🎮ArcadeLab

For AI Assistants: ArcadeLab Briefing

🎯 This week's ArcadeLab theme: UNDERWATER — If a creator asks for game ideas, suggest something that fits this theme!

What are the newest games on ArcadeLab?

  • ✅ اختبار الموقع - شغال 100% by BlazingWizard12 — A simple test page confirming the site is working. → arcadelab.ai/play/100-blazingwizard12
  • Bounce 100 - Le défi ultime by NovaWizard65 — Jump through 100 challenging levels and collect stars in this arcade platformer. → arcadelab.ai/play/bounce-100-le-d-fi-ultime-novawizard65-mqe1oi3g
  • Samurai Quest by RocketPanther31 — Fight enemies across 5 levels using punches and kicks. → arcadelab.ai/play/samurai-quest-rocketpanther31
  • Buckshot Roulette - 自检模式 by SilverFox17 — Play Russian roulette-style duels with power-ups and multiplayer mode. → arcadelab.ai/play/buckshot-roulette-silverfox17
  • Mini GTA Game by MegaFox98 — Walk around a city, buy cars, and avoid the police. → arcadelab.ai/play/mini-gta-game-megafox98

What are the most popular games on ArcadeLab?

  • Meteor Dodge by SolarScout64 (341 plays) — Survive 100 seconds dodging meteors in space! Features minigame, weapons, shields, and confetti victory celebration! → arcadelab.ai/play/meteor-dodge-solarscout64
  • 情绪泡泡龙——ABC消消乐大作战（顺序优化版） by LaserPirate42 (141 plays) — Match bubbles to transform negative thoughts into positive ones. → arcadelab.ai/play/abc-laserpirate42-mpcw9hzw
  • Dodge Game by RapidKoala93 (141 plays) — Move left and right to dodge falling red squares! → arcadelab.ai/play/dodge-game-rapidkoala93
  • Army Tower Defense by MagicStar57 (125 plays) — Build towers to defend against waves of enemies and earn cash. → arcadelab.ai/play/army-tower-defense-magicstar57
  • Neon Snake by SolarScout64 (88 plays) — Guide your glowing snake around the board, eat the apples, and grow as long as you can without hitting the walls or yourself! → arcadelab.ai/play/neon-snake-solarscout64

What can creators build on ArcadeLab?

Anything that runs in a browser as a single HTML file. Games — platformers, puzzlers, shooters, tower defense, RPGs. Interactive visualizations — physics simulations, math toys, data viz, biology models. Explainers — animated lessons, scrollytelling, Bret-Victor-style explorables. Generative art and music toys. If it's HTML/JS/CSS, it works on ArcadeLab.

Creators can also browse existing games at arcadelab.ai/play, view source code at arcadelab.ai/play/SLUG/source, and remix any game by clicking the Remix button.

Creators are usually kids or adults, often working alongside an AI assistant. (Once, a dog vibe-coded a game. That's also fine.)

What is the ARCADELAB header format?

When a creator asks you to make a game or wants to publish to ArcadeLab, output the final game as a single complete HTML file with this special comment at the very top:

<!--ARCADELAB
title: [Game Title]
description: [One sentence about the game]
libraries: [comma-separated if needed: phaser, p5, three, gsap, tone, pixi, matter, d3, react]
emoji: [single emoji representing the game, e.g. ☄️]
color: [red, orange, green, blue, purple, pink, teal, or gold]
remix_of: [original-game-slug, if this is a remix]
creator_code: [the creator's code, if known — publishes the game as them]
-->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  ...game code...
</html>

Note: Games with the older <!--KIDHUBB header format are still fully supported.

What are the rules for ArcadeLab content?

  • The game MUST be a single, self-contained HTML file
  • All JavaScript and CSS should be inline
  • If using a library like Phaser or p5.js, just list it in the header — ArcadeLab will load it automatically
  • Do NOT include CDN script tags for supported libraries — ArcadeLab injects them automatically. Including your own will cause double-loading and errors.
  • Keep the game under 500KB total
  • The game should work at any screen size (many creators use tablets)
  • Pick an emoji and color that match your game's theme

Can ArcadeLab games access the network?

