In short
To make a Roblox game in any genre, start from its core loop (what the player repeats every few seconds), build the smallest version of that loop on a baseplate, and only then add progression, saving, UI and monetization. Pick a genre whose hardest part you can build: an obby needs level design, a tycoon needs an economy, a shooter needs server-checked hits, a horror game needs pacing and a monster that is fair to escape.
- Beginner friendly: obby, simulator, tycoon, farming, roleplay and escape rooms.
- More scripting: tower defense, battlegrounds, FPS, RNG, RPG, racing and killer vs survivors.
- Whatever the genre, the server decides money, damage, rolls and saves. The client only asks.
On this page
Twenty genres at a glance
| Genre | Core loop | The hard part | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obby | Jump through numbered stages, reach the next checkpoint | A difficulty curve that does not lose players early | Make an obby |
| Tycoon | Droppers make money, buttons buy more droppers | Pacing the prices so each purchase feels close | Make a tycoon |
| Simulator | Click for coins, buy upgrades, rebirth for a multiplier | Numbers that grow for weeks without breaking | Make a simulator |
| Steal a Brainrot style | Buy units off a conveyor, earn in your base, steal and lock | Server checks on every steal and lock | Make a Steal a Brainrot game |
| Pet game (Adopt Me style) | Hatch or adopt pets, care for them, trade | Safe trading and eggs that follow Roblox rules | Make a pet game |
| Horror | Explore, find objectives, hide from the monster | Pacing, and a monster that is scary but fair | Make a horror game |
| Tower defense | Place towers, survive waves, earn cash, upgrade | Targeting and wave balance | Make a tower defense game |
| Battlegrounds | Fight with a moveset, combo, block and dash | Hit detection, stun and cooldowns that feel fair | Make a battlegrounds game |
| Zombie survival | Hold out against harder waves, spend cash between them | Many enemies without lag | Make a zombie survival game |
| FPS | Spawn, fight, score, respawn | Server-checked shots and safe spawns | Make an FPS game |
| Racing | Drive laps through checkpoints, beat a time | Car handling and counting laps the client cannot fake | Make a racing game |
| RNG | Roll for rare results, collect, roll again | Odds design and the paid random item rules | Make an RNG game |
| Farming and fishing | Plant, wait, harvest, sell, expand | Growth that continues while players are away | Make a farming game |
| Grow a Garden style | Buy seeds from a restocking shop, grow, harvest rare mutations | Restocks and rare rolls that stay fair | Make a Grow a Garden game |
| Roleplay and city | Pick a job, earn wages, own a house, make stories | Moderation and text filtering | Make a roleplay game |
| Sports | Play a match: pass, shoot, score | A ball that moves the same for every player | Make a sports game |
| RPG and open world | Explore, fight, level up, take on quests | Progression and big maps that load well | Make an RPG |
| Escape room | Solve a chain of puzzles to open the next room | Puzzles that are checked on the server | Make an escape room game |
| Killer vs survivors | One hunts, the rest repair objectives and escape | Balance between one player and many | Make a killer vs survivors game |
| Parkour and speedrun | Run, wall jump and beat your best time | Movement that feels instant, times the server trusts | Make a parkour game |
The genres by how they play
Progress and collect
These games are about numbers going up. A simulator turns clicks into coins and coins into upgrades, a tycoon turns time into money through droppers, and a Steal a Brainrot style game adds other players who can take what you own. Farming and Grow a Garden style games add waiting: crops grow on the clock, even while the player is offline. RNG games and pet games add chance and collections. What they share is an economy: prices, income rates and multipliers that must keep the next goal in sight for weeks. Keep every price in one ModuleScript so you can tune the curve in one place.
Fight and survive
Battlegrounds, FPS, zombie survival and tower defense games live or die on combat that feels responsive and stays fair. The client plays the animation and the sound at once; the server checks range, cooldown and line of sight before any damage counts. Survival and tower defense also need many enemies at once, so the enemy logic has to be cheap: one server loop that moves all of them beats one script per enemy. The combat system, gun and sword guides cover the building blocks.
