Merit Badge Capstone Project

AI-Built Game — From Design Doc to Playable Build

Executive Summary

Scouts design an original game on paper, prove the core loop works in at least three playtests, write a clean instruction sheet, then use an AI coding assistant (with the counselor in the room) to turn it into a playable digital build. The Scout directs the AI, logs every prompt and accepted change, and writes a short reflection on what the AI did well and where they took over. Covers the full Game Design badge and satisfies the Artificial Intelligence badge's project requirement with responsible, supervised AI use.

Covers 22 requirement items across 4 badges.

Requirements This Project Checks Off

Requirement IDs link back to the corresponding badge page, where the full official text and checklist live. The counselor note under each badge explains how this project maps onto the badge's intent.

Game Design

Covers every requirement 1–8 end-to-end.

1a. Analyze Games — 1(a)
Analyze four games you have played, each from a different medium. Identify the medium, player format, objectives, rules, resources, and theme (if relevant). Make a chart to compare and contrast the games.

Counselor note: Medium / format / objectives chart comparing four games they already play.
1b. Analyze Games — 1(b)
Describe four types of play value and provide an example of a game built around each concept. Discuss with your counselor other reasons people play games.

Counselor note: Discussion of play-value types — done during concept kickoff.
2. Game Design Terms
Discuss with your counselor FIVE of the following 17 game design terms. For each term, describe how it relates to a specific game: story, setting, characters, play sequence, level design, interface design, difficulty, balance, depth, pace, replay value, age appropriateness, single-player vs. multiplayer, cooperative vs. competitive, turn-based vs. real-time, strategy vs. reflex vs. chance, or abstract vs. thematic.

Counselor note: Five design terms discussed against the Scout's own game.
3. Intellectual Property
Define the term intellectual property. Describe the types of intellectual property associated with the game design industry. Describe how intellectual property is protected and why protection is necessary. Define and give an example of a licensed property.

Counselor note: IP discussion naturally triggered by the Scout asking about AI-generated art and music credit.
4. Rule Variations
Do the following:

Counselor note: Rule-variation exercise done on a familiar game before prototyping their own.
5. Design a New Game
Design a new game. Any game medium or combination of mediums is acceptable. Record your work in a game design notebook.

Counselor note: Vision statement, rules, resources, and element sketches recorded in the design notebook.
6. Prototype and Iterate
Counselor approval of the concept is required before prototyping.

Counselor note: Paper prototype + at least three iterations with a rule change between each.
7. Blind Test
Do the following:

Counselor note: Blind test run on both the paper and digital versions with counselor-approved instruction sheet.
8. Professional Perspective
Do ONE of the following:

Counselor note: Optional: interview with a game-development professional or educator to wrap the project.

Artificial Intelligence

Satisfies the AI badge project option. Scouts use AI as a supervised junior developer on a real software build.

1. Key Concepts
Define the following terms and share the meaning of each with your counselor: artificial intelligence (AI), artificial intelligence agents, automation, basic programming, bots, data, databases, digital workers, general AI, machine learning (ML), narrow AI, superintelligent AI, tasks, triggers, workflows, and variables.

Counselor note: Every AI-specific vocabulary term (prompt, model, hallucination, training data) appears in the actual build log.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Basics
Do the following and share what you learned with your counselor:

Counselor note: Discussion of what AI is and is not — grounded in concrete cases from the build.
5. Deepfakes
Do the following and share what you learned with your counselor:

Counselor note: Brief deepfake / misinformation discussion triggered when deciding how to credit AI-generated art or music.
6. Developing AI Skills
Do the following and share what you learned with your counselor:

Counselor note: Hands-on prompt engineering — scaffold, implement, debug, refactor. Each prompt is logged.
7a. Practical Application — 7(a)
With your counselor's approval, choose an artificial intelligence project based on your personal interest or a community need. Develop a plan outlining the project's objectives, data requirements, and potential ethical considerations. Implement the project utilizing appropriate artificial intelligence tools, languages, or platforms. Share your project with your counselor.

Counselor note: Documented AI-assisted software project with written objective, prompt log, and reflection.

Programming

The digital build phase is a real programming project across two or three environments — a clean fit for Programming req 5 when paired with a short Scratch warm-up.

1a. Safety — 1(a)
View the Personal Safety Awareness 'Digital Safety' video (with your parent or guardian's permission).

Counselor note: Digital-safety video watched before any AI/online account is used in the build.
1b. Safety — 1(b)
Discuss first aid and prevention for the types of injuries that could occur during programming activities, including repetitive stress injuries and eyestrain.

Counselor note: Eyestrain / repetitive-stress discussion tied to the build sessions.
4c. Intellectual Property — 4(c)
Describe the differences between freeware, open source, and commercial software, and why it is important to respect the terms of use of each.

Counselor note: Freeware vs. open source vs. commercial — triggered by picking an engine or framework (Scratch / HTML+JS / Godot).
5a. Project — 5(a)
In the first language and environment, write or modify a program, debug and demonstrate, and explain as above.

Counselor note: Environment 1: Scratch paper-prototype companion — deal cards, move tokens, score (input → decision → output).
5b. Project — 5(b)
In the second language and environment, write or modify a program, debug and demonstrate, and explain as above.

