Why this jam exists

The Coding Cabana is a community of devs that each want to contribute to something bigger. We are building a platform dedicated to designing new games and revamping classics that people have always loved to play. Inspired by chess enthusiasts in our community, we created a game jam designed to bring new chess variants to life — we want to find the ultimate chess variant worth launching, and the people worth building it with. There will be two rounds: 

Round 1: The Prototype. This is a jam for programmers, designers, and chess nerds. Invent a new or experimental chess variant and build a prototype someone can actually play. This round is about the idea and whether it’s fun. Fairy pieces, asymmetric armies, hex boards, fog of war, co-op chess, chess with dice —  we want to see it all. Some examples of well-known chess variants include Fischer Random, Atomic Chess, and Crazyhouse. Take a look at historical variants like Shogi, Xiangqi, and Makruk as well. Opens June 6, 2026 on International Tabletop Day — and runs through June 20. Open to everyone. Community voting runs June 21–27.

Round 2: The Endgame — Later in 2026. Take your prototype and turn it into a more polished game with deeper mechanics, custom art, and final polish. Teams are highly encouraged. More details will be shared closer to the Round 2 jam period.

The Challenge

Build a playable digital chess variant — your own invention, a documented historical variant, or anything in between.  The entries we’re most excited about are the ones you created yourself. All genres qualify. The one hard rule: someone should be able to open your game and complete a match.

What you win

Every game that ranks in Round 1 automatically qualifies for Round 2. The crowned winner will be featured on our platform  and will be entered into the Cabana All-Stars Competition held later this year.

The rules

Your prototype must be made during the jam period. Reusing engines or boilerplate is fine; the game itself must be new.

It must be playable. Someone should be able to open it and complete a match.

Any engine or language — Unity, Godot, Pygame, plain HTML/JS, but web playable entries are strongly preferred.

Solo or teams, no size limit. All skill levels welcome.

No NSFW content. AI-generated assets are allowed but must be disclosed in your submission notes.

Judging

All participants vote for one week after Round 1 closes. This round is about the idea, Originality, Fun Factor, and Rules so game design carries the most weight, with consideration of Polish and Technical Achievement.

About The Coding Cabana Game Jam

Join us for future game jams — for more information please visit thecodingcabanagamejam.com and register if you would like to have additional game jam benefits! Good luck!