is powerful!

is a JS game engine.

uses q5.js for graphics

is easy to learn!

uses Box2D for physics

is powerful!

p5play uses the same Box2D physics simulator that powers beloved games!

tiny wings app icon

Tiny Wings

shovel knight app icon

Shovel Knight

limbo app icon

Limbo

happy wheels app icon

Happy Wheels

angry birds app icon

Angry Birds

p5play was designed by Computer Science teachers to be intuitive for beginners, making it popular at schools and universities around the world. Learn p5play to level up your CS skills!

Join the community 👾

Ask questions, meet people, and share your games made with p5play on our community Discord server.

Support this project 🤝

p5play is open source and free to use under the AGPLv3. For typical use in schools, see the Teach page.

Unlock exclusive content by becoming a Pro member!

No installation required 🤩

Works great on iPads and Chromebooks! Start creating your own p5play project with an online code editor.

Local Development 🔨

You can use p5play offline or use these tags in your HTML to always get the latest version.

Reviews

“I was looking at the new p5play (v3) yesterday and realized it had been so long since I tried it! I didn't realize it had physics built into it. I would LOVE to make some videos with it. This is such wonderful work, thank you for supporting the community in this way!”

Daniel
Daniel Shiffman
Professor at NYU
YouTuber at

“I have found the p5play library to be an invaluable resource for introducing students to game design and development. Our team chose to use this library for our Game Design Summer Program due to its many customizable features, well documented resources, and easy-to-use API which make it accessible for students of all ages and skill levels.

Due to the many methods and properties included in this library, students are able to quickly bring their game visions to life with code. These games range from basic catcher games to games with multiple levels and challenging features.

In addition to the library's well-documented resources, p5play offers a wealth of support and inspiration for the students and teachers in their community. This includes their interactive learn pages that allow students to tinker with different properties and methods in the library, their tri-annual Game Jam event, and their Discord channel filled with many great resources and opportunities to find support.

Our Girls Who Code team highly recommends this library to anyone interested in game development. We can't wait to see all of the games our students create this summer with this incredible library!”

Ashley
Ashley Goetz
Curriculum Developer at

“I recently got a chance to work with Quinton and do a deep dive into the p5play library. Video game design is such a great entrypoint for engaging students in programming projects, while introducing them to the structure of object oriented programming in p5. I can't wait to see what my students create with this!”

Christina
Christina Tobajas
Teacher at

“I absolutely love what you've done with the Learn pages, what a cool reference for important sprite properties, looking forward to seeing more of that. Digging through the source a bit I'd say [p5play v3] retains a ton of the appeal of earlier versions and I was able to orient pretty quick.”

Brad
Bradley C Buchanan
Software Manager at Discord
Former Software Manager at Google
Former Software Manager at Code.org

“I added a unit centered on p5play to my Artistic Coding and Game Design curriculum as a way to tease object oriented programming. Students quickly adapted to sprites and groups and were beyond excited about all the interactivity built into p5play. Through games, students were able to solidify their understanding of properties and methods without even realizing they were learning some of the core concepts of object oriented programming.

My students spent time making games using the p5play library and were immensely proud of their accomplishments. Since we have used p5play, my students are now better able to understand classes and have even written some of their own!”

Marisa
Marisa Shuman
Computer Science Teacher at

“I've been using variations of p5play for several years in my middle school CS class. While it was serviceable before, it was nothing like what you've done with version 3. I LOVE it! Even my younger students can be successful and learn basic coding concepts because they don't really need to know all the math and physics behind the code now. Plus everything is consistent and streamlined so new ideas make sense. Then there's your amazing new website with so many easy to understand examples. I can send my advanced students directly to the p5play website and they can just explore and build anything they want. Thank you so much for all your work!”

Nathan
Nathan King
Middle School Teacher in
Ventura, CA

“p5play has been a great addition to our curriculum. It has allowed us to explore a more creative outlet for learning object orientated programming and has been invaluable in their students projects for their exams.

Since introducing p5 and p5play we have seen an uptake of over 100% for students and are now seeing huge benefits to students learning. I would highly recommend introducing p5 & p5play into your curriculum. We have now developed a bespoke series of video tutorials to allow more schools and colleges in the UK to introduce p5play to their curriculum.”

Rhys
Rhys Drury
Head of Computing at

“Thank you so much for all the work Quinton. With this proper physics integration, I may start using p5play again in my classes!”

