Overview

Reddit is hosting a virtual hackathon from November 20th to December 17th. We’re offering developers $116,000 in prizes for new games and apps.

The challenge: create a new word game, puzzle, or tabletop game using Reddit’s Developer Platform.

Build a new game on Devvit (Reddit’s Developer Platform) for a new community! We’re looking for apps that leverage interactive posts. Your app should fall into at least one of the three designated categories: word games, puzzles, or tabletop games.

Successful apps from this hackathon can also become eligible for Reddit Developer Funds. Learn more about sustaining success on the resources page.

 

Getting started

  1. Get started with the quickstart
  2. Once you have Devvit set up, you can dive deeper with interactive posts
  3. View the resources tab for examples, inspiration, playground links, and more
  4. Join us on Discord for live support and office hours

Requirements

Contest Categories

  1. Word games: this can include guessing games, spelling games, fill-in-the-blanks, pictographic games, words that are crossed, found, and scrambled, or anything else word-game adjacent. 
  2. Puzzles: we’re looking for codes and coordinates, optimal moves, unlocking doors, or finding perfect alignment. Puzzles can be spatial, logical, or social.
  3. Tabletop:  we’re looking for virtual board games, card games, and games with maps, twists, and points.

Note: These categories are broad and may overlap. Your game can incorporate elements from multiple categories - feel free to submit under multiple categories if your game is a good fit. If you have questions on whether your app qualifies for a specific category email us at devvit-support@reddit.com.

 

What to Submit

  • Video: a short (1-minute) walkthrough of your app
  • App listing: include your unique app link (i.e. developers.reddit.com/apps/{app-name}), which is created after you upload your app to the Developer Platform. Include a detailed README.md in the root directory of your app that describes the game and how to play. See how to get started here. Please note, you do not need to publish your app in order to submit it for the hackathon.
  • Demo Post: include a link to your a) test subreddit b) a post running your game. Please make sure your subreddit is public, OR you can install this app into your subreddit to allow our team to join automatically. Our judges will be reviewing submissions on Desktop web for this contest.
  • Repo: provide a URL to your public code repository of the Project. If you would like to keep your repo private, you may add u/pl00h to your repo so our team has access.
  • Feedback: [Optional] complete our developer satisfaction survey to qualify for the Best Feedback prize.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$116,000+ in prizes
+ other prizes
Best Word Game - 1st Prize
$20,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Word Game - Runner Up
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Word Game - 3rd Prize
$5,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Puzzle Game - 1st Prize
$20,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Puzzle Game - Runner Up
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Puzzle Game - 3rd Prize
$5,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Tabletop Game - 1st Prize
$20,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Tabletop Game - Runner Up
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Tabletop Game - 3rd Prize
$5,000 in cash
1 winner

Feedback Awards
$200 in cash
5 winners

* $200 to five participants who submit insightful or constructive feedback

UGC Award
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

* $10,000 USD for the best use of user-generated content (i.e. Reddit posts or comments) in a game.

We're looking for an app that enables creative user participation in their game, as can be seen in app-based subreddits like r/Pixelary or r/CaptionContest.

Participation Trophy
1,000 winners

A Reddit trophy for contest participation

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Reddit Staff Panel

Reddit Staff Panel

Judging Criteria

  • Delightful UX
    Games should be intuitive and built with accessible layouts and themes. It should be exciting and easy to uncover what the app has to offer. We will be testing apps on Desktop, but encourage devs to consider the mobile layout and experience of their app.
  • Relevance
    Does the app leverage the Developer Platform interactive post features to create a thought-out game? See examples of apps that use the interactive post feature here: https://developers.reddit.com/docs/showcase/apps.
  • Original
    We’re not looking for simple clones of existing apps. We want these apps to have their own identity and look, or bring a new twist to a classic game. Make it sleek, make it weird, make it fun, and make it unique!
  • Uniquely suited to Reddit
    Your game should be designed to bring together a community of users. Think massively multiplayer. Make use of flair, comments, leaderboards, or other Reddit-y mechanics. See the recommended list of mechanics for more guidance on the Resources page.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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