Update:

This year's modifier has been voted on by the community and announced, and I'm happy to say it is....

"Just ship it"!

As always, feel free to interpret or misinterpret this modifier as you would like. Or just completely ignore it! Good luck everyone!

'So Bad it's Good' Jam 2026

Celebrating our 10th anniversary! Why are you still here?

Some games are born to be loved, admired, and lauded by critics. However, some games are.... How should I put it? Enjoyed in their own special way. These are the games that are so unbelievably shoddy, broken, or weird that you wonder why they were made. How do they exist? And you just can't quite help but burst out in laughter. For many years, valiant game jammers have been trying to scientifically replicate the pure human joy of playing a janky game, and going into our 10th year, it may be our greatest year yet! (it also really could not be 🤷‍♀️).

As always, the brief is the same. Your game shouldn't be "well-made" or "polished", but it should have a unique charm to it, and be a fun and original experience. The aim is to create a game that isn't perfect, or extravagant, but is jank to the point where it becomes enjoyable!

Unsure what to do? View our 2025 Jam, 2024 Jam, 2023 Jam, 2022 Jam, 2021 Jam, 2020 Jam, 2019 Jam, 2018 Jam and our 2017 Jam.

The Criteria:

I heard you might get a special treat if you read and follow the rules! (that treat is winning the jam)

• Rule 1: "It has to be fun to play"

- This is arguably the hardest category to get right. There is a sweet spot with these types of games. Games that are unplayable, or mediocre to the point of boredom, are not fun. In order to make a true SBIG game, there has to be a level of enjoyment. With that said, it is up to you exactly how you choose to achieve this!

• Rule 2: "It can be original or based off an existing IP"

- You can be as original or shamelessly unoriginal as you want. Just don't use any trademarked or copyrighted material. If you want to parody an existing IP, at least think of a funny name for it. See Low Budget Quantum Tunnelling or Freedom the Eagle for inspiration.

• Rule 3: "Use whatever engine, whatever genre, however many people"

- Just go nuts. If you want to make your game in Unity, Godot, Gamemaker, Unreal, Construct: do it! One person, Two people, Ten people: do it! Hell, if you and your team of 1000 monkeys with typewriters want to create a rom-hack for the Game Child, have at it!! Use what you feel most comfortable with, or try something new, and see how it turns out. The only way you could fail is by not releasing a game at all.

• Rule 4: "Games must be made during the jam period".

- In order to make it a level playing field, you can't submit a game that you've worked on/released before the start of the jam. Once the jam starts, you can work on your game as much as you want, but keep your ideas in your head until the jam begins!

Additional guidance:

• While we don't immediately disqualify games submitted to multiple jams, please ensure that the game you make was made in the jam period, and was made with the intention of, or the subsequent realisation, of being So bad it's good!
• We tolerate the use of AI coding assistants and AI-generated content. If you wish to utilise AI content in your game, please credit where it was used. Please do not use AI art to deliberately replicate the works/style of copyrighted artists.

Modifier:

For this year's jam, as with last year's, there will be a modifier. The modifier is a special theme or item that could be added for extra points. For example, our previous modifiers have been "Genre fakeout", "Excessive sound design", "Every suggestion combined", "Ssh! The tortoise might hear!", "one button", "impossible", "retro" and "cyberpunk". As always, the modifier can be taken literally, or figuratively, and you can choose to interpret (or misinterpret) it however you want!

Voting for the modifier has now started in the Discord Server, and my omniscient Discord bot, VoteBot, will announce the modifier randomly, two days before the start of the Jam.

Voting/Prizes:

As with last year's jam, games will be voted on the following categories:

• Graphics
• Sound
• Gameplay
• Overall Bad
• Overall Good
• Modifier

Remember, the individual categories will be judged on whether they are so bad it's good. The voting isn't a measure of quality, but a measure of how well they fit the brief of the jam.

In previous years, we've created a "Best of the Worst" compilation for the top 10 winners, and the overall winner can choose whether the bundle is free or paid, and if so, what charity the proceeds will be sent to. If you would like to see the previous compilations, you can see our 2024 "Best of the Worst" Compilation, or the 2023, 2022, 2020, 2018, or 2017 Compilations.

Find a team:

You can create and find teams on TeamClumper, our brand new website for forming game jam teams! Visit our TeamClumper page at https://teamclumper.com/jams/sbigjam2026

Links:

As mentioned before, we have a Discord server, where you can see the latest updates, and vote on the modifier: https://discord.gg/rn7amBk

We strongly recommend you join the Discord to get a full SBIGJam experience! Over there you can vote for the modifier, and meet your fellow contestants!

As we say every year, merry SBIGmas!