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Eight templates

2D game templates: eight playable genres to start from and reshape

A template is not a picture or an empty shell: it is a working game with its mechanics and its values. You pick the one closest to your idea, then change its look by describing, its feel with sliders and its rules in plain words.

Start your game freeBrowse the templates
Working mechanicsTunable valuesTouch controls

Small animated drawings made in code, one per genre. They illustrate the genre; they are not captures of the templates themselves.

The templates

The eight templates, one by one

For each one: the idea, what is already built, what you change yourself, an example of a bigger request, the controls and who it suits.

Run and jump

Platformer

A hero runs and jumps between platforms, collects coins and avoids enemies until the flag. The fun lives in the feel: how high the jump goes, how heavy the landing is, how quickly the hero answers.

  • Levels with fixed and moving platforms and checkpoints
  • Patrolling enemies you clear by landing on them
  • Coins, lives, and win and game-over screens
Tune with sliders
Gravity, jump strength, hero speed, number of lives, enemy speed
Ask in plain words
“Add a fifth level inside a cave and give the hero a wall slide.”
Controls
Arrows or A/D to move, Space to jump; on-screen buttons on phones
Good for
A first game, short adventure games, a game starring your brand’s mascot
Start from this template
One button

Endless runner

The hero runs by itself through three desert stages whose course is generated ahead. You jump the cacti and slide under the birds as the pace rises all the way to the oasis, with an endless mode for beating your own best.

  • A course generated as you go, with cacti and birds at fair distances
  • Score by distance and coins, with a best score kept on the device
  • Difficulty that ramps up gradually
Tune with sliders
Running speed, jump power and gravity, how often coins appear, number of lives, endless mode
Ask in plain words
“Add a shield that survives one hit and appears every thirty seconds.”
Controls
Space, or a tap anywhere, to jump; the down arrow, or a swipe down, to slide
Good for
Quick phone games, marketing campaigns, “one more go” games
Start from this template
Driving and traffic

Top-down racing

A car seen from above on a winding highway. You weave through traffic, pass cars closely to fill the nitro tank, and reach the finish line before the clock runs out and before your car is wrecked.

  • Three tracks with bends and different numbers of lanes
  • Traffic that always leaves a lane open, and nitro that fills on near misses
  • A countdown clock, a speedometer and stars for the time left
Tune with sliders
Top speed, acceleration, steering, nitro tank duration, traffic density, car health
Ask in plain words
“Add a fourth track in the rain with oil patches that make the car slide.”
Controls
Left and right arrows to steer, Space for nitro, the down arrow to brake; touch buttons on phones
Good for
Simple racing games, time-trial challenges between friends
Start from this template
Puzzle

Match-three

A grid of coloured pieces: swap two neighbours to line up three or more, they clear, and new pieces fall in. A calm, one-finger game where chains build bigger scores.

  • A grid that finds matches, drops pieces and refills
  • Levels with a goal: a target score within a number of moves
  • Chains and score multipliers
Tune with sliders
Extra moves, goal difficulty, points per gem, chain multipliers, hint delay, background colours
Ask in plain words
“Add a special piece that clears a whole row when four are matched.”
Controls
Drag or click, with a mouse or a finger, or the arrow keys and Space
Good for
Relaxed phone games, branded games with pieces made from your products
Start from this template
Fast action

Arcade shooter

A ship at the bottom of the screen and waves of enemies coming down at it. You move, shoot and dodge, and each level is quicker than the last. Simple rules, fast pace.

  • Enemy waves with different movement patterns
  • Shooting, collisions and explosions drawn in code
  • Lives, score and a best score
Tune with sliders
Time between shots, ship speed, enemy speed and health, number of lives
Ask in plain words
“Add a fourth level that ends with a final boss firing a continuous laser.”
Controls
Arrows to move, with auto-fire or Space to fire; a touch stick and a fire button on phones
Good for
Classic-style arcade games, games for events and kiosks
Start from this template
Think and move

Maze

You find your way through a maze: collect every gem to open the door and get out before time runs out, dodging guards in the later levels. Each level is a new, slightly bigger maze.

  • Six mazes generated from a number you can change, always solvable
  • Gems that open the exit door, a timer and lives
  • Guards that wander and chase in later levels
Tune with sliders
Player speed, time per maze, guard speed and cleverness, the maze pattern number, colours
Ask in plain words
“Make the maze dark so only a circle around the player is visible.”
Controls
Arrows or W/A/S/D; a touch stick or swipes on phones
Good for
Light puzzle games, learning games, treasure-hunt games
Start from this template
Educational

Kids’ quiz

Colourful questions with big answers that suit small fingers: counting, letters, colours, shapes, animals and sums. A right answer earns points and a cheerful sound, a wrong one shows the correct answer, and a relaxed mode has no clock and no losing.

