Your child designs a game that helps someone belong or bounce back
The Games for Change Student Challenge is an international game design competition. Empire AI coaches your child from first idea to a finished game, ready to submit.
10 coaching classes: $700 early bird
Usual price $800. Save $100 when you register by 15 November 2026.
Registration closes 31 December 2026. Places are limited by class size.
About the competition
An international game design competition, open to children in Singapore
Games for Change is a nonprofit based in the US. Its Student Challenge asks young people aged 10 to 25 to design an original digital game about a real social issue. Games are submitted and judged online, so your child can take part from Singapore. They do not need to be entered by their school.
The 2026-27 themes: your child’s game must be about one of these
Theme 1
Everyone Belongs Here
A game that teaches players how to help other people feel they belong.
Linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals on good health and well-being, gender equality, and peace and justice.
Theme 2
Bounce Back
A game where the player helps someone or something recover from a setback and come back stronger.
Linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger, sustainable cities, and climate action.
Games must be submitted online by 30 March 2027.
What your child learns
What your child practises while building their game
Making a game about a real issue means thinking about the person playing it, then coding something that works every time they press a key.
Designing for a player
Your child decides what the player does, why it is fun, and what the player should understand by the end of the game.
Coding game logic
Scores, levels, collisions, what happens when the player wins or loses. Each one is a rule your child writes, tests and adjusts.
Showing an idea through play
The theme has to come through in what the player does, so your child learns to get a message across through choices instead of long explanations.
Test, find the problem, fix it
Your child plays their own game again and again, spots what breaks, and fixes it. This is debugging, and it gets faster with practice.
Working as a team
Teams split the work: one person on the story, one on the art, one on the code. Your child learns to plan together and keep to a shared deadline.
Using AI within the rules
The competition allows AI if it is declared, but AI cannot design the game, write the story or create the gameplay. Your child learns where that line is.
How it works
Prepare for the competition in 10 classes
Our coaching classes give your child time to plan, build and test their game, then submit it properly before the deadline.
Pick a theme and plan the game
Your child, or their team, chooses a theme, sketches the idea and plans how the game plays. The trainer checks that the idea fits the competition rules before any building starts.
Build and test it in class
Ages 10-13 build in Scratch, Minecraft Education or Roblox. Ages 14-18 build in Unity. Your child tests and improves the game every week.
Submit it by 30 March 2027
We help your child get the game ready to submit (a link to the game, or a video walkthrough for Minecraft games), fill in the entry form and declare any AI use. A game cannot be changed after it is submitted, so we check everything first.
From past Student Challenges
Play past winning games
Winning games from past Student Challenges are on the Games for Change Student Arcade, free to play in your web browser. Try a few with your child before you register. They show the level your child will be working towards.
Who it is for
Is this right for my child?
Both age groups need some game-making experience, because the classes go straight into building the competition game. Ages 10-13 need to have made games in Minecraft Education, Roblox or Scratch, not only played them. Ages 14-18 need to have built something in Unity. No experience yet? Our year-end holiday camps teach the basics first.
Builds in Scratch, Minecraft Education or Roblox
Your child builds in the tool they already know. Scratch and Roblox games are submitted as a link to the game. Minecraft games are submitted as a video walkthrough and, under last year’s rules, judged in the theme category and Best Game Trailer only.
- Your child enjoys playing games and wants to make one of their own
- Your child has made games in Minecraft Education, Roblox or Scratch before (required for this age group)
- Your child can stick with one project over several weeks
Builds in Unity
Your child’s finished game is exported so it plays in a web browser. Last year, Unity games could also enter a Made with Unity award category.
- Your child has built something in Unity before (required for this age group)
- Your child is thinking about computing, game design or digital media as a subject or career
- Your child wants a finished project to show in applications
Solo or with friends
Your child can enter alone or as a team. Each teammate registers separately, and you tell us who they are teaming up with so we put them in the same class.
