iMath Game Designer Program, phases 2 to 6 — printable student packet, 8 sheets
Game Designer Program v5 — print preview. This file is
phases 2–6 and prints portrait: 2 Game Loops (learn it → detective → design mine) · 3 Play it
& update it · 4 Friend playtest · 5 Pitch & present · 6 Math Brainstorm (open idea bank,
teacher's choice). Phase 1 — My Game Idea now lives in its own file,
game-designer-phase1.html, and prints landscape so a
worked example can sit beside every box the child fills in. One question per box, circle-ONE vs
✗-many kept consistent, ½-inch ruled lines, OCR anchors on all four corners of every page, name bar
in every footer.
💡1 · my game idea
🔁2 · game loops
🎮3 · play & update
👀4 · friend test
🎤5 · pitch
➕6 · math ideas
PHASE 2 OF 6Game Loopslearn it → spot it → design yours
🔁 Step 1 — What IS a game loop?
Sheet 2A · read together
A game loop is a SEQUENCE that repeats.
You already know sequences: first, next, then, last. A loop is a sequence that curls back
to the beginning and runs again — like the days of the week, or the water cycle, or your morning
routine. Every game you love is secretly one of these circles.
RI.3.3 · sequence of steps in a textRI.3.8 · connections: first / second / third in a sequence
Every game loop has three parts. Around and around they go:
And one island rule: the GENTLE MISS.
In a good loop, missing isn't the end — it just sends you back around. You slide back a little,
you lose a coin, the timer wiggles… and you get to try again right away. On our island,
nobody loses everything. A gentle miss is what makes players say "one more turn!"
Let's practice together first — the loop of TAG at recess:SL.3.1 · collaborative discussion
1 · THE GOAL
2 · WHAT YOU DO
3 · THE TRICKY PART
Loops are everywhere — video games, board games, tag at
recess, even the cardboard arcade games you'll build this year. Turn the page and go find one. 🔍
PHASE 2 OF 6Game Loopslearn it → spot it → design yours
🔍 Step 2 — Game Detective
Now you know what a loop is
You know the secret now — so go find a loop in the wild. Pick a game you
already love and crack it open, detective. RI.3.3 · describe a sequence
MY FAVORITE GAME IS…
Now dissect it! Answer for YOUR favorite game:
1 · THE GOAL — WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO IN THAT GAME?
2 · YOU DO — WHAT DO YOU DO OVER AND OVER, THE WHOLE TIME?
3 · TRICKY — WHAT MAKES IT HARD?
4 · THE GENTLE MISS — WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT GAME WHEN YOU MESS UP?
That's the loop you just learned — now you've found it in
a real game. 🔎
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 2 · SHEET 2B · DETECTIVE
PHASE 2 OF 6Game Loopslearn it → spot it → design yours
🔁 Step 3 — MY game's loop
Sheet 2C · upgrade your idea
Time to upgrade the game you invented in Phase 1 — give it a LOOP.
Same three parts, but now they're yours. Fill in the circle:
CA NGSS · 3-5-ETS1-1 · define a design problem
1THE GOALWhat are players trying to do?
3TRICKYWhat makes it hard?
2YOU DO — over and overThe main thing players do: jump? catch? mix? race?
MY GENTLE MISS — WHEN YOU MISS, WHAT GENTLE THING HAPPENS? (NOBODY LOSES EVERYTHING!)
You thought it all through — NOW give it a name! (Great names come
last.) Capitalize the important words. L.3.2 · capitalization
MY GAME'S NAME — COPY IT FROM PHASE 1, OR CHANGE IT NOW IF YOU HAVE A BETTER ONE
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 2 · SHEET 2C · MY LOOP
PHASE 3 OF 6Play It & Update Itafter your game is built on the island
🛠️ Update Card — My Turn
After YOU play your game
Your game is real now — and real games get UPDATES. Design like a
scientist: observe, pick ONE change, predict.
CA NGSS · 3-5-ETS1-3 · improve a design from tests
MY GAME'S NAME
THIS WILL BE VERSION #
WHAT I LOVED MOST WHEN I PLAYED IT
Circle one: playing my own game felt…
😴 too easy😊 just right😵 too tricky
Designers call "just right" FLOW — exciting, but never so hard it stops being fun.
THE ONE THING I'M CHANGING (JUST ONE — REAL STUDIOS SHIP SMALL!)
I PREDICT THIS CHANGE WILL MAKE THE GAME…
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 3 · UPDATE (MINE)
PHASE 4 OF 6Friend Playtestwatch someone else play — silently!
👀 Update Card — Friend's Turn
Watch a friend play it
Pro designers watch OTHER people play — quietly! No helping, no hints.
