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Stage 6: Score and Survival Timer

Stage 6: Score and Survival Timer

Course progressStage 6 of 10
~90 min
Your workspace

Keep your Scratch project tab open all week. Open in a new tab so you don’t leave the course.

Build your gameScratchOpen in a new tab ↗Try the finished versionLive reference gameOpen in a new tab ↗
Build

score, time, and progress readouts

Learn

how variables turn survival into feedback

Ship

a game that measures how far the player gets

Teacher demo
  1. Create time and levelComplete variables for all sprites.
  2. Reset score and time on green flag.
  3. Increase time every second while gameOn is 1.
  4. Increase score as the cube survives.
  5. Win after time reaches 45 seconds.

The big idea

A score turns play into a challenge. The player can now say, 'I survived 32 seconds,' then try again and beat it.

New words
score
a number that rewards progress
timer
a variable that counts time
win condition
the rule that says the player finished the level
readout
a visible variable display on the stage
Before you start

Stage 5 should be done. Cloned spikes should scroll across the stage.

Target visual examples
Original cube runner sprite
Cube Runner
Original spike obstacle
Spike

Students may follow these examples or draw their own versions in Scratch. Keep the sprite names from the lesson.

Use the examples

Follow the target shapes shown here so your scripts match the lesson quickly.

Make your own

Draw a custom cube, spikes, portal, or backdrop in Scratch. Keep the same sprite names so the code still works.

Finished game target
Score 240Time 38
Cube runnerSpike obstacle

The cube stays near the left side while the level scrolls toward it. Jump timing is the whole game.

Build it

  1. Create variables time and levelComplete for all sprites.
  2. Show score and time on the stage as large readouts.
  3. Add the timer script to the Stage or Cube.
  4. Set gameOn to 0 and levelComplete to 1 when time reaches 45.
  5. Play until you crash and then play until you win.

Score and timer loop

when green flag clicked
set [time v] to (0)
set [score v] to (0)
set [levelComplete v] to (0)
forever
if <(gameOn) = (1)> then
wait (1) seconds
change [time v] by (1)
change [score v] by (10)
if <(time) > (44)> then
set [levelComplete v] to (1)
set [gameOn v] to (0)
end
end
end

Understand it

The game can end for two different reasons now: crash or complete. The variable levelComplete tells the finish screen which story to show later.

Try this

Learning beat

Try this

Three short experiments. Predict before you run, then test your guess.

Predict first
Change the win time from 45 to 15. Predict how much easier the course becomes.
Compare
Should score increase every second or every spike passed? Which one feels fairer?
Connect
Stage 7 changes gravity. Why should the timer code not care about gravity at all?

Test your stage

  • time starts at 0.
  • score starts at 0.
  • Both readouts increase while gameOn is 1.
  • The game stops when time passes 44.

If it breaks

  • If time jumps too fast, make sure there is one wait 1 seconds inside the loop.
  • If score keeps growing after a crash, check the gameOn condition.
Coach notes

Keep students moving on the default path first. Custom assets are encouraged, but the required names and variables are not optional. If debugging takes more than a few minutes, compare the student's sprite names, variable names, and block order against the stage test list.