Schedule
Subject to change!
Thursday, September 17: Kickoff
Duke Energy Hall, James B. Hunt Jr. Library
- 5:00 PM: Check-in desks open
- 5:00 PM: Dinner: Duke Energy Hall, James B. Hunt Jr. Library
- Cheese Pizza, Gluten-Free Pizza, and Vegan Pizza.
- 5:30 PM: Welcoming remarks
- 5:30 PM: Keynote: Aaron Quidley
- 6:00 PM: Rules Briefing, Jam Information, Code Of Conduct Overview
- 6:30 PM: Theme Reveal
- 6:30-8:00 PM: Team Formation Exercise
- 7:15 PM: Team Registration desk opens
- 8:15 PM: Duke Energy Hall closes for the night
Kickoff is mandatory. Any absence for Kickoff must be accompanied by an Absence Disclosure form response submitted no later than 6:00 PM on Wednesday, September 16.
Friday, September 18: Build Day 1
Duke Energy Hall
- 9:00 AM: Duke Energy Hall opens for team use
- Jam Help Desk and equipment checkout opens
- 10:00 AM: Mentor availability begins
- 5:00 PM: Dinner: Duke Energy Hall, James B. Hunt Jr. Library
- Cheese Pizza, Gluten-Free Pizza, and Vegan Pizza.
- 10:00 PM: Duke Energy Hall begins overnight rules
- Event Lanyard mandatory
- Mentoring moves to Discord only
- Confirm Arrivals and Exits with Staff
- Jam admin help moves to Discord & equipment check-outs pause
Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab, Hunt Library
- 1:00 PM: Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab open for team use
- Check-in opens for assigned team tables (one Lenovo Legion desktop per team)
- 8:00 PM: Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab close
Saturday, September 19: Build Day 2
Duke Energy Hall
- 9:00 AM: Duke Energy Hall remains open for team use
- Jam Help Desk and equipment checkout re-opens
- Resume regular building access
- 10:00 AM: In-person Mentor availability resumes
- 1:00-1:30 PM: Workshop: “Submission and Judging at Collegiate Game Jam”
- Strongly recommended for every team to send at least one member
- 4:00 PM: Late Afternoon Pizza Duke Energy Hall, James B. Hunt Jr. Library
- Cheese Pizza, Gluten-Free Pizza, and Vegan Pizza.
- 6:00 PM: Dinner: Duke Energy Hall, James B. Hunt Jr. Library
- Cheese Pizza, Gluten-Free Pizza, and Vegan Pizza.
- 10:00 PM: Duke Energy Hall begins overnight rules
- Lanyard mandatory
- Mentoring moves to Discord only
- Confirm Arrivals and Exits with Staff
Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab
- 9:00 AM: Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab open
- Resume assigned team tables (one Lenovo Legion desktop per team)
- 2:30-4:00 PM: Playtesting meet-up
- Send a team representative and a current build to receive playtesting feedback from mentors
- Additional workstations made available for this playtesting
- 8:00 PM: Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab close
The Corner, 941 Main Campus Drive; at the intersection of Main Campus Drive and Research Drive
- 5:00 PM: Alternate (Paid) Dinner Choice: The Corner, Centennial Campus
Sunday, September 20: Submission, Judging, and Awards
Duke Energy Hall
- 9:00 AM: Duke Energy Hall remains open for team use
- Jam Help Desk and equipment checkout re-opens
- Resume regular building access
- 10:00 AM: In-person Mentor availability resumes
- 12:00 PM: Submission Deadline
- 12:15-2:00 PM: Duke Energy Hall closed to competitors
- Teams must have their areas clean and clear by 12:15 PM
- 2:00 PM: Duke Energy Hall reopens for Showcase Preparation
- Every team must supply at least one presenter and a working game demo
- Showcase occurs on Lenovo laptops
- Showcase is for the public and does not impact judging
- 2:30-6:00 PM: 2026 Collegiate Game Jam Showcase
- 6:15 PM: Awards Ceremony Begins
- 7:00 PM: Collegiate Game Jam 2026 Ends
Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab
- 9:00 AM: Lenovo Esports and Gaming Lab & Teaching and Visualization Lab open
- Resume assigned team tables (one Lenovo Legion desktop per team)
- 12:00 PM: Submission Deadline
- 12:15-1:00 PM: Closed to competitors
- Teams must have their areas clean and clear by 12:15 PM
- Desktops and peripherals may stay in place for judging
- 1:00-2:15 PM: Spaces open for Judging Preparation and Team setup
- 2:15 PM: Last Call for Judging Preparation
- Teams may have maximum of two presenters in the space from this time forward
- 2:30-6:00 PM: Judging
- All teams are judged simultaneously
- 12 rounds of judging, judges rotate to groups
- Each Round = 12 minutes of judge presentation, 3 minutes for rotation
- 4:00-4:15 PM: Judging Break
- Bathroom Break, Opportunity for teams to swap presenting team members
- 6:00 PM: Judging Ends
- All teams expected to clear their space and remove all personal possessions before Awards Ceremony
View last year's schedule