Say what you want to make. Play it.
Playpen is a free Windows app that builds real games and apps from a conversation, with no setup.
Windows 10 or 11. Free to use. Claude features use your own Claude subscription.
Hybrid: local and Claude, together
Playpen’s own AI and your Claude subscription share the work. Or use either one on its own.
Drag, swipe, or use the arrow keys to turn it.
- Hybrid. Playpen’s own AI and your Claude subscription share the work, or work alone.
- A project that remembers itself. Every piece keeps its own notes on your computer.
- Nothing to set up. Playpen gets its own tools ready the first time you open it.
- Test it as it’s built. Your game runs inside Playpen. Controllers work.
- Send it to your phone. Scan a code. Same Wi‑Fi.
- Talk it into existence. Say what you want and Playpen builds it.
- Build real games. Platformers, shooters, racing and more.
- Plan ahead, any time. With Claude or fully local.
- See your code, simply. One file at a time, in plain English.
- Built for kids, run by a parent. A PIN-protected Child Lock.
Watch a build
One game, start to finish
A recreation of the Playpen window, sped up. The game in it is made up for this page.
PlaypenRead what happens in the demo
- You switch Playpen to Hybrid mode.
- You say: “Make me a 3D maze-chase game.”
- The terminal opens. Playpen’s local AI and Claude Code shake hands. Playpen saves a restore point first.
- They build the game together. Simpler pieces go to the local model and harder ones go to Claude Code. Each line in the terminal says which one wrote it.
- The voice assistant says: “Your game is ready to test.”
- The test pane opens and the game is playing.
- You ask for a new look for the main character. Your Claude usage limit is reached.
- You switch to Local, open the Plan tab, and plan a “redesign main character” module with the local model.
- Claude usage comes back. You send the module to the build, and the game plays again with a fox as the hero.
- You send the game to your phone.
How it works
You choose who does the building
Playpen has three modes. Try each one.
Two builders on one project
Playpen splits a build into pieces. Simpler coding goes to the local model, in the terminal. Harder, higher-level work goes to Claude. You get more done and use less of your Claude usage.
Everything on your computer
A local AI model runs on your own PC through Ollama. It’s free, it’s private, and once Playpen is set up it works with no internet. How well it builds depends on your hardware and the model. A 32 GB PC can run bigger, stronger models.
- No account needed.
- Your projects and prompts stay on your computer.
- You can still plan, build and test, just with a smaller brain.
Two builders on one project
Playpen splits a build into pieces. Simpler coding goes to the local model, in the terminal. Harder, higher-level work goes to Claude. You get more done and use less of your Claude usage.
- Each piece goes to whichever builder fits it best.
- You can always push a piece up to Claude. Playpen never quietly drops a hard piece down to the local model.
- If Claude’s usage runs out, flip to Local and keep planning.
Full power, your own account
Playpen is built on Claude Code. In Claude mode it uses your own Claude subscription directly, on your computer. Your account is never proxied or shared.
- Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise) or an API account.
- The strongest results, for the biggest builds.
- Your requests go to Claude, exactly as if you ran Claude Code yourself.
What’s underneath
- A desktop app
- Playpen is an Electron app that runs on your PC.
- Claude Code
- The Claude side runs through Claude Code, installed and signed in on your machine.
- A local model
- Ollama runs the local AI on your computer. Playpen picks one that fits your PC.
- Restore points
- Playpen saves your project with git before every build, so you can always go back.
- A brain per project
- Each project keeps its notes, plans and history in a folder on your computer. That is what gives every request its context.
- No Playpen servers
- Nothing runs on our servers, because we don’t have any. Your projects live on your computer.
Beta
We’re looking for beta testers.
Why it exists
Playpen started with a dad trying to teach his son to make a real game, and spending a week on setup the kid would never need.
Powerful AI tools shouldn’t be locked behind cost or setup. So Playpen is free, and it sets itself up.