Review by Caryn Lix, Common Sense Education | Updated April 2017
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Ready Maker

Get it now
  • Download from App Store

Fun and easy game design yields surprisingly complex creations

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Arts
Skills
  • Creativity
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
4–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (1 Review)
Price:  Free, Paid Use of the game design tool is free. Educator accounts are $1.95 per student per month (which includes group administrative features, asset uploading, and unlimited sharing) plus $14.95 monthly hosting.
Platforms:  iPad, iPhone, Chrome, Mac Apps

Take a look inside

5 images
Ready Maker provides rich options for a variety of game designs.
Master the basics of programming in a simple way.
Tutorial videos offer a great way to get started.
Choose from premade images or upload your own.
With educator accounts, teachers can maintain and monitor groups.

Pros: Easy to use but difficult to master, will engage kids and keep them solving problems.

Cons: The app can be confusing to use at first, and students will need scaffolding to link creations to class content.

Bottom Line: With teacher support, a creative introduction to coding and game design.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers can use Ready Maker in small groups, with partners, or with individual students to provide an introduction to computer coding through something sure to catch the kids' attention: game design. There are lots of tutorials built right into the app that will allow students to work at their own pace. Because most of the tutorials refer to the PC version of the app, students will probably benefit from some whole-group instruction on how the app works. At that point, this app is best used by small groups or individuals who can work through the tutorials or experiment at their own pace.

It would make an excellent addition to an after-school club or coding class but also has lots of elements related to curricular content such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. Students could easily use Ready Maker to design animations or games related to science, math, history, and more.

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Put this tool into practice:

In Ready Maker, you add backgrounds, icons, and behaviors to make your own digital creations through an app (or downloaded on a PC or Mac). The coding is extremely simple, relying on visual drag-and-drop blocks and clear, concise directions rather than any actual coding language. The core concepts are there, however, and students exposed to Ready Maker likely will find actual coding familiar in the future. Students can make mazes, video games, animations, or just about anything else they can imagine.

Various activities and tutorials are found on the site, and final creations can be played on iOS, Mac, or PC. A paid educator account includes group administration features, asset uploading, and unlimited sharing. 

Ready Maker is a fun, simple vehicle for game design. It builds slowly; you can start by simply adding a character and enabling it to zoom around. But with more work you can build surprisingly complex games, designs, and creations. It's ideal for self-guided learning, provides ample opportunities for creative thinking and problem-solving, and offers teachers a fantastic opportunity to link curricular content to something that will really captivate students' interest. Getting used to the controls can be tricky at first, but once they're mastered, students will have a lot of freedom to engage in the design process.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Ready Maker is a fun, intuitive way to introduce game design and coding logic; students will enjoy being creative and exploring new challenges.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

The self-guided learning helps to build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, is simple enough for beginners, and offers plenty of features for advanced creations.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Tutorials refer to the PC version, making the app a bit hard to figure out at first.

Common Sense Reviewer
Caryn Lix Classroom teacher
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Teacher Reviews

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Featured review by
Daniel K. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Heritage Middle School
Colleyville, United States
Nice introduction to game design
I would use this product. I liked that it was basic, but it also became more complex later on. There could be more opportunity to create.
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