⌘ Play & explore
Digital hobbies
Screen-based hobbies, from gaming and coding to robotics, game development, digital art and electronics. Most start with free software and a device you already own, and each guide suggests a small first project to finish.
Showing 60 of 159 hobbies
Gaming
Gaming is playing video games on a console, PC, handheld or phone, from cosy puzzle games and story adventures to co-op play and competitive online matches.
Open guide →DJing
DJing is blending recorded tracks into continuous mixes using a controller or turntables, matching tempo and choosing songs to keep a room dancing.
Open guide →Music Production
Music production is making, recording and arranging tracks on a computer using software and MIDI, from beats and loops to a finished song you can export.
Open guide →Podcasting
Podcasting is recording spoken-word audio shows, such as interviews or solo episodes, then editing and publishing them as an RSS feed that listening apps can play.
Open guide →Blogging
Blogging is writing and publishing regular posts on your own site about a subject you know, building a searchable archive and a small readership over time.
Open guide →Coding
Coding is writing instructions in a language such as Python or JavaScript to build small programs, web pages and tools, and learning to find and fix what breaks.
Open guide →3D Printing
3D printing is making physical objects layer by layer from a digital model, usually in plastic filament, by slicing a design and running it on a desktop printer.
Open guide →Robotics
Robotics is building small machines that sense and move, wiring motors and sensors to a microcontroller and programming them to follow lines or dodge obstacles.
Open guide →Amateur Radio
Amateur radio is a licensed hobby of building and operating radio stations to talk to people locally and worldwide, using voice, Morse and digital modes.
Open guide →Web Development
Web development is building websites with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, from simple pages to interactive sites that work on phones, load quickly and are accessible.
Open guide →App Development
App development is designing and coding small mobile or desktop apps, from a single-screen tool to something you can run on your own phone.
Open guide →Game Development
Game development is designing and building your own video games, from a first playable in a free engine to small finished games with code, art and sound.
Open guide →Game Modding
Game modding is changing or extending a video game with community-made files, from tweaking numbers and textures to scripting new quests, items and mechanics.
Open guide →Web Design
Web design is planning and building the look, layout and usability of websites, usually by writing HTML and CSS and making pages work on phones as well as computers.
Open guide →UX Design
UX design is working out how people use websites and apps, then sketching, prototyping and testing layouts so they are easy to use, usually shown in portfolio case studies.
Open guide →Graphic Design
Graphic design is arranging type, images, colour and shapes so a message is clear and attractive, making posters, logos, social posts and layouts with design software.
Open guide →Motion Graphics
Motion graphics is animating text, shapes and logos on a computer using keyframes, easing and timing to make title sequences, explainers and social video.
Open guide →3D Modelling
3D modelling is building objects, characters and scenes on screen from points, edges and faces, then lighting and rendering them as images, animations or game assets.
Open guide →CAD Design
CAD design is drawing precise 3D parts on a computer from dimensioned sketches, then printing, cutting or sharing them as useful objects such as brackets and enclosures.
Open guide →Digital Sculpting
Digital sculpting is shaping a virtual lump of clay with brushes that push, pull and smooth, to make characters, creatures and props to render or 3D print.
Open guide →Virtual Reality Creation
Virtual reality creation is building 3D worlds, games and experiences you step inside with a headset, using engines such as Unity or Godot, or browser-based WebXR.
Open guide →Augmented Reality Creation
Augmented reality creation is making filters, effects and 3D objects that appear over the real world through a phone camera, using lens tools, game engines or web AR.
Open guide →Data Visualisation
Data visualisation is turning numbers into clear, honest charts and maps using spreadsheets, free web tools or code, so patterns and stories are easy to see.
Open guide →Generative Art
Generative art is making images and animations by writing rules in code, often with controlled randomness, then selecting and refining what the program draws.
Open guide →Creative Coding
Writing code to make visual art, animation, sound and interactive pieces, starting with simple shapes and moving to generative patterns and live visuals.
Open guide →Arduino Projects
Arduino projects are small electronics builds, such as blinking lights, sensors and robots, where you wire parts to a microcontroller and write short programs.
Open guide →Raspberry Pi Projects
Raspberry Pi projects use a credit-card-sized computer to run a media centre, retro console, home server or camera, mixing software setup with simple hardware.
Open guide →Soldering
Soldering is joining electronic components to circuit boards and wires with a hot iron and molten solder, so you can build kits, fix gadgets and make your own circuits.
Open guide →Circuit Bending
Circuit bending is opening battery-powered toys and adding switches, knobs and wires to short their circuits for glitchy, unexpected sounds.
Open guide →Synthesizer Building
Synthesizer building is assembling electronic instruments from kits or designs, soldering oscillators, filters and envelopes onto boards you can play and patch.
