The jam handbook: entering and running a jam
Enter an event
Read the original jam hub in Discord. Check the theme, dates, timezone, entry forum, build rules and vote emoji. Use your existing game thread and the event tag. Ask the organiser about placement when that thread is elsewhere; do not duplicate the game.
Provide a working external build, a clear description and your own screenshot. Follow Posting your game. First-party ZIP uploads and automatic jam build locks are not enabled. An external host can change files at the same URL, so follow the organiser’s version-change rules.
Website approval is separate
The event tag says which jam you entered. Publish to site says a moderator approved the game for public website listing. A public Project also needs its owner’s publication request. Entering a jam cannot bypass those checks.
A game can be suitable for the site but fail one jam’s rules. That is an event decision, not automatically a reason to remove the game’s general site approval.
Vote in Discord
Use the emoji named by the organiser on the entry’s starter message. Votes on replies, image replies or the hub are not entry votes. The default tally excludes bots and each entry owner’s self-vote. An event may announce a different supported voter scope before voting; read its rules. There is no website voting.
Try the game before judging it. Give specific feedback in its existing thread. Private feedback points and a jam’s result are different systems.
Organiser setup
- Create one event hub. Use the jam name as its title. Start with a short paragraph about the theme, dates and entry location. The site summary uses the first 200 characters.
- Publish full rules, timezone, deadline, permitted changes, vote emoji, voter scope, judging/tie rules and any confirmed prizes below the summary.
- Create the matching event entry tag. Keep it separate from Publish to site approval.
- Move the hub lifecycle through upcoming, active, voting and finished.
Use the current Discord process. The feature-gated /jam and /build hosting commands
are not needed or enabled for this release.
Results and archive
Moderators use /jamvotes tag:<exact-tag> channel:<entry-forum>. The private result counts
distinct eligible voters on tagged entry starter messages. Review qualification, wrong
tags, withdrawals and ties separately: the tally is not a full event eligibility or site
approval check. Use the announced scope; do not change voting rules after seeing results.
Apply the configured first/second/third placement tags to the winning game threads, post results in the original hub, set finished and archive it. The exporter reads lifecycle and archive state; archived hubs become past jams. Website medals/results still require eligible approved content and a successful refresh. Do not promise cash or other prizes unless the event actually offers them.
Check the website after export. It is scheduled every six hours; failures can delay it. For an urgent safety problem, contact moderators/operators rather than waiting for an ordinary static refresh.