Transform science into something you can play.

What if science could be felt, explored, and played from the comfort of your home? The Science Remix Game Jam is a 2-week virtual event that invites scientists, educators, scicommers, and game developers to team up to turn real science into playable experiences.

People connect with science most when they can participate in it. Games make that possible by turning big ideas into something you can explore, shape, and play with. Whether it’s a poetic metaphor, a quirky simulation, or something completely unexpected, the goal is to make science approachable, surprising, and fun.

Hosted by Data Bloom LLC and No Coast SciComm, this jam offers participants a chance to build meaningful prototypes, explore creative collaboration, and make games with impact.

When: September 25 to October 11, 2025
Where: Online (Discord)
Who: Game developers, scientists, students, scicommers, and educators. All experience levels are welcome as long as you’re excited to make science playable!
Applications Due: September 19, Apply Here

Theme

What is a Science Remix? It’s what happens when you take real science and transform it into something playable.

As part of the jam, teams will explore a real scientific concept through mechanics, metaphor, or narrative. Whether your game ends up quirky, poetic, or educational, the goal is the same: make science something people can feel, click, and explore.

What to Expect

You must fill out the application to participate. You can apply as a full team, or as an individual or partial team looking to be matched with other participants. You’ll choose your primary role when you apply. For our friends who are scientists, educators, and science communicators, this includes a science consultant role to help effectively and accurately translate science. Science consultants will be responsible for helping their team identify a scientific concept to be communicated through their game. 

If selected to participate in this jam, you’ll be matched with the goal of having well-rounded development teams within or near your timezone. Expect to hear back from us about your application on September 23rd. We'll include an invite to the Discord server in this email.

We’ll host a mandatory kickoff event on September 25, during which teams will be announced and you'll receive some tips and tricks on how to make this a successful jam for your team. From there, teams will work together to design and build a small game prototype.

Consider using the example production timeline below, and touch base with your science consultant at each milestone to help ensure your game stays accurate and connects with your audience.

You’ll submit your finished game by October 11, and we’ll celebrate with an asynchronous Play Day on October 16.

While we do our best to place every applicant on a team, participation depends on having a balanced mix of skills and roles. If we can’t form a complete team for you, there’s a chance we may not be able to include you in this jam.

Jam Timeline:

• Sept 19 – Final day to apply
• Sept 23 – Participants notified & kickoff invite sent
• Sept 25 @ 6PM CT – Kickoff & team announcements (attendance required)
• Oct 11 @ 11:59 PM CT – Game submission deadline
• Oct 16 @ 6PM CT  –  Play Day & special recognition games announced

Suggested Production Timeline: 

Play Day

We encourage participants to join us for a virtual, asynchronous Play Day in our Discord on October 16 to see all the innovative ways you made science playable. While we’re excited to play all of your games, we’ll also highlight standout entries for special recognition. These featured games will receive a personalized write-up with thoughtful feedback and recommendations from the judges, something that can help you put together your portfolio or continue with development. Categories may include:

Inventive Mechanic: a game with a fresh, science-inspired mechanic
Scientific Storycraft: a story that engages and inspires with science
Curriculum Companion: a game educators would love to use
Market Ready: a game with strong commercial appeal

Rules

Be kind and respectful. Games or conduct endorsing racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, transphobia, or any hate speech will not be tolerated.

Include NSFW and content warnings, when applicable. 

Games should be free to play during the game jam’s duration and for a week afterward. 

We do not allow AI-generated content created with tools where you do not own the training data (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion). By participating, you agree to follow this policy and submit only work your team has the rights to use. Entries found to violate this may be removed from the jam or bundle.

All participants must fill out the application form before joining. This helps us with team matching and makes sure everyone’s on the same page. Games submitted by participants who didn’t complete the application may be removed.

Violations of these rules may result in your game being removed from the jam and you may be removed from our Discord server. These rules are subject to change. 

FAQ

Do I need game dev experience to join as a scientist? No! When applying, choose a primary role you’re comfortable with (science consultant is a great option if you want to focus on providing science expertise and insight). You’ll be matched with a team whose skills complement yours. All you need is curiosity, good communication, and a willingness to explore ideas together.

Do I need a background in science? Nope! We’ll do our best to make sure each team has a scientific consultant who makes sure the science in your game is sound. Your role is to help translate those ideas into gameplay as a well-rounded team. Curiosity is great, but no scientific background is required.

How do I find a team to work with? We ask that everyone participating in the game jam fill out the application, which gives you the option to be matched with a team.  

Can I join solo as a dev? Yes, you may apply as a solo developer. However, if you’d like to be paired with a science consultant, please fill out the application as a “partial team.”

Do I need access to Discord to participate? Yes. We use Discord to coordinate matchmaking, announcements, and team communication. All participants must have access to Discord for the duration of the jam. We will send out invites to our Discord server to accepted participants before the start of the event.

What engine or format can I use? Anything: Twine, Unity, Godot, tabletop, browser-based, etc.

What support will I get? We’ll offer team matchmaking and light mentorship in our Discord server.

Is this a competition? This jam is about collaboration and creative experimentation, but we will be highlighting a few standout games with special recognition awards. These four games will receive written feedback from our team and advisors after the jam. We offer recognition not to rank submissions, but to celebrate creative approaches and help teams carry their work forward.

Rights & Ownership

All participants retain full ownership of their work. The jam organizers and Data Bloom LLC do not claim any rights to the games created.

By participating, you agree that your game may be included in our public showcase and promoted in connection with the jam. Beyond that, all intellectual property (IP), assets, and ideas belong to you and your team.

Teams are responsible for deciding how they want to handle shared IP, credit, and publishing rights. We recommend having a simple agreement or conversation early in the jam to avoid confusion later.

If you're sharing research, please make sure you have the right to do so. By participating, you confirm that any material you provide is yours to share, and Data Bloom LLC and No Coast SciComm are not responsible for securing permissions. 

By submitting a game to the Science Remix Game Jam, you agree to the Terms and Conditions.