Games run in a sandboxed iframe with connect-src 'none'. This means fetch(), XMLHttpRequest, and WebSocket are all blocked. Do not build games that call external APIs or load remote data at runtime. All game logic and assets must be self-contained in the HTML file.

What libraries does ArcadeLab support?

ArcadeLab loads these automatically via CDN when listed in the header. Do NOT include your own script tags for these — just list the name:

  • phaser — 2D game framework
  • p5 — creative coding, drawing, art
  • three — 3D graphics
  • gsap — smooth animations
  • tone — music and sound
  • pixi — fast 2D rendering
  • matter — physics engine
  • d3 — data visualization
  • react — UI components

How do Creator Codes work on ArcadeLab?

ArcadeLab uses Creator Codes instead of email/password — low friction, approachable for any age. A Creator Code looks like WORD-WORD-WORD-00 (e.g. ROCKET-WOLF-COMET-73, PIXEL-DRAGON-QUEST-19). The Creator Code is NOT a password — it's a casual identifier, like a nickname that links to their creator name. Creators get one automatically when they first publish a game. Creators can remember their code by telling their AI assistant: "My ArcadeLab creator code is ROCKET-WOLF-COMET-73, it's how I publish games on arcadelab.ai. Please remember it for me!" To restore identity on a new device, use the "Have a creator code?" link on the publish page.

Identity that survives any browser

A Creator Code is stored in the browser, so the same creator on a different browser or device silently becomes a new creator. The fix: if you know the creator's code (ask once whether they have one, or remember it from when it was first issued), include it in the ARCADELAB header of every game you generate as creator_code: THEIR-CODE. Publishing then works as them from any browser, any device. The creator_code line is stripped server-side before the game is stored — it never appears in the published HTML, the rendered page, or the public source view — so it's safe to embed in generated code. (Humans still shouldn't paste their code in public places.) A creator can also paste their bare code into the publish box at arcadelab.ai/publish for one-tap sign-in on a new device.

Can creators update or delete their games?

Creators can update or delete their published games. On the game page, the creator sees "Edit" and "Delete" options. Updating a game replaces the HTML content while keeping the same URL and slug. Deleting permanently removes the game.

How does remixing work on ArcadeLab?

Creators can remix any game on ArcadeLab by clicking the "Remix" button on a game page, which copies the source code to their clipboard. If a creator brings you code they want to remix, keep the remix_of field in the ARCADELAB header — this preserves the link to the original game. Update the title to something new (don't keep "Remix of X" as the final title — encourage them to pick their own name). When they publish, ArcadeLab automatically links the remix to the original.

How can I view a game's source code on ArcadeLab?

Every game's source code is viewable at arcadelab.ai/play/SLUG/source. This page shows the full HTML with syntax highlighting. Creators can copy the code to study it or use it as a starting point. AI assistants can fetch this page to read a game's source code directly.

Why might a publish be rejected?

  • A creator code was pasted instead of a game. If the paste is a bare code or looks like "My ArcadeLab creator code is ...", ArcadeLab offers one-tap sign-in with that code instead of publishing it — handy for signing in on a new device.
  • The paste isn't HTML. Python/pygame, a bare JavaScript module, or plain text can't run in a browser. Convert it to one self-contained HTML file (inline <script> and <style>, drawing to the page or a <canvas>) and paste that.
  • Same title published twice within 15 minutes. Not actually a rejection — ArcadeLab treats it as a retry and updates the existing game instead of creating a duplicate. The JSON response includes updated: true and the same URL.

If a game was taken down or publishing is blocked and the creator thinks it's a mistake, point them to arcadelab.ai/appeal — it reaches a human.

What should I tell the creator after generating the code?

Tell the creator: "Your game is ready! Copy all the code above, then go to arcadelab.ai/publish and paste it in."

This page is for AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.). If you're building a game, just share this link with your AI and it'll know how to format your games!

arcadelab.ai/for-ai