Reddit’s Games with a Hook Hackathon

Overview

Reddit is hosting a virtual hackathon from June 17th to July 15th. We’re offering developers $40,000 in prizes for games built to delight users.

The challenge: create a new Reddit game for the users of Reddit using Devvit, our Developer Platform.

For this hackathon, we're asking developers to use Devvit Web, which allows you to build Devvit apps using web technologies you’re already familiar with (e.g. React, Phaser, three.js), or your favorite game engine (Godot, GameMaker, Unity, etc).

Participants will also have access to Phaser to make their game shine. The best app to use Phaser will be eligible for a special award. 

What to build

Build a game on Devvit (Reddit’s Developer Platform) using our Interactive Posts feature that inspires collective joy.

The Best Experience That Will Keep People Coming Back: Apps that give redditors a reason to return day after day. This could come from progression, daily challenges, fresh content, meaningful choices, social dynamics, or simply the anticipation of what happens next. We're looking for experiences that create excitement between sessions and leave players wanting to check back tomorrow. The strongest entries make every visit feel worthwhile. Players should have something to work toward, discover, unlock, influence, or look forward to each time they return. The format can vary widely, but the core focus should be creating a compelling loop that builds momentum over time and turns a one-time visitor into a regular player.

Examples of games on Reddit that bring users back day over day

r/honk, r/colorpuzzlegame, r/bunnytrials, r/alignmentchartFills, r/hotandcold, r/dailyguess, r/bridgedit, r/battlebirds, r/kraw r/LETTERSET

What we’re NOT looking for:

1. AI Slop: Did you use AI? Fantastic! But it shouldn’t be obvious the moment we open your app. Fit the UI in the viewport, give your app a unique identity, and make sure you’re thinking of your human players. You can even ask your agentic assistant to help hide their involvement!

2. On the nose Reddit theming: Reddit-y does not mean the game is about Reddit, karma, subreddits, Snoo, etc. Reddit-y means human-first, embracing community, meritocracy, creativity…it’s in the spirit of the app and your use of all the things subreddits have to offer (comments, flair, feeds, community)! While making the app about the topic of Reddit itself is not forbidden, it is also not a hack for making an app “Reddit-y”.

3. Literal interpretations on “Games with a Hook”: While we're not opposed to seeing a fishing game or two, games with a "hook" shouldn't be taken literally. We want to see hooky games as in retentive and replayable.

4. Common Ideas: Your game might not score as well if we’ve seen it many times before. We see a lot of: space shooters, clone apps of popular games, simple platformers, collaborative storytelling apps, and trivia apps. If you do make one of these apps, make sure it's extremely unique.

Sub-challenges

In addition to an excellent retentive experience, we’re looking for standout apps that also achieve the following:

1. Best Use of Phaser: Recognizes the most innovative use of the Phaser game development framework within the Reddit Devvit platform.

2. Best Use of Retention Mechanisms: Reddit apps are discoverable in our users’ feeds. This means that apps that create daily, or recurring, content tend to see better growth and retention. This award will go to the best use of retentive mechanics in a game.

3. Best Use of User Contributions: Apps that enable users to generate content (comments, posts, drawings, puzzles, levels) drive redditor engagement and conversation. This award will go to the app that makes the best use of user-generated content.

Games must be built on Devvit Web and be compliant with our Devvit Rules. Read our guide on how to build games for Reddit for more guidance on building for our platform.

For this event we are looking for polish, meaning apps that are as close to launch-ready as possible (bonus points for a good mobile experience). We understand that not all projects will reach this threshold, but projects that are well tested and concept-complete will score higher.

While we are accepting existing projects for this event, please note the game should be significantly updated during the hackathon period to qualify for this event.

Getting started

1. Get started with the Quickstart

2. Browse our Template Library for building with a familiar framework

1. You can use the Phaser Template here

3. View examples of existing games on r/GameOnReddit

4. Join us on Discord for live support and office hours

• Delightful UX
  Experiences should be built with exciting layouts and themes. While apps do not need to be perfect, it should be easy and fun to uncover what the app has to offer.
• Polish
  Your submission should be as close to publishable as possible and compliant with Devvit Rules. Judges should be able to understand everything we need to know by interacting with example posts. The closer to launch quality, the higher the score here.
• Reddit-y
  Reddit is all about community and embracing topics people care about, no matter how weird. We want apps to have their own identity, be community-minded, and bring something fresh to the platform. The best apps will bring a community together.
• Hook-y
  Does your app provide a compelling reason for users to return regularly? Strong apps create anticipation, ongoing goals, evolving experiences, or fresh opportunities that encourage users to come back day after day.
• [Phaser Category] Phaser Innovation
  Phaser judges will look for creative, effective use of Phaser’s tools and workflow that meaningfully elevates gameplay, polish, and technical execution.