# Build a game with an AI agent > An AI agent builds a DiceyTable game in a loop. It looks, changes the scene, adds decks and scripts, checks its work, play-tests, then asks you to publish. - Question: How does an AI agent build a game from start to finish? - Source: https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/build-a-game - Last verified: 2026-10-09 An AI agent builds a game the way you would: in a loop. It looks at the project, makes a small change, saves and checks it, play-tests it, and looks again. When the game works, it asks you to publish, and you click the button. Each step below gets a short summary and a link to its own guide. You can hand the whole page to your agent, too. Curious what kind of games fit? The [board game maker](https://diceytable.com/features/board-game-maker) page shows what people build, and [AI agents and MCP](https://diceytable.com/features/ai-agents-mcp) shows the agent side. ![The build loop: look, change, save and check, play-test, then look again](https://diceytable.com/assets/build/build-a-game--loop-paZbEAyw.svg "**The build loop.** Small changes, checked often, keep every problem easy to find.") ## What you'll need - An editor tab paired with your agent. The [quick start](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/quick-start) gets you there in about 10 minutes. - An [API key](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/setup/api-keys) with the **Edit projects** and **Play at the table** permissions. - Optional, but worth it: paste our [standing instructions](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/agent-instructions) into your agent first. ## Step 1: Look before changing anything A good agent starts by reading. `page_info` says what the tab is showing. `project_list` finds your projects, and `project_open` or `project_create` with `subject: "game"` opens one. Then `project_status` checks the **project lease**. The lease is the editor's lock: only one tab at a time may change a project. A tab without it is read-only, for the agent and for you. Last, `diagnostics_get` records the errors that were already there, so new ones are clearly the agent's. ## Step 2: Build the scene The agent places boards, pieces, dice and cards with `entity_create`. It changes them with `entity_update` and checks the result with `scene_tree`. Any control in the editor can also be set by its field id with `fields_set`. Lengths are in feet and angles in degrees. Seats, zones and snap points have their own tools. [Let an agent edit your scene](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/edit-the-scene) covers all of it. ## Step 3: Make the decks Card games need a deck. The agent imports a card sheet and a card back, makes the deck with `deck_create`, and names each card with `deck_set_cards`. Then `screenshot_card` shows whether the art lines up. See [Build a deck of cards with an agent](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/build-a-deck) for the steps, and [Import models, images and sounds](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/importing-assets) for getting the art in. ## Step 4: Write the rules A game that enforces its own rules needs a script. The agent writes it with `script_write`, which saves through the Script editor and returns the compile errors and the safety scanner's findings. The agent fixes each one before moving on. [Write game scripts with an agent](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/write-scripts) explains the two kinds of script and the rules the scanner applies. ## Step 5: Save and check After each batch of changes, the agent calls `project_save`, then `project_validate`. Validation runs every check at once: the scene, the scripts, the safety scanner, missing files and credits. Each finding comes back as a diagnostic. [Find errors with the diagnostics hub](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/diagnostics) shows how to read them without getting lost. ## Step 6: Play-test it `playtest_start` saves the game and opens a **preview**, a private copy of the table that pairs with the agent by itself. In the preview, the agent plays with the `table_*` tools: draw, deal, roll, move and flip. It waits with `table_wait_settled` until things stop moving. Then `table_assert` checks what should be true, such as "7 cards in seat 1's hand". When a check fails, the agent fixes the game in the editor tab and reloads the preview. See [Play-test your game with an agent](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/playtest). ## Step 7: Look at it Numbers can pass while the game still looks wrong. `screenshot_viewport` with `hide: "chrome"` and a camera such as `"iso"` shows the agent what a player sees. ![A finished Texas Hold'em table with the interface hidden: the deck, five community card spaces, chip racks and bot buttons](https://diceytable.com/assets/build/build-a-game--finished-game-CZ155h0n.webp "**Look at the result.** One picture often catches what a passing test missed.") [Take screenshots with an agent](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/screenshots) lists the cameras and the size limits. ## Step 8: Ask to publish `publish_preview` reports what a publish would send and anything that would block it. It changes nothing. `publish_request` opens the Publish dialog for you, filled in. It needs the **Request publishing** permission, which is off by default. Even then, the agent never publishes. You review the credits it added and click **Publish** yourself. [Get your game ready to publish](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/publish) walks through it. ## What can't the agent do on its own? Some actions always wait for your click in the tab, whatever the key allows: - Publishing, deleting a project, restoring a version or deleting assets. - Turning on the `read-hidden-information` or `plugin-call` capabilities. - Approving the credits it wrote for imported files. There is no tool for that. Deleting entities or reloading a preview needs the agent to confirm first, and the first such change in a session saves a restore point. `undo` and `redo` share your own history, so nothing changes behind your back. [Actions that need your click](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/concepts/confirmations) has the full list. ## Next steps - [Example prompts](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/example-prompts): what to say to get each step started. - [Let an agent edit your scene](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/edit-the-scene): the first real step, in detail. - [Build a room or table pack](https://diceytable.com/docs/ai-agents/workflows/build-a-room-or-table): the same loop for the space around the game.