Build a Fun “Bouncing Ball” Pong‑Style Game in Scratch – Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction: Why Build a Fun “Bouncing Ball” Pong‑Style Game in Scratch

Are you curious how to build games in Scratch or just starting your journey into block programming? Scratch is a block‑based, drag‑and‑drop programming environment created by MIT. It’s a fantastic platform for beginners—especially kids—to learn programming concepts using visually intuitive code.

This bouncing‑ball game combines fundamental elements:

Motion & coordinate control
Sensing sprite overlaps
Variables for scoring
Control loops & if‑statements
Environments: changing backdrops with game progression

And guess what? In under 90 minutes, kids or novices can make a fun game in Scratch that bounces, scores, changes themes, and has game-over behavior—all without typing a single line of code.

What You’ll Learn in This Tutorial:

How to make a game in Scratch with motion, collision, and scoring
Control sprite behavior using events and loops
Use variables to track scores
Change backdrops to enhance the gaming experience
Stop the game on a “game over” condition
Bonus: enhancements to make your game more advanced!

“Bouncing Ball” Pong‑Style Game: Step-by-Step Guide

Before jumping into code, here’s what the final Scratch game includes:

A bouncing ball sprite that moves and reflects off edges.
A green paddle sprite you control with the mouse—horizontal movement only.
A red “game-over” line at the bottom; touching it stops the game.
A scoreboard that increments every time the ball hits the paddle.
Backdrop switching when the score reaches five to make the environment pop.

This touches on key Scratch concepts: sprite selection, backdrop management, variables, senses, control, and motion. Plus it includes some afresh theme swapping—perfect for a Splashy first Scratch project.

A. Set Up Your Sprites & Backdrops

Delete default cat sprite → pick the ball sprite.
Add two backdrops: Boardwalk and Concert. Optional extras can be removed.
Add a sprite for the “line” → type “line” in Scratch’s sprite search → choose a red horizontal line and position it at the bottom.
Add the “paddle” sprite → search “paddle”, pick the green paddle, position near bottom, above the red line.

📝 Note: Backdrops set the game’s scenes. Changing them when milestones are reached makes the experience dynamic.

B. Block Programming for the Ball

1. Start Ball Motion on Green Flag

when [green flag] clicked
point in direction (45)
forever
    move (10) steps
    if on edge, bounce

This block initiates the ball movement at a 45° angle and keeps it bouncing between edges. Great for ball bounce in Scratch.

2. Bounce Off the Paddle, Increment Score

if < touching [paddle] ?> then
    change [score v] by (1)
    turn cw (pick random (170) to (190)) degrees
    move (15) steps
    wait (0.5) seconds
end

This custom logic boosts score by one each time the ball hits the paddle, adds a random reflection (avoiding repeated touches), and slightly delays before continuing. Essential for the Scratch bouncing ball game feel.

C. Set Score Variable & Reset

Initialize score at game start:

when [green flag] clicked
set [score v] to (0)

Combine this with ball motion blocks to ensure every playthrough starts fresh.

D. Backdrop Change at Score ≥ 5

when [green flag] clicked
wait until < (score) > (5) >
switch backdrop to [Concert v]

Your game switches scenes automatically once you hit five! A fun way to show progression in your Scratch game development.

E. Game Over: Red Line Collision

when [green flag] clicked
forever
    if < touching [line] ?> then
        stop [all v]
    end
end

Touching the red line triggers a full stop. This simple check completes your game loop and ties into Scratch game tutorial essentials.

F. Paddle Follows Mouse

when [green flag] clicked
forever
    set x to (mouse x)
end

This ensures the paddle follows your horizontal mouse movement—classic Pong in Scratch control. Confining vertical motion keeps gameplay fair.

Final Code Blueprint – All in One

Full Ball Script

Here’s the complete set of ball scripts assembled:

when [green flag] clicked
set [score v] to (0)
point in direction (45)
forever
    move (10) steps
    if on edge, bounce
    if < touching [paddle] ?> then
        change [score v] by (1)
        turn cw (pick random (170) to (190)) degrees
        move (15) steps
        wait (0.5) seconds
    end
end

Then add a separate sprite script for backdrop switch and red line collision.

Red Line Sprite

when [green flag] clicked
forever
    if < touching [ball] ?> then
        stop [all v]
    end
end

Backdrop Control (can be in stage scripts)

when [green flag] clicked
wait until < (score) > (5) >
switch backdrop to [Concert v]

Full Paddle Script

Simple & elegant:

when [green flag] clicked
forever
    set x to (mouse x)
end

That’s it. Paddle built with drag and drop programming—no complex code needed.

Scratch Game Enhancements – Take It to the Next Level!

Once you’ve built the basic version of the game, here are some powerful enhancements you can add to make your game more interactive, challenging, and fun:

🔁 1. Add Multiple Levels

You can create different backdrops for each level, and increase the difficulty gradually.

How:

Add more backdrop scenes like “City”, “Jungle”, or “Underwater”.
When score reaches 5, switch to level 2.
When score reaches 10, switch to level 3, and so on.

wait until <(score) > [10]>
switch backdrop to [Next Level v]
change [ball speed] by (2)

⏩ 2. Increase Ball Speed Over Time

To make the game progressively harder, increase the ball’s speed after every few points.

How:

Introduce a variable: ball speed
Update the ball movement block:

move (ball speed) steps

Every few points, increase speed:

if <(score) mod 5 = 0> then
    change [ball speed v] by (2)
end

❤️ 3. Add Lives or Health Points

Instead of ending the game immediately when the ball hits the red line, you can give the player 3 chances (lives).

How:

Create a variable called lives and set it to 3.
When the ball touches the red line:

change [lives v] by (-1)
wait (1) seconds
go to x: (0) y: (100)
point in direction (pick random (45) to (135))

If lives = 0, then stop all.

🔊 4. Add Sound Effects and Music

🎧 Scratch has a built-in sound library. Add a bounce, paddle hit, or game over sound to make it lively.

if < touching [paddle] ?> then
    play sound [pop v]

You can also add background music with looping:

when green flag clicked
forever
    play sound [game-music v] until done
end

🌟 5. Add Visual Effects and Particle Sprites

Use “change color effect”, glow trails, or emit particles when the ball hits the paddle. It adds polish and visual feedback.

change color effect by (25)
set ghost effect to (30)

Also, add a particle sprite and clone it on every paddle hit.

📊 6. Show a “Game Over” Screen

Create a separate sprite called “Game Over” text that only shows when lives = 0.

when green flag clicked
hide

when [lives v] = (0)
show

This improves the user experience and brings closure to the game.

🧠 7. Use Custom Blocks for Clean Code

Use My Blocks to create modular code, like bounceOffPaddle, checkGameOver, or updateLevel. This improves organization and teaches coding abstraction.

Why These Enhancements Matter

Implementing these upgrades lets you practice deeper Scratch programming skills like:

Nested conditionals
Cloning
Custom variables
Modular design
Difficulty balancing
Event triggers and game states

If you’re using Scratch coding classes or teaching coding games for kids, these enhancements offer amazing opportunities to go beyond basics while reinforcing foundational concepts.

Summary of Key Skills Practiced:

Concept	Applied In
Motion	Ball movement and bounce
Sensing	Paddle and line collisions
Variables	Score and lives
Conditionals	Touch checks, level change logic
Loops	Forever motion and checking conditions
Events	Starting and stopping with green flag
Backdrops	Scene transitions