# Making Decisions with If Then

- Link: https://thecuriosi.com/lessons/scratch-if-then/
- Published: 2026-10-31T14:56:34+05:30
- Author: MAHENDRA MANCHIKALAPATI

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 2. [Coding with Scratch: Make Your First Games](https://thecuriosi.com/courses/scratch-coding-for-kids/)
 3.  Lesson 7 of 10

Games need to make **decisions**. _If_ the player touches a coin, add a point. _If_
the player touches a monster, the game is over. In coding, decisions are made with**
conditionals**. In this lesson you will use `if then` blocks to make your sprites
react to what is happening.

## The if then block

The `if < > then` block is in the **Control** category. It has a pointed, six-sided
space for a **condition**. A condition is a question with a **yes or no** answer,
like “Am I touching the mouse pointer?”

If the answer is **yes** (true), the blocks inside run. If the answer is **no** (
false), they are skipped.

### Conditions come from Sensing

The pointed blocks in the **Sensing** category are conditions:

  |  Condition block |  Asks |  
   |  `touching (mouse-pointer)?` |  Is the sprite touching the mouse? |  
 |  `touching (Apple)?` |  Is the sprite touching the Apple sprite? |  
 |  `touching color [red]?` |  Is the sprite touching the colour red? |  
 |  `key (space) pressed?` |  Is the space key being pressed? |

## Always keep checking

An `if` block only checks **once**, at the moment it runs. To keep checking all 
the time, put it inside a `forever` loop.

    ```
    when green flag clicked
    forever
      if <touching (mouse-pointer)?> then
        say (That tickles!) for (1) seconds
      end
    end
    ```

Now, whenever you move the mouse over the sprite, it says “That tickles!”.

## If then else

`if < > then ... else ...` gives two choices. One set of blocks runs if the answer
is yes, and the other runs if the answer is no.

### Example

Aisha made a traffic-light game. Her car sprite checks the colour it is touching:

    ```
    when green flag clicked
    forever
      if <touching color [red]?> then
        say (Stop!)
      else
        move (5) steps
      end
    end
    ```

When the car reaches a red line on the road, it stops and says “Stop!”. Otherwise,
it keeps driving.

## Smooth movement with if

Earlier you used `when key pressed` for movement. A smoother way, often used in 
games, is to check keys inside a forever loop:

    ```
    when green flag clicked
    forever
      if <key (right arrow) pressed?> then
        change x by (5)
      end
      if <key (left arrow) pressed?> then
        change x by (-5)
      end
    end
    ```

This makes the sprite glide smoothly while you hold a key. You will use this in 
your final game.

### Common bug: the check happens only once

If your `if` block never seems to work, check that it is inside a `forever` loop.
Without the loop, Scratch checks the condition only once, right when the green flag
is clicked, and then never again.

## Key takeaways

 * Conditionals let code make decisions.
 * A condition is a yes or no question, often from the Sensing blocks.
 * Put `if` inside `forever` to keep checking all the time.
 * `if then else` chooses between two sets of blocks.

## Practice

Make a cat sprite that says “Meow!” whenever it touches a ball sprite, and says 
nothing otherwise. Use a forever loop.

Answer: `when green flag clicked`, `forever`, and inside it `if <touching (Ball)?
> then` with `say (Meow!)`, `else` with `say ()` (an empty say block clears the 
bubble).

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