A printable guide from Nick Ramsay @ Nick Builds build.nickramsay.com

Hello! I've put together this collection of ten quick, slightly silly experiments — from tracking zombies to sorting sandwiches — designed to help you push buttons and break things in Airtable until you feel comfortable with the interface. I hope you learn something and have fun! ~ Nick

10 Easy-Peasy Airtable Experiments

10 Mini-Projects to Master the Basics in 20 Minutes or Less

Contents

  1. The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit (Checkboxes & Attachments)
  2. The 'Why I'm Late' Excuse Database (Long Text & Ratings)
  3. Intergalactic Planet Tracker (Single vs. Multiple Select)
  4. The Ultimate Sandwich Architect (Grouping Data)
  5. Supervillain Henchman Roster (The Kanban View)
  6. My Secret Double Life Expenses (Currency & Summaries)
  7. Historical Time Travel Log (Dates & Sorting)
  8. The Petty Grievance List (Filtering)
  9. Fantasy Potion Mixer (Basic Formulas)
  10. Cryptozoology Gallery (The Gallery View)
PROJECT 1

The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit

The Scenario: The undead are rising. You need to know exactly what gear you have in your bunker.
The Lesson: Customising basic fields (columns).

Instructions:

  1. Create a new Base and name it Zombie Survival.
  2. Rename the first column (Name) to Item Name. Type in examples like 'Crowbar', 'Canned Beans', and 'First Aid Kit'.
  3. Find the column meant for 'Status' or 'Notes'. Double-click the header to edit it.
  4. Change the Field Type to Checkbox. Rename the field to Do I have it?
  5. Create a new column (press the + sign). Select Attachment as the type. Name it Photo.
  6. The Fun Part: Drag an image from your computer onto the Photo cell for 'Crowbar.' Now click the checkbox to mark it as safe!
PROJECT 2

The 'Why I'm Late' Excuse Database

The Scenario: You overslept. You need a believable excuse, fast.
The Lesson: Handling text and subjective data.

Instructions:

  1. Create a new Base. Name the first column Excuse Title (e.g., 'Flat Tyre', 'Alien Abduction').
  2. Add a new column. Select the type Long Text. Name it The Narrative.
  3. Type a long, detailed story into one of the cells. Notice how Long Text wraps the words so you can read the whole paragraph, unlike a standard spreadsheet cell.
  4. Add another column. Select the type Rating. Use the default 'Star' symbol. Name this Believability.
  5. Rate your excuses. 5 stars for 'Traffic Jam', 1 star for 'My dog ate my car keys'.
PROJECT 3

Intergalactic Planet Tracker

The Scenario: You are Captain of a starship logging new discoveries.
The Lesson: Restricting choices to keep data clean.

Instructions:

  1. In the first column, list planet names (e.g., 'Mars', 'Zog', 'Kepler-186f').
  2. Add a new column. Choose Single Select. Name it Atmosphere.
  3. Add options like: 'Breathable', 'Toxic', and 'Acid Rain'. You can now pick only one of these for each planet.
  4. Add another column. Choose Multiple Select. Name it Inhabitants.
  5. Add options like: 'Blobs', 'Robots', and 'Insects'.
  6. The Difference: Try to select both 'Blobs' and 'Robots' for one planet. Multiple Select allows this; Single Select does not.
PROJECT 4

The Ultimate Sandwich Architect

The Scenario: You are designing the lunch menu of champions.
The Lesson: Organising messy lists instantly.

Instructions:

  1. List 10 different sandwiches in the Name column (e.g., 'BLT', 'Reuben', 'Jam Sandwich', 'Ham & Cheese').
  2. Add a Single Select column named Main Ingredient.
  3. Tag each sandwich appropriately: 'Bacon', 'Beef', 'Fruit', 'Pork'.
  4. Look at the toolbar at the top of the screen. Find the button that says Group.
  5. Click Group → Pick a field to group by → Main Ingredient.
  6. Magic: Your messy list is now neatly categorised into buckets. You can collapse or expand them to focus on just the 'Bacon' section.
PROJECT 5

Supervillain Henchman Roster

The Scenario: You are an evil genius. You need to track what your minions are doing.
The Lesson: Visualising workflow (Kanban).

