Hello there! If you’ve been searching for an engaging new SScratchJr project to sink your teeth into, you’ve come to the right place. This tutorial shows you how to create a brilliant, fast-paced collection game starring everyone’s favourite festive flying friend: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! Please click here you missed yesterday’s Christmas coding project.

This ScratchJr game is a fantastic way to practise your sprite design, directional movement, and, most excitingly, how to implement a countdown timer into your game!

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Step 1: Design Rudolph and Set Up the Joystick Controls

First things first, let’s get our main character and controls sorted.

• Creating Rudolph: The video starts by taking the default cat sprite and transforming it into Rudolph. Use the paint editor to give him his signature red nose and draw a pair of antlers ([00:00:22]). Adjust the size so he’s easy to control ([00:00:54]).
• The Joystick: To give the player full control, you’ll need a set of directional buttons, essentially a joystick. Create four small button sprites (e.g., red, blue, purple, and orange) ([00:01:02]).
• Coding Movement: Each button needs to send a unique message when tapped ([00:01:34]). Go back to the Rudolph sprite and use the receive message blocks to connect the messages to the corresponding movement:
  • Blue message: Move Left ([00:02:12])
  • Red message: Move Right
  • Purple message: Move Up
  • Orange message: Move Down ([00:02:16])

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Step 2: Implementing the Countdown Timer

To make the game a challenge, you need a time limit! This is a slightly more advanced feature that really elevates this ScratchJr project.

• Create Timer Sprites: Create a new page for your winning screen ([00:02:30]). On the main game screen, you need two sprites for the timer: a clock face and a rotating arrow ([00:03:12]).
• Code the Rotation: On the arrow sprite, use the following code:
  1. Start with the green flag block.
  2. Use the repeat block and set it to repeat 12 times.
  3. Inside the repeat block, add the turn clockwise block (to rotate the arrow) and a wait block set to 3 tenths of a second ([00:03:54]). This creates a basic 12-tick countdown.
  4. End Game Action: Once the 12 rotations are finished, use the go to page 2 block to switch to your win screen ([00:04:04]), where you can display a “Merry Christmas” message ([00:06:45]).

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Step 3: Coding the Collectibles

Now for the items Rudolph needs to collect: Christmas puddings!

• Design Collectibles: Create several sprites of Christmas puddings, making sure to vary their size and position on the screen ([00:04:20]).
• Code the Collection: The code for the puddings is very simple. When a pudding is touched by Rudolph (using the bump block), it should immediately disappear using the hide block ([00:05:31]). Copy this code to all your pudding sprites ([00:06:26]).

Now you have a fully-functional collection game with a timer! Can you collect all the Christmas puddings before the time runs out?

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If you’re keen to continue your festive coding journey, make sure to check out the rest of the challenges in this series! You can find more exciting Christmas coding projects on my website or click here to check out tomorrow’s project . Happy coding!

Alternatively, if you are looking for Coding Tutor in Hertfordshire to support your children with this, I can also help.