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Game Poems curates an innovative collection of small, poetic videogames, or “game poems.” That is, short interactive artworks that borrow language and framing from traditional videogames (e.g., they may utilize a player-controlled avatar or make use of classic videogame iconography), while also presenting themselves as poems in some way (perhaps by engaging with creative material constraints, playing with poetic text, or simply following in the lyric tradition of short-form personal expression).

The ones I tried out were very cool, though I didn’t click on all of them and can’t vouch they are 100% classroom appropriate.

I could see a teacher showing several, students identifying common characteristics, and then creating their own (assuming they or the teacher were technologically proficient to do so).

I’m adding this info to The Best World Poetry Day Resources – Help Me Find More.

For what it’s worth, I asked ChatGPT for suggestions of tools students could use to create these kinds of “game poems.”  Here’s what it said:

⭐ BEST MATCHES FOR “GAME POEMS”
1. Twine

Best overall tool for interactive poetry

💡 What it is: A free tool for creating choice-based interactive stories and poems

🎮 Why it fits game poems:

Readers click choices

Text changes based on decisions

Can feel like a game, dream, or maze

🧠 Skill level: Beginner-friendly (no coding required)

🌐 Runs in browser or desktop

📤 Output: Shareable web page

Perfect for:

Second-person poems

Emotional decision poems

Identity, memory, or “what if” poetry

➡ Students can create poems where reading = playing

2. Scratch

Best for younger students / visual interaction

💡 What it is: Block-based coding platform (MIT)

🎮 Why it fits:

Poems can be revealed by clicking, moving, or colliding

Text, sound, and animation combine

Feels very “game-like”

🧠 Skill level: Elementary–middle school friendly

🌐 Browser-based

📤 Shareable links

Perfect for:

Concrete poetry

Spoken-word poems with motion

Mood poems with sound and visuals

➡ Think: poem as a playful interactive scene

3. Bitsy

Best for minimalist, artsy game poems

💡 What it is: Ultra-simple pixel game creator

🎮 Why it fits:

Poems appear as players move through rooms

Objects trigger lines of poetry

Very “indie game” aesthetic (like gamepoems)

🧠 Skill level: Beginner

🌐 Browser-based

📤 Shareable HTML file

Perfect for:

Journey poems

Memory poems

Place-based or vignette poems

➡ This is probably the closest vibe to gamepoems.com

🟡 SECOND-TIER (Still Strong)
4. Google Slides (Interactive Poetry)

Lowest barrier, surprisingly effective

Use hyperlinks between slides as “choices”

Click objects to reveal lines

Add sound and images

➡ Not a real game engine, but great for classrooms with tight tech limits

5. Canva (Interactive Presentation Mode)

Students create poem “levels” as pages

Buttons link to different paths

Strong visual design

➡ Less game logic, more visual storytelling

6. Genially

Interactive content creator

Clickable objects, layers, reveals

Free tier works well for poetry projects

➡ Excellent for exhibition-style game poems

🧠 HOW TO FRAME THIS FOR STUDENTS

You might give them a prompt like:

“Create a poem that must be played, not just read.”

Constraints help:

Reader must make at least 3 choices

Poem must change based on interaction

Language matters more than winning