is in beta, so it might not work as intended or be complete. Report bugs and share ideas in GitHub↗, see our 1.0 plans↗, and contribute↗.

Wordplay

accessible, multilingual, creative coding

Create interactive stories with words, symbols, emojis, and code with us! Get started in or choose .
📚︎ Projects
Create and share performances
🎭︎ Galleries
Experience others' performances
🙂︎ Characters
Create custom emojis and symbols
🎓︎ Learn
Learn the language with a dramatic cast of characters
📕︎ Guide
Search and browse the language reference
🏫︎ Teach
Manage classes of students and their projects

Wordplay is a programming language

  • Every program is an expression that becomes a value. is a program, and so is .
  • Numbers carry units, so is meters, and is a mistake catches before it runs.
  • Functions are values you can name, hand around, and call: .
  • When input changes, reevaluates your program and shows its new value. No need to respond to events.
  • finds mistakes before the program runs, and explains each problem.

Wordplay is multilingual

  • Every programming language feature has a name in every language, so the code reads in words you already know.
  • Your own names can be multilingual too:
  • Text carries a language, and shows the language your audience reads: .
  • The site itself is in 29 languages and you can choose more than one at a time; text appears in each.
  • You can help translate itself, right inside the app at localize.

Wordplay is accessible

  • Anything you can do with a mouse, you can do with a keyboard.
  • Screen readers describe the stage as it changes, not only when it loads.
  • You can read and write your code as blocks instead of text, and switch whenever you like.
  • Motion can be slowed down, or turned off completely.
  • Spoken output can be captioned on stage for anyone who can't hear it.

Wordplay senses the world

  • Time passing: ticks along, and knows today's date in your own calendar and time zone.
  • Where your audience points, what they touch, and which keys they press.
  • Programs can respond to your mic: how loud it is with Volume, what pitch with Pitch, and what words with Speech.
  • Your audience can type in Chat, and pick stage content with Choice.
  • Programs can respond to the beat of the music they play, with Beat.

Wordplay performs

  • Phrase puts words and emoji on the stage.
  • Group arranges them in rows, stacks, grids, or wherever you place them.
  • Pose and Sequence turn, fade, scale, and move things around.
  • Say speaks text aloud instead of showing it.
  • Music plays tracks of notes on real instruments, at a tempo, in a key:

Wordplay is typography

  • Hundreds of faces, covering the world's writing systems.
  • You can draw your custom characters and use them anywhere an emoji goes.
  • The outline of every letter is data you can read and animate, with Contour: .
  • Text wraps by the rules of the language it's written in.
  • Right-to-left and vertical writing are laid out the way they should be.

Wordplay explains itself

  • Documentation is part of the language with Doc, not a comment beside it.
  • A searchable guide explains every built-in feature, with examples.
  • Every mistake is explained where it happened, in your language.
  • You can step through a program forwards and backwards to debug what happened.
  • While you step, every value is shown right in the code that made it.

Wordplay is for sharing

  • Your projects are yours, and you decide who can see them.
  • You can invite other people to build a project with you.
  • Galleries gather projects around a theme.
  • Teachers can make classes and follow their students' work: teach.
  • You can remix anyone's public project and make it your own.

Wordplay is free and open

  • is free and it always will be.
  • It's open source: you can read how it works and you can help us change it.
  • It comes from the University of Washington↗ Information School.
  • There's a community of creators, teachers, and contributors.
  • Donations pay for what it costs to run.
🎉︎ Updates
See what's new in Wordplay
💭︎ About
Why does this place exist?
🙏︎ Thanks
Who helped make this?
⚖︎ Rights
Responsibilities, ours and yours
🗣︎ Community↗
Chat with us on Discord
🛠︎ Contribute↗
Help us make Wordplay
🎨︎ Design
Design system reference for contributors
✎︎ Localize
Help translate Wordplay into your language
🤑︎ Donate
Help us fund development