Serious Simulation & Spreadsheet Game Jam

The Serious Simulation & Spreadsheet Game Jam is a game jam dedicated to serious simulation games. Participants are welcome to submit traditional GUI-based games that may appear "boring" on the surface but are rich in insightful and sophisticated modeling.

Developers can create simulations of politics, economics, warfare, or virtually any other subject.

Conventional rating categories such as Visuals and Audio are deliberately omitted. Gameplay remains a rating category, but it is not the primary focus.

Examples of the kinds of games we hope to see include Aurora, Rule the Waves, and Democracy.

Theme suggestions open two weeks before the Game Jam begins and remain open for one week. Theme voting begins one week before the Game Jam starts.

Game Rating

• Modeling: How impressive is the game's underlying model? Whether grand in scope or intricate in detail, does it demonstrate exciting and thought-provoking modeling?
• Accuracy: How accurately does the game's simulation reflect historical events, real-world systems, and actual phenomena?
• Data Support: To what extent is the model supported by empirical data? This jam values data-driven models, not just "conceptual models." Of course, models grounded in quantitative data often face certain constraints in their modeling approaches. This category is therefore intended to give data-supported models an opportunity to receive recognition for their strengths.
• Gameplay: How fun is the game to play?
• Complexity: The more complex, the higher the score. This jam considers the difficulty and ambition of modeling to be just as important as gameplay. In conventional game jams, simpler games often come out on top. This jam does not intend to reward the "art of subtraction" in the same way. Even when excessive complexity ultimately compromises a game's polish or playability, this criterion will still recognize and appreciate the ambition involved in constructing a complex model.
• GUI: How ergonomic, efficient, and intuitive is the game's graphical user interface? This category replaces the conventional Visuals rating, which typically focuses on textures, animations, and graphical presentation, with an evaluation of visual design specifically from a GUI and usability perspective.

Rules

• AI is allowed. Participants may use AI tools during development.
• Free and third-party assets are allowed.
• Existing projects are allowed. Participants may continue developing an existing project, provided that substantial changes or additions are made during the jam. Simply resubmitting an old project without meaningful new development is not permitted.