Make a game in 10 days with free pixel art.

Gridwright Jam #1 runs from November 13 to November 23, 2026. Any engine, solo or in a team of up to 4. The theme is revealed the moment the jam starts.

Get the free Gridwright Jam Pack: one download with free samples of 59 Gridwright packs. It has tilesets (top-down, isometric, platformer), characters and monsters, game UI, icons, VFX, chiptune music, sound effects and pixel fonts. Everything is on one strict grid with clean file names and JSON. Use it in the jam and keep using it after.

Join our Discord: find a team, ask questions and post your progress in #gridwright-jam. The theme is announced there and here.

Dates

• Start and theme: November 13, 2026, 06:00 UTC
• Submissions close: November 23, 2026, 06:00 UTC
• Voting: until November 30, 2026, 06:00 UTC

Rules

• Make a new game during the jam. Assets, templates, libraries and code you already have are fine.
• Use at least one asset from the Gridwright Jam Pack (or any Gridwright pack), and credit "Art by Gridwright" with a link on your game's page.
• Other assets are welcome if you have the rights to use them. Credit them too.
• Any engine. A browser build is highly recommended: browser games get more plays and ratings.
• Solo or teams of up to 4, one entry per team.
• AI tools are allowed. Say what you used in the "AI tools used" field and in itch.io's AI disclosure.
• No NSFW content, hate or harassment, and no brands or characters you don't own. Mark horror or violence on your page.
• Only entrants vote, through itch.io's rating queue (rate the 5 games you are given first). Uploads are locked during voting.

Prizes

The top 3 games (Overall) and the Best use of Gridwright assets (picked by us) each win every Gridwright pack and tool: a download key for each one, for every team member (up to 4). That is the whole Gridwright Megabundle. Winners also get a feature on gridwright.store, in a devlog and in our Discord. Every entry that uses our assets is listed with a link in our "Games made in Gridwright Jam #1" post after the jam.

Bonus challenges (optional, just for fun)

• One Pack: use the assets of a single Gridwright pack only.
• No Words: no text anywhere in the game.
• Mouse Only: play it with the mouse alone.
• Night and Day: the game changes between day and night.

Rating criteria

Overall, Fun, Art, Audio, Theme and Creativity, 5 stars each. Best use of Gridwright assets is picked by the hosts.

FAQ

Do I have to buy anything? No. The Jam Pack is free, and one asset from it is enough.

Can I use the Jam Pack assets after the jam, in a commercial game? Yes. You can use and change them in personal and commercial games. You just can't resell them as assets.

Can I use assets from other creators too? Yes, if their licence allows it. Credit them.

Can I start before the theme is announced? Plan and learn your tools, but make the game itself during the jam.

How were the Gridwright assets made? The sprites are drawn by code and the sounds are synthesised by code. The code is written with AI-assisted tools, and every pack says so in its AI disclosure.

I missed the deadline. Ask in the jam's community or on Discord before voting starts.

Share your progress with #GridwrightJam. Good luck, and have fun!