  • Questions made fresh each time from lists you edit
  • Eight rounds, with stars for each round
  • Arabic and English, with the text direction handled
Tune with sliders
Questions per round, time per question, mistakes allowed, pass mark, colours
Ask in plain words
“Add a round on the times tables from 2 to 5 with ten questions.”
Controls
A click or a tap on the answer, or the keys 1 to 4
Good for
Teachers and parents, classroom revision, museum and event games
Start from this template
Light strategy

Tower defence

Enemies walk a path towards your base and you place towers beside it to stop them. Every enemy you stop pays gold for another tower. A light version: three maps, three tower types, clear decisions.

  • A path, waves and a base with health
  • Three towers with different range and damage, to upgrade and sell
  • Gold to earn and spend, and a win screen when every wave is held
Tune with sliders
Starting gold, tower power, enemy health and speed, oasis lives, game speed
Ask in plain words
“Add a poison tower that hurts enemies over time.”
Controls
Click or tap to place and select a tower, or use the keyboard
Good for
Strategy fans, games played in short sessions
Start from this template
Choosing

How to choose the right template

Do not start from “which game do I like?” but from “who will play, for how many minutes, and with which hand?”

Played with one finger

For phones and quick play: the endless runner, match-three, the kids’ quiz and tower defence. One touch is enough.

Needs two hands

For movement and precision: the platformer, racing, the shooter and the maze. Best on a keyboard, and they work on touch with on-screen buttons.

A round in a minute

The runner, the shooter and the quiz fit into a short break and invite “one more go”.

Teaches something

The kids’ quiz, the maze and match-three are easy to tie to content: letters, numbers, vocabulary, products.

For a brand

Match-three, the runner and the platformer take your logo, colours and mascot without their mechanics changing.

Your first game

Start with the platformer or the runner. Their rules are familiar and the effect of every slider shows at once.

From template to your game

How to turn a template into a game of your own

Four steps that apply to all eight templates.

  1. 1

    Pick the template and play it as it is

    Open it in the studio and play a round before changing anything, so you know what works and what you want different.

  2. 2

    Change the look by describing

    Write the new theme: characters, place, colours. The mechanics stay and the appearance changes.

  3. 3

    Set the difficulty with sliders

    Each template has its values: speeds, counts, timings. Move them while the game runs until it suits your audience.

  4. 4

    Add what makes it yours, then publish

    Ask for a new rule, level or element, try it on a phone, and publish it to a link.

Plainly

What you should know about the templates

A start, not a finishA template is a short, working game. What makes it yours is what you change.
Simple, original artTemplates are drawn with simple shapes in code. Upload your own art or ask for another look.
No multiplayerEvery template is single-player.
The list changesThese eight are where the catalogue starts. The list inside the studio may change over time.
FAQ

Questions people ask

Are the templates full games or just visuals?
Working games: each has its genre’s mechanics, a menu, a score, win and lose, sound, and keyboard and touch controls. You play it before you change anything.
Can I start without a template?
Yes. Describe your game directly and Fanann picks the foundation closest to its genre. Templates are a shortcut for when you already know the genre you want.
Can I mix two genres, such as a platformer with quiz questions?
Start from the template closest to the core mechanic, then ask in words for the second to be added. Small additions usually work first time; a deep blend takes several rounds of asking and trying.
Which templates suit young children?
The kids’ quiz first: big answers and no penalty for a wrong one. Then the maze and match-three on easy settings: more time and fewer colours.
Are the templates in Arabic?
The game’s text (the menu, the screens, the instructions) is written in the language you ask for: Arabic, English or both.
Are there 3D templates?
Yes, in a separate studio: seven worlds, among them an obstacle course, a kart racer and a product showroom. They are on the 3D game templates page.
2D Game Design

More about 2D Game Design

2D Game Design

Describe a game and play it in your browser within minutes: menu, levels, score, win and lose, sound and touch controls. Tune it with sliders and publish it to a link.

Open the studio page

Create browser games with AI

The whole path in four steps: describe, customise, play, publish. With an endless runner you can try on the page itself.

See the details

AI platformer game maker

A platformer you can play right now: moving platforms, enemies, checkpoints and a double jump, then how to build and edit one like it.

See the details

Still deciding between 2D and 3D?

3D Game Design

Describe a world or a game and get a lightweight, stylised 3D experience that runs in the browser on the player’s device, with a visual world editor and edits in plain words.

Open the studio page

2D vs 3D game maker

A guide that helps you choose: the kind of experience, the effort to make it, devices, touch controls, and five questions that settle it.

Read the guide
Play a platformerPlay an endless runner3D game templatesApp and website templates
From the blog

Guides to making games

All Making games guides
How to make a game without coding: the honest path for beginners11 min read2D or 3D: which should your first game be?9 min readBranded mini-games for marketing: campaigns people actually play10 min read

Pick a genre and make it yours.

Eight templates that work from the first moment. Change their look by describing and their feel with sliders, then publish to a link.