Why take part
A real game, real players, international judges
A game anyone can play
Your child finishes with a real game they can show family, friends and teachers. Scratch and Unity games play in a web browser from a link.
Judged internationally
Games are judged by Games for Change in age divisions, so your child competes against others their age: Junior (10-13) and Senior (14-18). Last year there was also a Best International Game category for entrants from outside the US, which includes Singapore.
A project for their portfolio
A finished, submitted game is a real project your child can show and talk about, including for DSA, Early Admissions Exercise or polytechnic applications. Read more.
Last year’s award categories included Game of the Year, Best International Game, Made with Unity, Social Impact, Game Trailer, Character Design, Tim LeTourneau Gameplay and Tabletop.
Last year, Games for Change offered a US$10,000 scholarship for the Game of the Year in each age bracket (10-18, and university age). Winning games are shown on the Games for Change Student Arcade.
About Empire AI
Who is teaching your child
One package for ages 10-18
Competition coaching
Entering the Games for Change Student Challenge is free. Our fee covers the coaching classes and our help getting your child’s game submitted correctly. The same package applies whether your child enters solo or in a team. Each team member registers separately.
Games for Change coaching
Twenty hours of coaching. Early bird price, per child, until 15 November 2026. Usual price $800.
- 10 weekly classes x 2 hours (20 hours of coaching), in a small semi-private group
- MOE-registered trainer
- Ages 10-13 build in Scratch, Minecraft Education or Roblox. Ages 14-18 build in Unity. Prior experience in their tool is needed
- Solo or team entry, with teammates placed in the same class
- Your child’s game planned, built and tested in class
- Help getting the game ready to submit: a link to the game, or a video walkthrough for Minecraft games
- Help setting up your child’s Games for Change account, filling in the entry form and declaring any AI use
Class dates
10 x 2-hour sessions, once a week for 10 weeks, finishing before the 30 March 2027 submission deadline.
Class days and times are being finalised. Tell us your preferred days and centre when you register, and we will confirm your child’s class day and time by WhatsApp within 24 hours. If your preferred slot is full, we offer the nearest alternative slot. Teammates are placed in the same slot.
Submission deadline
Games submitted online by 30 March 2027
Travelling during the programme? Tell us when you register, or at least 24 hours before any class your child will miss, and we will reschedule those classes so your child does not fall behind.
Your child brings their own laptop to every class. Ages 14-18 work in Unity, which needs a Windows 10 or 11 laptop, or a Mac on macOS Ventura (13) or newer, ideally with at least 8GB of memory. Chromebooks and iPads cannot run Unity. Message us on WhatsApp before registering if you are not sure your child’s laptop will work.
Step one
Register your child
Takes about two minutes. You will get a confirmation email straight away. If it does not arrive, WhatsApp us on 8145 5004.
Submitting the form confirms your child’s place under the terms and conditions (at the end of the FAQ below). Fees are not refundable and registrations cannot be withdrawn. We confirm your child’s class day and time by WhatsApp within 24 hours. If your preferred slot is full, we offer the nearest alternative slot.
Registration form
Questions parents actually ask
FAQ
Do we pay Games for Change to enter?
No. Registering and submitting a game is free. Our fee covers the coaching classes and our help with the submission.
Does my child need coding experience?
Yes. Ages 10-13 need to have made games in Minecraft Education, Roblox or Scratch, not only played them. Ages 14-18 need to have built something in Unity. The classes are for building a full competition game, not for learning the tools from the start. If your child has no experience yet, our year-end holiday camps teach the basics first. If you are not sure your child is ready, WhatsApp us before registering.
Can children in Singapore take part?
Yes. The competition is open to entrants outside the US, and your child does not need to be entered by their school. Last year there was also a Best International Game award for entrants from outside the US.
Which software will my child use?
