
Tip: Learn the terms by spotting them in games you already play. That makes them easier to remember.
For example: Pick five terms and show each in a game you know. In a racing game: balance means no car always wins, pace speeds up on the final lap, difficulty rises as the tracks get twistier, replay value comes from unlocking new cars, and it's real-time instead of turn-based.
- Requirement 3
Define intellectual property and describe the kinds found in game design. Explain how it's protected and why that matters. Define a licensed property and give an example
Tip: Talk about who owns a game's name, art, and rules, and why designers protect their work.
- Requirement 4
Changing the rules
Tips for this section: Change one rule in a familiar game and play it again. Notice whether it got more fun, more fair, or harder.
Example for this section: Take Uno and add one rule: you can only play a card if you say its color out loud. Play three rounds with family and note what happened. Was it more fun, more chaotic, slower? Did any player have a new advantage?
- Requirement 4a
Choose a game whose rules or objectives players can change (such as basketball, hearts, chess, or kickball). Sum up its usual rules and goals, then play it the normal way
- Requirement 4b
Suggest changes to several rules or objectives and predict how each will change play
- Requirement 4c
Play with one change and watch how it affects what players do and how they feel. Do this again with two more changes
- Requirement 4d
Tell your counselor how each change affected what players did and felt, and how accurate your predictions were
- Requirement 5
Design a new game in any medium or mix of media, keeping a game design notebook of your work:
Tip: Start small with a simple game idea and write in your notebook every time you make a change and why.
For example: A notebook entry might read: "Version 3: players kept running out of cards, so now you draw two at the start of each turn. Testers said it felt less frustrating." Note the problem, the change, and why.
- Requirement 5a
Write a vision statement naming the medium, player format, objectives, and theme, plus the setting, story, and characters if they fit
- Requirement 5b
Describe why someone would want to play your game
- Requirement 5c
Draft a first list of rules and define the resources
- Requirement 5d
Draw the game's elements
- Requirement 6
Prototype and playtest
Tips for this section: Play your game with friends and family many times. Take notes on what confuses people and what makes them laugh.
Example for this section: Your prototype can be index cards, coins, and a hand-drawn board. Playtest it five or more times with different people, and change only one or two things between tests so you know what made the difference.
- Requirement 6a
After your counselor approves your concept, build a prototype of your requirement 5 game. If it applies, show your counselor how the rules and equipment keep players safe. Log your work in your notebook
- Requirement 6b
Playtest with enough people to fill the player format and compare it to your answer in 5b. Fix unclear rules, gaps, dead ends, and exploits. Then change one or more rules, mechanics, or objectives, say why, play again, and log whether it worked as expected
- Requirement 6c
Do 6b at least two more times, logging the results in your notebook
- Requirement 7
Blind test
Tips for this section: Write clear instructions and hand them to someone who has never seen your game. Watch quietly and see where they get stuck.
Example for this section: Write your rules, hand them to a family friend who has never seen the game, and stay silent while they set up and play. Mark every spot where they hesitate or get it wrong. Those are the parts to rewrite.
- Requirement 7a
Write an instruction sheet with everything needed to play: how to set up, play, and end the game, plus its objectives
- Requirement 7b
Give your requirement 6 prototype, instructions, and components to players who haven't played or watched it before. Watch them play without giving any help, and log their feedback in your notebook
- Requirement 7c
Show your counselor your notebook. Discuss how players reacted and what you learned about designing games, name what you like best about your game, and suggest at least one change
- Requirement 8
Meet a game professional. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Ask your counselor about local game studios, colleges, or clubs where you could meet a designer or teacher.
- Requirement 8a
With permission from your parent or guardian and approval from your counselor, meet a game development professional and ask about their job and where it fits in the development process
- Requirement 8b
Meet a game development educator and discuss which skills they stress in class
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A college game design or computer science program
Instructors and students can show real projects in progress and explain how a team builds a game from idea to release.
How: Have a parent email the department with your counselor's help and ask whether a faculty member could meet with a few Scouts or host a short tour.
A public library game night or maker space
You can playtest your prototype with new players and try games you've never seen.
How: Check the library's events calendar and go with a parent or a buddy. Ask the librarian if you can bring a prototype to test.
Where it can lead
- Game designerCreates the rules, levels, and goals that make a game fun; a portfolio of your own games matters as much as a degree.
- Game programmerWrites the code that makes a video game run; usually studies computer science.
- Game artist or animatorDraws the characters and worlds players see and move through.
- Quality assurance testerPlays early versions to find bugs and confusing parts; a common way to start in the industry.
- Educational game developerDesigns games that teach, for schools, museums, and training programs.
Ask yourself
- What kind of games do you like most, and what do you think that says about how you like to play?
- When a playtester didn't enjoy your game, what was your first reaction, and what did you do with it?
- Which change to your game made the biggest difference, and how did you figure it out?
- How did watching someone play from your written rules change the way you think about explaining things?
- If you kept working on this game for a year, what would you try next?
Good questions to ask your counselor or a game designer
- How do you know when a game idea is worth building and when to drop it?
- What do you look for when you watch people playtest?
- What's a game you love that has a rule you'd change, and why?
- How do designers protect their games without stopping others from making similar ones?
- What skills should I build now if I want to make games someday?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Host a game night where Scouts playtest each other's prototypes.
- Encourage both board games and video games; the design process is the same.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Public library — Books on game design and often board games you can borrow.
- Local game store — Many host game nights where you can try new games and meet players.
- U.S. Copyright Office (opens in a new tab) — What copyright covers and how it applies to game art, stories, and code.
- USPTO Kids (opens in a new tab) — Kid-friendly explanations of patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
- Khan Academy Computing (opens in a new tab) — Free lessons in programming and making simple games.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.