Watch closely, then write what you saw. SL.3.1 · collaborative discussionCA NGSS · 3-5-ETS1-3
MY PLAYTESTER'S NAME
WHERE THEY GOT STUCK (OR CONFUSED)
WHEN THEY SMILED OR CHEERED
ONE IDEA THEY TOLD ME AFTER PLAYING
THE ONE THING I'M CHANGING BECAUSE OF THEIR FEEDBACK
📣 PATCH NOTES — TELL THE CLASS WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 4 · UPDATE (FRIEND)
PHASE 5 OF 6Pitch & Presentshow the class what you made
🎤 Pitch & Present
End of the program
Your game has been designed, built, played, and updated. Time to sell it!
One sentence per box — linking words are your friends.
W.3.1 · opinion writing with reasons
YOU SHOULD PLAY MY GAME BECAUSE…
ALSO…
FINALLY…
FINISH STRONG! "THAT'S WHY…"
🎤 Your 1-minute pitch SL.3.4 · report with facts & details:
1) Your game's name and what kind of game it is. 2) Walk the class around your loop
(goal → what you do → what's tricky). 3) Tell the story of one UPDATE you made and why.
4) Speak clearly — not too fast!
Rehearsal check — put an ✗ in each box once you've practiced it out loud:
I said my game's name
I walked the class around my loop
I told the story of one update
I spoke slowly and clearly
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 5 · PITCH
PHASE 6 OF 6Math Brainstormoptional · teacher's choice
➕ Math Brainstorm
Just ideas — nothing is decided yet
This is a brainstorm, not a rule.
We don't know yet exactly how math will live inside everybody's game — every game is different!
So here's an idea bank. Read them, argue about them, add your own. Later we'll pick the ones
that actually fit. In a brainstorm there are no wrong answers. 🧠
Which math could live inside YOUR game? Put an ✗ in TWO boxes.
Arrays3.OA.A.3 · multiply with equal groups & arrays
Things in equal rows. Could your treasure, enemies, or trees come in rows?
2 rows × 3 = 6 coins
Quadrilaterals3.G.A.1 · shapes & their attributes
Four-sided shapes: squares, rectangles, rhombuses. Could your platforms, doors, or windows be
shapes players have to name?
Equal groups3.OA.A.1 · interpret products of whole numbers
Sharing things out fairly: 4 baskets, 5 in each. Could players pack, split, or feed things in
equal groups?
Symmetrystretch · 4.G.A.3 · lines of symmetry
One half mirrors the other. Could a level, a creature, or a puzzle be built to match on both
sides?
Coins & money3.NBT.A.2 · add & subtract within 1000
Only if your game even HAS coins! Prices, change, saving up for something big.
My own math ideadesigner's choice
Time? Measuring? Patterns? Fractions of a pizza? Write yours here:
Pick ONE of the two you marked. How could it live inside your game?
Draw it or write it — a rough sketch is perfect.
THE MATH IDEA I PICKED, AND HOW IT WOULD WORK IN MY GAME
SKETCH IT — SHOW ME WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
DESIGNER: iMATH · PHASE 6 · MATH BRAINSTORM (OPTIONAL)
FOR GROWN-UPSTeacher's Cornernot a student sheet · one per designer
📋 Teacher's Corner
Rubric & program map
What we're looking for
Standard
⭐ rating
Phase 1 (separate landscape file): game named & described, character drawn,
paragraph uses connecting words
W.3.2 · W.3.2.c
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Phase 2: detective sheet + own loop — goal, action, tricky part, gentle miss
RI.3.3 · 3-5-ETS1-1
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Phases 3–4: both update cards — observation → ONE change → prediction
Phase 6 (optional): math idea chosen and connected to their own game
3.OA.A.3 · 3.G.A.1
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The six phases at a glance
💡 1 My Game Idea — a separate landscape file
(game-designer-phase1.html): handwriting & designer name → name and describe the
game → draw the character → write the paragraph. Its own instructor page is sheet 5. →
🔁 2 Game Loops — 3 sheets: teach what a loop is (a repeating sequence) → detective
a game they already love → design the loop for their own Phase-1 idea. →
🎮 3 Play It & Update It — after their game is built on the island. →
👀 4 Friend Playtest — silent observation. Repeat phases 3–4 as often as you like;
designers collect versions. →
🎤 5 Pitch & Present. →
➕ 6 Math Brainstorm — optional, teacher's choice: an open idea bank, not a requirement.
Nothing assumes a game has coins.
Phases 2–4 work unchanged for a cardboard-arcade unit — same design loop, cardboard instead of pixels.