3-day hands-on camps where teens learn to direct AI to create games, apps, and stories. Small groups. Published projects. Skills that matter.
Teams of four design, build, and publish a game together. No coding experience needed — they learn to direct AI, not write code.
What they walk away with: A published game playable in any browser. A notebook of AI insights. The skill to direct AI to build things on their own.
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Runner is best played on a computer.
This game has a village, combat, bosses, upgrades, and a full story — all built in 3 days with AI.
Runner was built in 3 days. WASD to move • auto-attack • click to interact
See the power of precise direction. "Build me a game" gets chaos. A clear, specific description gets a working Pong game. Learn the difference — then start building your own.
Go deeper. Write your own rules for the AI based on patterns you discovered. Add features, refine, iterate. Your team's game takes shape.
Polish and publish. Practice your pitch. Parents arrive for the showcase — your teen presents a working game they built and explains how they did it.
Your teen doesn't need to learn a programming language. They need to learn to describe what they want precisely enough that AI can build it.
This is the skill that matters now. The ability to take a vision, break it into clear instructions, evaluate what comes back, and refine it until it's right.
It's project management. Creative direction. Clear communication. Packaged into building something real they can show anyone.
Direct AI to build a real business — a product, a site, and a plan to make the first sale. Your teen leaves with a live business ready for revenue.
Direct AI to write and publish a real book — drafted, edited, and published on Amazon KDP or Gumroad. Your teen leaves as a published author.
Register interest for Market or Library: jon@helmcamps.com
I've spent years tutoring teens, and a couple years working with AI tools. I've developed 40+ apps, mostly for my own personal use, and I've built a few basic video games and am in the process of designing an MMORPG and a game engine, using AI.
The tools have potential and those who know how to use them will excel in the coming years. My focus is using them to create — not consume.
This isn't a coding bootcamp. Your teen won't memorize syntax or study computer science theory. They'll learn the practical skill of directing AI — describing what they want clearly enough that the AI builds it. Then they'll evaluate the result, refine their description, and iterate until it's right.
It's the same skill a project manager uses. A creative director. An architect. Except your teen applies it at 14 instead of learning it at 30.
Kid-friendly environment. All content and projects follow clean content standards.
No. Zero. This is about directing AI, not writing code. If they can describe what they want in clear sentences, they're ready.
A laptop with a web browser and a charger. Windows, Mac, or Chromebook all work. The camp provides all software tools — nothing to install in advance.
A published project (game, app, or story) they can share with anyone via a link. A notebook of AI insights they discovered. And the skill to keep building on their own after camp ends.
All AI tools are configured with clean content standards. The camp environment is kid-friendly. Jon is present throughout and reviews all projects. No inappropriate content — guaranteed.
Every camp is designed so teams ship a working project by Day 3. The scope is calibrated for the time — and directing AI means building happens fast. Every team finishes.
Yes. Siblings get 10% off each additional registration. They'll be on separate teams so each gets their own leadership experience.
Full refund up to 7 days before camp starts. Within 7 days, credit toward a future camp. If the camp doesn't reach minimum enrollment, you'll be notified and fully refunded.
Parents are invited to the last hour of Day 3. Your teen presents their project, explains how they directed the AI, and you get to play the game or try the app they built.