HQF Summer Forge

Claude is an AI you talk to in plain English. Claude Code is a special version of it that can actually build software for you — it writes the code, creates the files, runs things, and fixes its own mistakes, all while you describe what you want in normal words.

Think of it as a very fast, very patient senior programmer sitting next to you. You say "make me a game where you dodge falling asteroids", and it builds it. You say "the asteroids are too fast", and it changes them. You never have to know what the code means — you just have to know what you want.

• You don't need to know how to code. That's the whole point of this challenge.
• You do need to be clear about what you want. The better you describe your idea, the better the result.
• It's fine to argue with it. If it builds the wrong thing, just tell it. That's normal.

Luke is sorting out your account, so you don't need to pay for anything. If you ever hit a wall where it says you've run out of usage, message Luke — that's easily fixed.

There are two ways in. Pick based on how comfortable you are with computers.

Don't understand a step? Paste the exact error message to Claude (or Luke) and ask "what does this mean and how do I fix it?" That works for almost everything.

The magic sentence is just: describe the thing you want.

Good first prompts to try:

Then keep talking to it:

• "Make the background dark blue."
• "Add a score counter."
• "It's broken — the button doesn't do anything. Can you fix it?"

Tips that make a huge difference:

• Be specific. "Make a game" is vague. "Make a game where a cat jumps over boxes and the boxes speed up over time" is gold.
• Build in small steps. Get one thing working, then add the next. Don't ask for everything at once.
• When something breaks, say so plainly. "When I press start, nothing happens" is enough. It'll investigate.
• Ask it to explain. "What did you just do?" is a great question. This is how you actually learn.
• Try Plan Mode for bigger ideas — it'll think through the whole plan with you before building, so you can course-correct early.

Claude Code doesn't just have one brain — you can pick which model does the thinking, with the /model command. For this challenge, the two that matter are Sonnet and Opus.

Start on Sonnet, and stay there most of the time. It's the default for a reason — it's fast, it's sharp, and it'll happily build you a game, a website, or a tool without breaking a sweat. For pretty much everything in this challenge, Sonnet is all you need.

So what's Opus?

Opus is the biggest, most powerful model Claude offers. Think of Sonnet as a brilliant builder who works fast, and Opus as a genius architect you call in for the properly hard problems.

• 👍 Opus is great for: a bug that's beaten you three times in a row, a tricky bit of logic you can't quite explain, or planning out something big and complicated before you start building it.
• 👎 Opus is slower — you'll be waiting longer for answers.
• 👎 Opus burns through your usage limit faster than Sonnet does, so save it for when you actually need the extra brainpower rather than leaving it on all the time.

Simple rule: build on Sonnet. If you get properly, genuinely stuck — not just "this is a bit fiddly," but stuck-stuck — type /model, switch to Opus, explain the problem, then switch back to Sonnet once you're moving again.

GitHub is like Google Docs, but for code. It's a website where your project lives safely online. Three reasons you want it:

• Backup. If your laptop dies or you delete something by accident, your project is safe.
• History. It saves every version, so you can always go back to when it worked — "undo" with a memory that never forgets.
• Sharing. Luke can see your project and help you when you're stuck, without you having to explain everything.

A single project stored on GitHub is called a repository (or "repo" — same thing).

How to connect (the easy way):

1. Make a free account at github.com. Pick a sensible username — Luke will need it.
2. Send Luke your username so he can be added to your project.
3. In Claude Code, just say:
   "Put this project on GitHub for me and walk me through anything I need to click." Copy
4. Follow its instructions. It'll create the repo and upload ("push") your code.

From then on, whenever you've done some work, tell Claude Code:

That's it. Your latest version is backed up and Luke can see it.

Right now your creation only works on your computer. "Deploying" means putting it online so anyone in the world can open it with a link — including the dragons at the weekend, on their own phones.

The genuinely easiest way is to ask Claude Code to do it:

It'll pick a free hosting service and walk you through it. The usual free options it'll suggest are:

• Netlify or Vercel — brilliant for websites and web apps. Free, and they connect straight to your GitHub repo so your site updates automatically every time you save.
• GitHub Pages — the simplest option if your project is a basic website. Free, and built into the GitHub account you already have.

Once it's live, you'll get a link (something like your-project-name.netlify.app). Test it works by opening it on your phone. If it opens on your phone, it'll open for the dragons. 🐉

🔥 Golden rule: something that's live on the internet always beats something that "works on my laptop, I promise". Get it deployed early, even if it's rubbish at first — then improve it. A live, simple thing wins over a broken, ambitious thing.

Being stuck isn't failing. It's the actual job. Here's how to get moving again:

1. Ask Claude Code first. It caused most problems, so it can usually fix them. Paste the error, describe what's wrong, and ask.
2. Tell it exactly what you see. "It's not working" is hard to help with. "When I click Start, the screen goes blank and nothing happens" is easy.
3. Still stuck after a few tries? Get Luke. Share your screen on a video call, or send Luke a link to your Claude conversation (there's a Share button), or save your progress to GitHub so he can look at the code.

There's no prize for struggling in silence. The kids who ask for help finish their projects.