Welcome to the 2026 UCD Netsoc Game Jam:
Program Better and Jam
This is a game jam hosted by college students, for college students. It seeks to encourage new and upcoming game devs to get started on their journey to make great games! The jam is open to all college students
*if you would like to join our society and are eligible please come to one of our events and let a committee member know. It cost just €2 to join!
--Not Released Yet--
This is the secret theme that will be announced at the start of the competition. Your submission should be clearly inspired by the theme but it is up to you how you decide to interpret it. Get creative!
A game jam is a short, fast-paced event where you (solo or in a small team) create a complete game from scratch within a limited time. It’s all about learning, creativity, and actually finishing something — not perfection.
Beginners are very welcome ❤️
- Teams must consist of 1-3 students currently enrolled in any college program
- In order to be eligible for prizes, at least one member of your team must be currently enrolled at UCD and be a member of UCD NetSoc
- Development starts when the jam begins
- Third-party assets are allowed with proper attribution and you must have the legal license to use them
- Be detailed and honest in the submission survey, vague or incomplete answers may affect prize eligibility
- All participants must follow university codes of conduct (No hateful, harassing, or illegal content/messages)
Teams retain full ownership of their games!
By entering, teams grant the society permission to showcase, stream, or promote submitted games with credit to the creators.
Voting will occur in the week after the Game Jam finishes (Second week of Spring Break). Anyone can vote on entries, but first they will have to go through a Rating Queue where you rate a random set of entries to ensure that all your friends don't just login and rate your game! Also, all prizes will be given out based on the Judge's Choice Ranking, but both Judge's Choice and Community Choice top picks will be shouted out in our weekly email and on our itch page. So, you still get bragging rights for being the Community Choice!
Judge's Choice - This will be the Official Ranking for the Game Jam decided by our lovely committee members
Community Choice Is based on:
Theme - Does the game fit the given theme?
Innovation - Does the game do something unique and fun that you've never seen before?
Gameplay - Does the game play well? Is it fun?
Design - Does the game look and sound good?