Game Jams & Hackathons Guide

Game jams are where indie games are born. You create a game in 48-72 hours, get immediate feedback from thousands of players, and sometimes launch something that becomes a real hit. This guide covers what you need to know.

What's a Game Jam?

A game jam is a time-limited event where you create a game from scratch, usually around a theme announced at the start. Think of it as a hackathon for game developers. They typically last 48 hours to 30 days, with teams of one to four people, and the goal is a playable prototype.

Game jams aren't about creating polished, commercial products. They're about experimentation, creative problem-solving under constraints, and building something fun in a short time.

Why They Matter

For new developers, nothing beats shipping a complete game, even a small one. Imperfection is expected, so it's safe to experiment. Other participants play and rate your game, giving you instant feedback. And a finished jam game shows you can execute, not just talk.

For experienced developers, jams let you test ideas fast and validate concepts before committing months. Constraints spark creativity and break creative blocks. You meet collaborators, publishers, and players. And many successful indie games started as jam entries.

Celeste began as a Ludum Dare game. Superhot started as a 7-day prototype. Hollow Knight evolved from a jam concept. Minit originated from a 48-hour jam. Papers, Please was built for Ludum Dare 29.

Major Game Jams in 2026

Global Events

Event	When	Format	Notes
Global Game Jam	Late January	48 hours, local & remote sites	Largest jam, 40,000+ participants worldwide
Ludum Dare	April, October (approx.)	48h solo / 72h team	One of the oldest and most respected jams
GMTK Game Jam	Summer	48 hours	Huge viewership, 7,000+ entries typical
js13kGames	August-September	13KB limit, 30 days	Best for web developers
Gamedev.js Jam	April 13-26, 2026	13 days, HTML5 only	Prizes, accessible format

Ongoing & Regular Jams on itch.io

Jam	Description
Brackeys Game Jam 2026.1	7 days, 3,100+ participants, starts Feb 15
Pirate Software Game Jam 18	14 days, ~600+ participants
Finally Finish Something 2026	January, for completing WIPs
2026 Annual Jam	Year-long, relaxed rules
Retro Game Jam 2026	Feb 8-14, retro aesthetic focus

Find more: itch.io/jams lists hundreds of active and upcoming jams.

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Why Web Games Win Jams

If you can make a browser-playable game, you have a massive advantage.

Zero Friction

Jam judges play dozens of games. With a downloadable game, they click download, wait for it, extract or install, find the executable, and launch. That's 5-10 minutes before they even start playing. With a web game, they click play and wait 2-5 seconds. They're already playing.

Every second of friction costs you plays, ratings, and rankings.

Works Everywhere

Web games run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeOS. They work on mobile if you support touch. You never have to write "Sorry, Windows only" in your description. You maximize your potential audience.

Easy to Share

You get a direct link to play. You can embed in tweets, Discord, and blogs. No sketchy "Download from Google Drive" links. Better for social media virality.

Instant Updates

Bug fix? Deploy in seconds. Found a balance issue? Patch it live. No "v1.1 uploaded, please re-download" messages.

Technical Capabilities

WebGL and WebGPU give you GPU-accelerated graphics. Web Audio API provides full sound support. LocalStorage and IndexedDB let you save games without a server. Service Workers make offline play possible. WebSockets enable multiplayer.

Getting Your Jam Game Discovered

Game jams generate thousands of games. After a jam, your game competes with thousands of other entries on itch.io, an overwhelming "New" feed, and players with limited time who skim.

Traditional solutions don't work well. Screenshots don't show gameplay. Trailers take hours to make and you're exhausted. Marketing requires energy you don't have.

Short-Form Gameplay Works

Record 15 seconds of gameplay showing the best moment, the core loop, the hook. Upload to Cinevva and link to your itch.io page. Players scroll, watch, click, and play instantly.

Your game gets judged by its gameplay, not your marketing skills. You don't need time for trailers because 15-second clips are enough. You don't need to compete with AAA marketing because gameplay speaks for itself. And players don't need to download because web games play instantly.

The Workflow

During the jam, focus on making your game. In the last hour, record 2-3 quick gameplay clips.

After submission, submit to the jam normally, upload your clips to Cinevva, share the link on social media, and watch real players discover and play your game.

Success Strategies

Before the Jam

Prepare your tools. Test your engine, IDE, and art tools. Set up version control with Git. Have a project template ready. Practice importing assets and building basic mechanics.