Rounds with roles
Horror, killer vs survivors and many escape room games run in rounds: a lobby, an intermission, a match with a timer, then results. Build the round system first and the genre on top of it. The hard part is balance between roles, and pacing: a monster or killer that is always on top of the players stops being scary and starts being unfair.
Move with skill
Obbies, parkour games, racing games and sports games are about how the character, the car or the ball moves. Movement has to answer at once, so input runs in a LocalScript, while the server keeps the score: checkpoints reached, laps counted, goals scored and best times saved. Level design matters more here than anywhere: the first minute decides whether a player stays.
Live in a world
Roleplay and city games and RPGs give players a place to be: jobs, houses, cars, quests and zones to explore. They need the most content and the most care with safety, because players talk, name things and build stories together. Filter any text players write, and plan how big maps load (Roblox's instance streaming) before the map gets big.
How to choose a genre for your first game
- Pick a loop you can build this week. If you are new to Luau, an obby, a simulator or a tycoon gets you to a playable game fastest, because the core loop is a few short scripts. A shooter or a tower defense game asks for more systems before the first fun minute.
- Count the players it needs. Killer vs survivors, sports and battlegrounds need several players in a server to be fun at all. Obbies, simulators and tycoons work with one, so early testers never land in an empty game.
- Know the hard part before you start. Each guide names it. If that part does not interest you, the game will stall there.
- Plan how it earns, honestly. Game passes for convenience and cosmetics fit almost every genre; selling power fits few. Read the genre page before you design the shop.
- Make it yours. A "game like" a hit is a starting point for the loop, not the content. Use your own names, art and twist. The game idea generator is a quick way to find one.
What every genre needs
Under the genre, most Roblox games share the same foundations. Get these right once and every genre gets easier.
| Foundation | Why it matters | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Server authority | Cheaters control their own client. Money, damage, rolls and saves are decided on the server. | Client and server scripts |
| RemoteEvents | The client asks, the server checks and answers. | RemoteEvents |
| Saving | Progress that is lost once is a player lost for good. | DataStores |
| Leaderstats | Players compare progress in the player list. | Leaderboard script |
| UI | A clear HUD and shop decide whether players understand the loop. | Roblox UI templates |
| Monetization | Game passes for permanent perks, developer products for repeat purchases. | Game pass script |
| Return reasons | A reason to come back tomorrow. | Daily rewards |
Build it with RoCode
RoCode is an AI agent for Roblox Studio: you describe a game in a web chat and its Studio plugin builds it in the place you have open, a working part at a time. Every genre page above has its own prompt to start from. This one starts an obby:
Make the first playable version of an obby in my place: 10 numbered stages that get harder, a checkpoint on each stage that saves my highest stage, kill parts that send me back to my checkpoint, a Stage counter in leaderstats and a simple start lobby.
- Writes the server scripts and builds the stages, checkpoints and lobby in your open place
- Adds a ready-made HUD or shop screen from its UI kits if you ask
- Can run its test robot to walk the course and report each check as PASS or FAIL
You keep going with the next prompt: more stages, a skip stage product, a timer. You still play it yourself to judge the fun.
Questions
What is the easiest kind of Roblox game to make?
An obby, a simulator or a tycoon. Each has a core loop of a few short scripts (checkpoints, a click and an upgrade, or a dropper and a collector), so you can play your own game on the first day and spend the rest of the time on content and polish.
Which Roblox genres are the hardest to make?
Genres with fast combat or many enemies: FPS, battlegrounds, tower defense and zombie survival. They need server-checked hits, cooldowns and enemy logic that stays cheap with dozens of enemies at once. RPGs are hard for a different reason: they need a lot of content.
Can I make a game like a popular Roblox game?
You can make a game in the same genre, with the same kind of loop. Do not copy its name, characters, art, sounds or code. Each genre guide uses generic names for that reason.
Do I need to know how to script to make a Roblox game?
For anything beyond a simple obby, yes, or you need a tool that writes the scripts for you. Start with scripting for beginners and make your first game, or describe the game to RoCode and read the scripts it writes in your place.
How do Roblox games make money?
Mostly through game passes (one-time purchases for a permanent perk), developer products (purchases a player can make again, such as currency) and private servers. Each genre page explains which of these fit that genre without making it pay to win.