Paolo
Paolo Pedercini
Creator of p5.play v1
Professor at Carnegie Mellon

“Overall, I can't recommend p5play enough. It has provided an incredibly easy way to take my game development skills to the next level without having to learn some complicated game development software. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, I think you'll find that p5play is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.”

Nathan
Nathan Anil
Founder at

“Using the library p5play in JavaScript in order to make graphical programs is a lot better then learning Python, because you get to see your program code influence something on screen.” - Student at Wyke

“Learning p5play has really helped me get more interested in coding, as it makes creating games very easy. It makes the process less time consuming and more fun!” - Student at Wyke

“I've used Tkinter in Python, which was useful to make basic applications. However, now using p5play we can make far more advanced games that are interesting and practical.” - Student at Wyke

Let us know what you think! 😄

Send your review of p5play to info@p5play.org

Created by Quinton Ashley

Quinton Ashley is a Computer Science educator with a passion for game design and 7 years of teaching experience!

More Info

Why do Computer Science educators love p5play?! 😍

p5play makes Object Oriented Programming tangible. Changing the properties of game objects called sprites produces immediate visual feedback.

p5play is a natural addition to p5.js based curriculum, which is already popular in schools.

Also, since it doesn't require a bespoke game editor, students gain transferrable, text based coding skills.

See the Teach page for more information.

Why should students learn p5play? 🤔

Every EdTech company claims their "easy and fun to use" software empowers students to "realize their creative potential", but often it's just marketing fluff.

If these platforms are so fun and creatively empowering, why are students only using them to complete assignments?

p5play makes the art of game design more accessible, without being reductive. We believe in rewarding students for learning the basics by enabling them to go beyond.

Check out the incredible games that students have made with p5play!

What about Scratch? 🐯

Scratch is great for students ages 8-11, but older students have higher expectations that Scratch can't meet.

Scratch has no built-in physics engine. That means even something like a ball rolling down a slope, requires a lot of math and is incredibly tedious to implement in Scratch's block based environment.

Many of the featured games on the Scratch website were evidently made by adults. That can give students false hope that they can make something similar.

With p5play, students don't have to write their own boilerplate code for basic functionality. They can focus on the fun parts of game design!

Why was p5play created? 🎨

p5play was created to definitively bridge the gap between Scratch and more complex game engines like Unity.

In p5play, sprites can have physics colliders and display animations. Multiple input devices are supported, including keyboard, mouse, game controllers, and touch screens. Groups enable novice programmers to harness the power of class inheritance.

"Only the best is good enough"
Ole Kirk Christiansen, founder of LEGO

I don't believe in skimping on quality to make something "just for kids". p5play isn't merely a stepping stone, its elegant API makes it a joy to use for all.

Whether you're a beginner, hobbyist, or professional developer: p5play was created for you!

Can I use p5play for free? 📖

p5play is open source and multi-licensed. It can only be used for free under the terms of the AGPLv3.

Acceptable free use of p5play includes:

  • teaching a free class that's open to the general public
  • in curriculum that is freely available to the public
  • posting a tutorial video on YouTube, even if it's monetized (protected by fair use)
  • developing a game that is not monetized
  • publishing a game that's open source

Typical use by schools and commercial game developers requires a proprietary license. See the Pro or Teach pages for more information.

Can I see some demos? 👀

Take a look at the student projects featured on the Play page!

Also check out @quinton-ashley on OpenProcessing and the #share channel on p5play's community Discord to see what people are making with p5play.

Credits ⭐️

p5play (version 3) was created by Quinton Ashley.

Huge thanks to everyone that's helped with p5play! 🙏

Paolo Pedercini, creator of p5.play (version 1), who trusted me to take over the project.

Erin Catto, creator of the Box2D physics simulator.

Ali Shakiba, creator of planck.js, a JavaScript port of Box2D used behind the scenes by p5play.

Contributors: @Tezumie, Oliver Zell, Caleb Foss, and Bobby S.

Testers and bug reporters: Lachlan Noble, Raj Raizada, Nathan Anil, Chayarat Wangweera, Zhiyuan Guo, Aarnav Gupta, and Carter Noa.

Special Thanks 🙌

I want to start by thanking my parents for their support and for enrolling me in coding classes when I was a kid! I also want to thank my wife, Victoria, and daughter, Luna, for their support and encouragement. 💞

In addition, I appreciate the Colombian government 🇨🇴 of Gustavo Petro for giving extended visas to digital nomads. If I still lived in US, p5play probably wouldn't exist. I couldn't afford to spend countless hours on a passion project like this one.