Prepare yourself. Sleep well the night before. Stock up on food and drinks. Clear your schedule. Tell family or roommates you're going to be busy.

If you have a team, agree on communication (Discord works well), assign rough roles, and set expectations for availability.

During the Jam

In the first 2 hours, brainstorm and plan. Generate multiple ideas and pick the most achievable. Scope ruthlessly and cut by 50%. Document your core loop. Agree on visual style.

From hours 2 to 20, build the core. Get the main mechanic working first. Placeholder art is fine. No polish until the core works. Commit frequently.

From hours 20 to 40, make it playable. Add content like levels and enemies. Build basic UI with menu and game over screens. Add sound effects and music. Keep testing constantly.

In the final 8 hours, polish and ship. Fix critical bugs only. Do a final art pass. Write your description. Capture screenshots and a GIF. Submit early because you don't want to miss the deadline.

After the Jam

Immediately, rest because you earned it. Share on social media. Thank your teammates.

Within a week, play and rate other entries, respond to comments, collect feedback, and record gameplay clips.

Later, decide if you want to continue development, write a post-mortem devlog, and connect with people you met.

Common Mistakes

Scope creep happens from excitement. Write your features list early and stick to it. No sound happens when you leave it for last. Add placeholder sounds early. Unclear controls come from developer blindness. Include instructions and test with others. Broken builds come from rushing. Test exports early in the jam. Bad descriptions come from exhaustion. Draft yours before you're too tired.

Making Web Games for Jams

For 2D games, Phaser is the most popular HTML5 game framework. Pixi.js is a fast 2D renderer you can pair with your own logic. Godot has excellent HTML5 export.

For 3D games, Three.js is the most flexible WebGL library. Babylon.js is a full-featured 3D engine. PlayCanvas is web-native with a built-in editor.

For no-code or low-code, GDevelop is a visual game maker with web export. Construct makes powerful no-code HTML5 games.

Optimization

Keep loading time under 10 seconds by compressing assets and lazy loading. Show loading progress so players don't abandon. Test on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari because browser quirks exist. Make it mobile-friendly if possible with touch controls and responsive layout. Provide a fullscreen button for immersion. Include a sound toggle since not everyone can have sound on.

For itch.io embed settings, use 960px width (or your native resolution), 540px height for 16:9, enable mobile-friendly if responsive, enable the fullscreen button, and disable scrollbars.

After the Jam

In the first week, respond to all feedback to build goodwill and learn. Play and rate other entries because community matters. Post a devlog sharing your experience and what worked or didn't. Upload gameplay clips to get more eyes on your game.

In the first month, fix bugs players reported, make minor polish improvements that are low-effort but high-impact, and share your jam story on social media with GIFs.

Long-term, if the game has potential, collect feedback themes to see what players consistently liked or disliked. Assess whether there's a larger game here. Plan a post-jam version that's expanded and polished. Consider monetization through PWYW on itch.io or a Steam release.

Signs your jam game could be more: players asking for more content, streamers picking it up, high ratings relative to similar games, you're still excited about it weeks later, and there's a clear path to 10x the content.

Resources

For communities, check r/gamejams for active jam discussion, r/ludumdare for LD-specific talk, itch.io Jams to find and join jams, and Gamedev.js for the JavaScript game dev community.

For tools, Kenney Assets has free game assets, OpenGameArt has CC-licensed art and audio, Freesound has sound effects, and itch.io Butler is a CLI for fast uploads.

For learning, check Cinevva Tutorials for web game development guides, Web Game Engines Comparison to choose your tools, and How to Launch on itch.io to optimize your game page.

Your Next Jam

Before the jam, install and test your tools, prepare a template project, gather asset packs if allowed, assemble your team or decide to go solo, and block your calendar.

During the jam, brainstorm on theme for 30 minutes max, prototype the core mechanic first, test early and often, add sound before the final day, and leave at least an hour for submission.

After the jam, submit to the jam page, upload gameplay clips, play and rate other entries, respond to feedback, and write a devlog about your experience.

Get Started

Browse upcoming jams at itch.io/jams. Pick one that fits your schedule and interests. Prepare your tools using this guide. Make something awesome in 48-72 hours. Share it and watch players discover it.

Game jams are where indie games are born. Your next jam game could be the start of something big.