--- title: I want my coding agent to do what I ask | daily.dev description: Claude Code added a system prompt rule in Opus 5.5 blocking requests to recreate existing games, meant to avoid IP infringement. The rule misfired, refusing... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-want-my-coding-agent-to-do-what-i-ask-mr3x6uuah twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I want my coding agent to do what I ask | daily.dev og:description: Claude Code added a system prompt rule in Opus 5.5 blocking requests to recreate existing games, meant to avoid IP infringement. The rule misfired, refusing... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-want-my-coding-agent-to-do-what-i-ask-mr3x6uuah og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/MR3x6UuaH.png og:image:alt: I want my coding agent to do what I ask og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I want my coding agent to do what I ask **[Flavio Copes](https://daily.dev/sources/flaviocopes)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Claude Code added a system prompt rule in Opus 5.5 blocking requests to recreate existing games, meant to avoid IP infringement. The rule misfired, refusing requests even when users just described mechanics, like a falling-block puzzle game. Version 2.1.317 narrows it: naming a game for its mechanics now produces an original game, while asking for a direct copy gets offered a similar alternative instead. The author argues Anthropic shouldn't police copyright at the prompt level at all, pointing to the 1984 Betamax ruling that put legal responsibility on the tool's user, not the tool. He wants a one-line notice instead of refusals, with legal risk left to the user. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### why did Claude Code refuse to build a game I described, like a falling-block puzzle game Claude Code's Opus 5.5 system prompt included a rule steering it away from recreating specific existing games, to avoid IP infringement under Anthropic's usage policy. The rule misfired and also triggered when someone named a game only to describe mechanics, such as 'a puzzle game where blocks fall and you clear lines', causing refusals for legitimate original-game requests. _Developers tracking Claude Code's behavior changes follow write-ups like this on daily.dev._ ### has Claude Code fixed the issue where it refused to build games similar to existing ones Yes, version 2.1.317 narrows the rule. Naming a game to describe desired mechanics now lets Claude build an original game in that genre, while asking for a direct copy of an existing game makes it offer to build something similar instead rather than refusing outright. _Anyone relying on Claude Code for game prototypes can keep up with version changes like this on daily.dev._ ### does copyright law protect video game mechanics like falling-block puzzles No, the US Copyright Office states copyright doesn't protect a game's idea, its name, or its method of play, only its expression such as art, music, characters, and levels. A 2012 US court ruling against a clone called Mino found it infringing because it copied Tetris's visual look closely enough to be the same game under a new name, not because it copied the mechanic. _Developers weighing how closely a clone can mirror an original game can find context like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I finally got Claude to stop arguing with me, and all it took was this one instruction](https://daily.dev/posts/i-finally-got-claude-to-stop-arguing-with-me-and-all-it-took-was-this-one-instruction-knrhpfsna) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#anthropic](https://daily.dev/tags/anthropic), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code), [#ai-governance](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-governance) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-want-my-coding-agent-to-do-what-i-ask-mr3x6uuah) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I want my coding agent to do what I ask","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-want-my-coding-agent-to-do-what-i-ask-mr3x6uuah","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-want-my-coding-agent-to-do-what-i-ask-mr3x6uuah"},"datePublished":"2026-11-04T20:43:38.591Z","dateModified":"2026-11-06T08:26:41.908Z","description":"Claude Code added a system prompt rule in Opus 5.5 blocking requests to recreate existing games, meant to avoid IP infringement. 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