Ages 10-13 build in Scratch, Minecraft Education or Roblox, whichever they already know. Ages 14-18 build in Unity. How the game is submitted depends on the tool. Scratch and Unity games are submitted as a link that plays in a web browser. Minecraft games are submitted as a video walkthrough and, under last year’s rules, judged in the theme category and Best Game Trailer only. Roblox games are accepted and submitted as a link to the game.
Can my child use AI tools?
Yes, if it is used responsibly and declared in the entry form. AI cannot be used to design the game, write the story or create the gameplay. Games that break this rule, or do not declare AI use, can be disqualified. We teach your child how to stay within the rules.
Can my child use art, music or code made by someone else?
Yes. Games for Change allows free and paid assets, such as images, sound effects and music, as long as they are credited. The game itself must be your child’s own original work. We show your child how to credit what they use.
What can get a game disqualified?
Games for Change can disqualify entries that are late or incomplete, not about one of this year’s themes, copied, submitted twice, changed after submission, or that use AI without declaring it. We check every game against these rules before your child submits.
When is the submission deadline?
30 March 2027. Games are submitted online. We plan the classes so your child’s game is finished and checked well before then.
When are the results announced?
Games for Change has not announced the 2027 results dates yet. For reference, in 2026 the finalists were announced in late April and the winners on 28 May.
Can my child enter with friends?
Yes. In past years, Games for Change has accepted games from one child or from a team of up to 4. We are confirming this year’s rules with them. Each teammate registers separately with us, and you tell us who they are teaming up with so we put them in the same class.
Where are the classes held?
At our Novena or River Valley centre (8 Mohd Sultan Road). Choose your preferred centre when you register, and we will confirm it with your child’s class slot.
What if we miss one of the classes?
Tell us at least 24 hours before the class and we will reschedule it for your child, so they do not miss any of the coaching.
Does this help with DSA or other applications?
Competition experience can be one part of the evidence schools consider for relevant DSA talent areas. A finished game entered in an international competition gives your child a real project to show and talk about in a portfolio. The same goes for Early Admissions Exercise and polytechnic applications. Each school sets its own criteria, and taking part does not guarantee admission.
Can siblings register together?
Yes, as long as each child is between 10 and 18 and meets the experience requirement for their age group. They can enter separately, or as one team under the team rules in the question above. Register each child separately so we have the right details for each one.
Terms and conditions
- These coaching classes are run by Empire Code Pte. Ltd. (UEN 201818613N), trading as Empire AI. Empire AI is not part of, or appointed by, Games for Change.
- The fee is per child. The early bird price of $700 applies to registrations made by 15 November 2026. Registrations after that are $800. Registration closes on 31 December 2026.
- Your registration is confirmed when you submit the form. We will WhatsApp you payment details within 1 business day.
- Your child’s class day and time are confirmed by WhatsApp within 24 hours of registration. If your preferred slot is full, we offer the nearest alternative slot.
- Fees are not refundable, and registrations cannot be withdrawn once submitted.
- Classes go ahead as scheduled, whatever the number of children in the group.
- If your child cannot attend a class, tell us at least 24 hours before it starts and we will reschedule it. Classes missed without at least 24 hours’ notice cannot be rescheduled.
- Your child brings their own laptop to every class. Ages 14-18 need a laptop that can run Unity.
- Ages 10-13 need to have made games in Minecraft Education, Roblox or Scratch. Ages 14-18 need to have built something in Unity. Please check this before registering, as fees are not refundable.
- Games for Change sets the competition rules, themes, deadlines, judging and prizes, and can change them. Empire AI does not control judging or results, and cannot guarantee that any game will be shortlisted or win an award.
- Each game is entered through a Games for Change account in your child’s name. You agree to give any parent or guardian consent that Games for Change asks for. Entries without the required consent can be disqualified.
- Your child’s game must be their own original work, or their team’s. Games for Change can disqualify copied work or AI use that is not declared.
- Team entries: each teammate registers and pays separately.
- Photos and videos of your child are only used if you give permission in the registration form.
Places are capped by class size
Registration closes 31 December 2026, or earlier if the classes fill.