Instructions:

  1. List your henchmen's names in the first column.
  2. Create a Single Select column named Status.
  3. Add these exact options: Recruited, In Training, Deployed, Deceased. Assign a status to each henchman.
  4. Look at the bottom left sidebar where it says 'Grid View'. Hover over 'Views' and select Kanban.
  5. It will ask you to choose a grouping field. Select Status.
  6. Action: Your data is now a board of cards! Drag a henchman from the 'Recruited' column and drop them into 'Deployed'. This automatically updates their status.
PROJECT 6

My Secret Double Life Expenses

The Scenario: Being a spy is expensive. You need to budget for grappling hooks.
The Lesson: Numbers, Currency, and the Summary Bar.

Instructions:

  1. List items in the Name column: 'Tuxedo', 'Martini', 'Helicopter Rental'.
  2. Add a new column. Select Currency. Name it Cost.
  3. Enter the prices. Be realistic—helicopters are pricey!
  4. Look at the very bottom of the screen (the footer of the grid).
  5. Under the Cost column, you will see a faint number or the word 'Sum'. Click it.
  6. Change it to Average to see the average cost of your gear, or Sum to see the total cost of your mission. This is the Summary Bar.
PROJECT 7

Historical Time Travel Log

The Scenario: You have a time machine. Where (and when) are you going?
The Lesson: Dates and Chronological Sorting.

Instructions:

  1. Name your first column Destination (e.g., 'Battle of Hastings', 'The Moon Base').
  2. Add a new column. Select Date. Name it Arrival Date.
  3. Enter wild dates: '14/10/1066', '01/01/3055', '21/10/2015'.
  4. Currently, they are in the order you typed them. To fix this, look at the toolbar and click Sort.
  5. Choose Arrival Date and select 1 → 9 (Ascending).
  6. Airtable instantly reorders your travels from the distant past to the far future.
PROJECT 8

The Petty Grievance List

The Scenario: You need a place to vent about small annoyances.
The Lesson: Filtering (Hiding what you don't need).

Instructions:

  1. List things that annoy you: 'Loud chewers', 'Slow Wi-Fi', 'People who don't indicate'.
  2. Add a Rating field (1-5 Stars) named Annoyance Level.
  3. Rate them. Give 'Slow Wi-Fi' a 5. Give 'Rain' a 1.
  4. Imagine the list is 100 items long. You only want to see the worst ones.
  5. Click the Filter button in the toolbar.
  6. Set the logic: Where [Annoyance Level] [is] [5 Stars].
  7. Everything else disappears! (Don't worry, it's just hidden, not deleted). Turn off the filter to see them again.
PROJECT 9

Fantasy Potion Mixer

The Scenario: You are an alchemist combining ingredients.
The Lesson: Basic Formulas (The & symbol).

Instructions:

  1. Rename the first column to Ingredient 1. Enter 'Newt'.
  2. Create a generic text column named Ingredient 2. Enter 'Frog'.
  3. Create a new column. Select Formula.
  4. In the formula box, type this exactly:
    {Ingredient 1} & " " & {Ingredient 2}
  5. The Result: The field will automatically display 'Newt Frog'.
  6. If you change 'Newt' to 'Eye of', the formula column updates instantly to 'Eye of Frog'. You have just written code!
PROJECT 10

Cryptozoology Gallery

The Scenario: A database of monsters like Bigfoot and Nessie.
The Lesson: Making data beautiful (Gallery View).

Instructions:

  1. List your monsters in the Name column.
  2. Add an Attachment field. Upload cool pictures of Bigfoot, the Yeti, etc.
  3. Add a Long Text field for a description of the beast.
  4. Go to the bottom left sidebar (Views). Click the + symbol next to Gallery.
  5. Suddenly, your spreadsheet is gone. You now have a grid of beautiful cards, showcasing the photos front and centre.
  6. This is perfect for showing your data to people who hate spreadsheets!