Counselor note: Environment 2: HTML/JS (or chosen engine) digital build — the main deliverable, AI-assisted, with Scout explaining every block.

Inventing

An original game IS an invention. The design notebook, prototype, blind test, and iteration map directly to Inventing's notebook + working-prototype track.

3a. Intellectual Property — 3(a)
Define the term intellectual property. Explain which government agencies oversee the protection of intellectual property, the types of intellectual property that can be protected, how such property is protected, and why protection is necessary.

Counselor note: IP discussion naturally lands when the Scout asks whether they can use AI-generated art / music / themes.
6. Invention Concept
Think of an item you would like to invent that would solve a problem for your family, troop, chartered organization, community, or a special-interest group. Keep a notebook to record your progress.

Counselor note: The game design notebook IS the inventor's notebook: dated entries, vision statement, sketches, version history.
7. Working Prototype
Build a working prototype of the item you invented for requirement 6. Test and evaluate the invention. Consider cost, usefulness, marketability, appearance, and function. Describe how your original vision compares to the prototype. Have your counselor evaluate and critique your prototype. (Counselor approval of the design is required before building.)

Counselor note: A working digital prototype, evaluated by the counselor and potential users.

Project Details

Executive summary

The Scout owns the design; the AI is a junior developer the Scout directs. The project starts with pencil and index cards, moves to a written rulebook that passes a blind test, and finishes with a playable digital build. Every prompt and every AI change is logged in the design notebook so the Scout can show exactly what they asked for, what they accepted, and what they rewrote.

What the Scout ends the project with

A written vision statement, theme, and player format
A paper prototype played at least three times with rule changes recorded
A clean instruction sheet good enough for a blind test
A playable digital version of the game (Scratch, HTML/JS, or an approved engine)
A game design notebook with dated entries, version labels, and a prompt log
A short 'What the AI did well / where I had to take over' reflection

Phase 1 — Paper prototype (before any code)

No laptops yet. The Scout picks a medium (card, board, dice, tabletop-movement), writes a one-page vision doc, sketches the components, and plays their game. We iterate at least three times on paper, changing one rule between each session and predicting the effect before testing. This is where the game becomes actually fun — trying to skip this phase is the single biggest failure mode.

Phase 2 — Rulebook and instruction sheet

The Scout writes a standalone instruction sheet: setup, turn order, win condition, edge cases. The test is whether someone who has never seen the game can read the sheet and play without help. This is the blind-test deliverable for Game Design req 7 and forces the Scout to clarify their mental model before handing anything to the AI.

Phase 3 — AI-assisted digital build

With the counselor in the room, the Scout turns the rulebook into a digital build using an AI coding assistant. Small, testable steps — the same discipline used on the Telemetry Rocket project.

Pick a simple target platform (Scratch, a single HTML/JS page, or an approved engine).
Prompt the AI to scaffold the game window, board, or card layout; accept only code the Scout can read and roughly explain.
Implement one mechanic at a time (deal cards, roll dice, move, score). Playtest after each.
When something breaks, paste the error to the AI and read the explanation before accepting the fix.
Log every prompt, every accepted change, and every rejected suggestion in the notebook.
End Phase 3 with a version the Scout could share with a friend.

Phase 4 — Blind test and iterate

Run a blind test on the digital build (and on paper if not already done). Watch silently, take notes, then make at least one rule, balance, or UI change with a written prediction of the effect. Retest.

Phase 5 — Reflection on the AI's role

The final deliverable is a short reflection: what the Scout directed, what the AI did well, where the AI hallucinated, and what the Scout fixed by hand. This reflection is the heart of the Artificial Intelligence badge — it proves responsible use, Scout authorship, and awareness of the tool's limits.

Safety and ethics rules

AI tools are used in a counselor-supervised session or with a parent present.
No personal information, real names of other Scouts, or photos are pasted into a prompt.
Any art, music, or text the AI produces is labeled as AI-generated in the game's credits.
The Scout — not the AI — owns the design decisions and writes the vision statement by hand.

Schedule & Time Commitment

Total time: about 11 hours of counselor time.

Seven 90-minute sessions across seven weeks, plus one ~30-minute blind-test slot with fresh players. Fits a troop meeting cadence. No fieldwork required — easier logistically than the rocket.

Session	Hours	Focus
Session 1 (week 1)	1.5	Game analysis + design terms. Scout picks medium and writes a one-page vision doc.
Session 2 (week 2)	1.5	Paper prototype v0.1. Play with counselor. Write first rule-change prediction.
Session 3 (week 3)	1.5	Paper v0.2 and v0.3. Two more iterations. Finalize core mechanic.
Session 4 (week 4)	1.5	Write the instruction sheet. Counselor blind-test rehearsal.
Session 5 (week 5)	1.5	Digital build kickoff — pick platform, scaffold with AI, implement mechanic 1. Log prompts.
Session 6 (week 6)	1.5	Implement remaining mechanics, debug with AI help, playtest.
Blind test (any day)	0.5	Real blind test with fresh players. Silent observation, notes.
Session 7 (wrap-up)	1.5	One balance/rule change based on blind-test notes, retest, write AI-role reflection, sign-off.

Interested in running this capstone with a Scout? Get in touch or go back to the Merit Badge Counselor page.