Playground · Game · HTML · Standing test
Flappy Bird in one file
Flappy Bird is a small game with little room for error: gravity and the flap have to feel right, the pipes need gaps you can actually get through, the score has to tick up once per pipe, and a crash has to end the run and let you go again straight away. We played every answer with a script that flaps with Space and clicks, steers through the gaps, lets the bird fall, and restarts. Look at how each game handles the game-over screen and the restart, which is where the answers differ most.
The prompt, word for word
Make a Flappy Bird game: tap, click or press space to flap, pipes scroll past with gaps to fly through, the score goes up for each pipe passed, and hitting a pipe or the ground ends the game with a way to restart. Make it a single self-contained HTML file (inline CSS and JavaScript, no external libraries, fonts or images).
Every answer runs live, in a sandboxed frame. Click into one to play with it.
How each model did
| Model | Our notes | Checks | Time | Output tokens | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6.1 Sol Our pick | A restyled take called "little flap.", with soft green pipes, rolling hills, a sun and a "Best" badge in the corner. It plays well: we passed 11 pipes, and the crash brings up a "Nice flight!" card with score and best and a "Fly again" button that resets cleanly. The only answer with its own look rather than a copy of the original. | 4 of 4 | 84 s | 5,356 516 thinking |
$0.054 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | A faithful classic Flappy Bird with green pipes, clouds, a striped ground and a "Sound on (M)" toggle. Flapping and gravity feel right; we reached 11 pipes, and the Game Over panel shows score, best and a "NEW!" ribbon. Space returns to the title screen and the next run starts at 0. | 4 of 4 | 72 s | 8,793 932 thinking |
$0.176 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | Very close to Opus's game: the classic look, a "Flappy Bird" title screen and a Game Over panel with "NEW BEST!". We passed 10 pipes; clicking into the top pipe ended the run at once, and the restart goes back to a ready screen showing "Best: 10". Solid, but the most expensive answer here. | 4 of 4 | 81 s | 7,823 217 thinking |
$0.392 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | A city-skyline Flappy Bird with chunky "GAME OVER" lettering, a medal slot and little sparkles when the bird flaps. Everything works, but the gaps are tighter than in the other games, so our best was 3 pipes against 10 or more elsewhere. Tapping after a crash starts a new run straight away at 0. | 4 of 4 | 52 s | 7,304 1,188 thinking |
$0.027 |
| Muse Spark 1.3 | A bright version with an orange bird, puffy clouds and a cream Game Over card with a "NEW BEST!" ribbon and an orange Restart button. We passed 11 pipes; the screen flashes white on the crash, and restarting begins again at 0. One of the cleanest all-round games. | 4 of 4 | 202 s | 7,757 2,609 thinking |
$0.033 |
| Grok 4.7 | A plain version with flat clouds and a hatched ground; a crash dims the screen under "Game over", the score and a yellow Restart button. Flapping, pipes and scoring work (8 pipes on our best run). Space restarts with the bird already falling and no ready pause, so it can hit the ground before you react, and tapping the game after a crash does nothing. | 4 of 4 | 33 s | 3,091 139 thinking |
$0.019 |
| Kimi K3 | A classic look with a "Get Ready!" title screen and a Game Over panel showing score, best and "NEW!". The pipes are spaced wider apart than in most games, so it plays more slowly; we got to 7 before crashing. Restarting goes back to the ready screen. | 4 of 4 | 89 s | 14,648 9,474 thinking |
$0.198 |
| Qwen3.8 Max (0902) | The most complete game: a "PIXEL EDITION" with pixel digits, "+1" pop-ups for each pipe, a sky that turns to dusk as the score rises, a medal on the Game Over board, and a P key to pause. We passed 9 pipes, and the restart returns to "GET READY!". It took over 23 minutes to write. | 4 of 4 | 1390 s | 54,151 40,853 thinking |
$0.325 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | A tidy classic with a bright sky, tall pipes and a white rounded "GAME OVER" card with score and best. We passed 10 pipes, and the restart goes to a "TAP TO START" screen. The cheapest answer, and it works fully. | 4 of 4 | 132 s | 26,759 19,270 thinking |
$0.015 |
| Mistral Large 4 | A pixel-font version with an orange bird, green hills, a mute button and a dark Game Over box with a "PLAY AGAIN" button. It works, though our best run was 6 pipes, fewer than in most of the games; Space or the button restarts at 0. | 4 of 4 | 665 s | 60,131 41,727 thinking |
$0.126 |
One answer per model, at each model's default settings unless the card says otherwise, through OpenRouter. If an answer ran out of room or stopped short, we asked again with more room, then with thinking off, and say so. We tried every answer, with Claude Opus 5.5 running the checks and drafting the notes; it is an Anthropic model, so we check its calls on Claude answers ourselves. This is a quick look, not a benchmark: run it again and every answer will differ. For measured results, see our benchmarks.
What we checked, by trying each answer ourselves: Clicking, tapping or space makes the bird flap and gravity pulls it down; Pipes scroll past with gaps you can fly through; The score goes up for each pipe passed; Hitting a pipe or the ground ends the game, and it restarts cleanly. A partial pass counts as half.
Verdict
Every model made a working Flappy Bird: each one flaps, falls, scores one point per pipe, ends on a crash and restarts. GPT-6.1 Sol's "little flap." is our pick because it plays well and is the only one with its own design, for $0.054 in 84 seconds. Claude Opus 5.5 and Muse Spark 1.3 are the best of the faithful copies; Muse cost $0.033. Qwen3.8 Max added the most (pause, medals, a dusk sky, "+1" pop-ups), but it took 1,390 seconds and $0.33.
For value, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ($0.015) and Grok 4.7 ($0.019, 33 seconds) both work fully; Grok's restart drops the bird straight away, which feels harsh. Gemini 3.8 Flash has tighter gaps and is noticeably harder. Claude Fable 5.1 plays much like Opus but cost the most, at $0.39.
What would your prompt get?The Spring Prompt playground runs one prompt on up to six models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral and others, side by side.
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