Open guide →Keyboard Building
Keyboard building is assembling a custom mechanical keyboard from a case, circuit board, switches and keycaps, choosing the layout, typing feel and sound you like.
Open guide →PC Building
PC building is choosing compatible parts and assembling them into a working desktop computer, from fitting the processor and cooler to installing an operating system.
Open guide →Retro Computing
Retro computing is collecting, repairing, programming and running vintage machines such as the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, C64 and Amiga, on original hardware or in emulation.
Open guide →Linux Tinkering
Linux tinkering means installing, customising and breaking Linux on a spare computer, virtual machine or Raspberry Pi to learn how the system works.
Open guide →Home Automation
Home automation is setting up smart plugs, sensors, lighting and heating so they react to rules you write, such as turning lights on at sunset or off when you leave.
Open guide →Smart Home Projects
Smart home projects are DIY builds, using boards like the ESP32 and cheap sensors to make your own door alerts, room sensors and controllable lights.
Open guide →Cybersecurity Labs
Cybersecurity labs means building an isolated practice network of virtual machines at home to learn how systems are attacked, monitored and defended.
Open guide →Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking is learning to find and report weaknesses in websites and systems legally, using practice targets, capture-the-flag games and permitted programmes.
Open guide →Radio Scanning
Radio scanning is tuning a scanner or cheap software-defined radio across VHF and UHF to hear broadcasts, amateur radio, weather satellites and other signals you may legally receive.
Open guide →Shortwave Listening
Shortwave listening is tuning worldwide HF radio signals from international broadcasters, amateurs and utility stations that travel thousands of miles via the ionosphere.
Open guide →Satellite Tracking
Satellite tracking means spotting the International Space Station and other satellites crossing the sky using pass predictions, binoculars and optionally a simple radio.
Open guide →Weather Station Building
Weather station building means assembling your own station with a microcontroller or Raspberry Pi and sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, rain and wind.
Open guide →Drone Racing
Drone racing is flying small, fast FPV quadcopters through gates and around courses against the clock or other pilots, seeing only through video goggles.
Open guide →FPV Flying
FPV flying is piloting a small manual-control quadcopter through goggles showing a live camera feed, for freestyle, cinematic shots, cruising or long range.
Open guide →RC Cars
RC cars are radio-controlled model cars, from fast on-road racers to off-road buggies and rock crawlers, driven on tracks, car parks or open ground.
Open guide →RC Planes
RC planes are radio-controlled model aeroplanes flown at club fields, from foam trainers and gliders to sport and scale models, learned best with an instructor.
Open guide →RC Boats
RC boats are radio-controlled model boats, from fast electric speedboats to scale tugs and sailing yachts, run on a pond or lake and steered from the shore.
Open guide →Model Railways
Model railways is building and running a miniature railway, from a first oval of track to a wired, scenic layout with scale locomotives, wagons, buildings and signals.
Open guide →Slot Car Racing
Slot car racing is racing small electric cars guided by a slot in the track, controlling speed with a hand throttle on home sets or at club tracks.
Open guide →Sim Racing
Sim racing is driving realistic racing simulators with a wheel and pedals on a PC or console, chasing clean laps and racing online against real people.
Open guide →Flight Simulation
Flight simulation is flying aircraft on a computer with realistic controls, instruments, weather and airports, from light planes to airliners, for fun or flying practice.
Open guide →Train Simulation
Train simulation is driving locomotives and trains on screen, following signals, speed limits and timetables on realistic routes, using a keyboard, gamepad or cab controls.
Open guide →Digital Scrapbooking
Digital scrapbooking is designing photo pages on a computer or tablet with digital papers, frames, stickers and text, then sharing them or printing them as photo books.
Open guide →Photo Editing
Photo editing is processing digital photos, usually raw files, to fix exposure and colour, crop and retouch them into finished images using free or paid software.
Open guide →Video Editing
Video editing is shaping raw footage into a finished film by choosing and trimming clips, ordering them, balancing sound, adding captions and exporting for sharing.
Open guide →Filmmaking
Filmmaking is planning, shooting and editing your own short films, from a one-minute phone scene to a scripted short with actors, sound and a finished cut.
Open guide →Vlogging
Filming, editing and publishing short video diaries or themed video blogs about your life, interests or travels, starting with just a phone.
Open guide →Livestreaming
Livestreaming is broadcasting yourself live online, usually gameplay, a craft or just chat, using free software like OBS, a microphone and a platform with a live chat.
Open guide →Website Building
Website building is designing and publishing your own web pages, using a drag-and-drop builder, a content management system or HTML and CSS, on a domain you choose.
Open guide →No-Code App Building
No-code app building is making working apps, such as forms, trackers, booking tools and simple databases, by arranging blocks in a visual builder instead of writing code.
Open guide →