What is a game jam?

“Jam” is a reference to musical jam sessions. Similarly, the goal with a “game jam” is to come together and make a videogame, or a non-digital (analog) game like a board game or card game. Participants rapidly prototype game designs and inject new ideas to help inspire and grow the global game industry. We share a common theme and constraints. We ask participants to create a game from beginning to end in a prescribed time. The brief time span is meant to help encourage creative thinking which results in small but innovative and experimental games, some of which have been developed beyond the GGJ into a commercial success. The Global Game Jam® is an annual event, usually occurring in January. GGJ 2022, the 14th GGJ, will start at 17:00 (in your time zone) on 26 January 2022 and goes for around 120 hours through 30 January 2022. Participants work concurrently around the globe; we rally around a central theme, and then work together to create a game. It’s our hope that we will see some very experimental prototypes that you can continue to work on after the jam. Many games developed in previous Game Jams have become fully realized games.