---
title: Backyard Arcade
emoji: 🕹️
colorFrom: yellow
colorTo: green
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 6.16.0
python_version: 3.11
app_file: app.py
pypy: false
pinned: false
license: mit
tags:
  - build-small-hackathon
  - thousand-token-wood
  - track-2
  - gradio
  - smolagents
  - agent
  - p5js
  - off-brand
  - best-agent
  - best-demo
  - field-notes
  - track:wood
  - sponsor:openai
  - achievement:offbrand
  - achievement:fieldnotes
---

# Backyard Arcade

Tiny games grown from strange prompts.

A local-first arcade director for Build Small Hackathon Track 2.

Hackathon: [Build Small - An Adventure in Thousand Token Wood](https://huggingface.co/build-small-hackathon)

Live app: [Backyard Arcade](https://build-small-hackathon-game-builder-ai.hf.space)

Demo video: [backyard_arcade_hf_feature_demo.mp4](https://huggingface.co/spaces/build-small-hackathon/game-builder-ai/resolve/main/media/backyard_arcade_hf_feature_demo.mp4)

Article / field notes: https://huggingface.co/blog/AnshulRaj/backyard-arcade-small-hackathon

Social post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/anshul-raj-372740202_backyard-arcade-a-tiny-arcade-director-powered-activity-7471909124197511186-_vaA

Hosted model: `Qwen/Qwen2.5-Coder-32B-Instruct`

Users describe a tiny game in natural language. A small agent chooses one of four
safe render tools:

- `dodge`
- `collector`
- `jumper`
- `snake`

For strange mode, the agent can blend two render tags into one playable game.
The AI designs the cartridge: title, theme, goal, difficulty, controls, hazards,
collectibles, and twist. The renderer owns the game loop, collisions, controls,
and Gradio iframe safety.

## Space Settings

Set these Space secrets/variables:

- `HF_TOKEN`: Hugging Face token for Inference API access
- `MODEL_PROVIDER=hf`
- `HF_MODEL=Qwen/Qwen2.5-Coder-32B-Instruct`

For local development, `.env` can use `HUGGING_TOKEN` instead of `HF_TOKEN`.

For local Ollama development:

- `MODEL_PROVIDER=ollama`
- `OLLAMA_MODEL=qwen3.5:9b`
- `OLLAMA_HOST=http://127.0.0.1:11434`