Give us your best Trollgame in October!

Please submit in one or more of the following formats:

• Web-Playable
• Windows / Linux / Mac OS X
• Tabletop Game Rules
• a PDF of like, a choose your own adventure book, or something, I guess, if that's your thing

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Games MUST be added to Itch sometime during October 2025 (we've pushed the deadline to Monday the 3rd to give folks one more weekend) to be eligible for a prize. You may work on the game before this time period. There is no exclusivity rule for submissions on our end, but we will remove "jam-stuffing" entries.
• A .zip file containing everything you need to run your game, and a .TXT for instructions if needed, OR:
• A link to an itch page where your game can be played in the browser
• Or both!
• Games MUST be free to play for all participants and judges of the jam for the entirety of the judging period
• Games should be made using only assets/code you created yourself or have legal rights to use, but you don't have to avoid using code/assets from before October 1st, especially if you created it yourself.
• Please do not submit NSFW projects. If you're on the fence about whether something is SFW or not, drop a content warning in the appropriate place so potential players/streamers can make the call.
• You can hang in the Discord of ZZT if you are a ZZT or MegaZeux game maker: https://discord.gg/qUzGc9GRDt

BORING FAQ:

q: WHAT A TROLLGAME IS?????????????????

A: a trollgame is a game that sets up and subverts expectations.  The best trollgames are ones where the player can follow the logic of the game, but that doesn't stop them from walking into the game's traps.

q: WHAT IF I MAKE GAME ABOUT A TROLL I AM SUBVERTING THIS ENTIRE CONTEST PUUHUU?????

A: if you make a game about a troll,

congratulations, you played yourself dot png

q: JUDGING????

A: In a BIG HUGE CHANGE from last year: OFFICIAL JUDGES ARE HAPPENING rather than people just submitting their own games and then voting. WHY? because absolutely everyone was unhappy last year. so THIS year, I (Jer aka DeadPhrog aka Gajillionaire aka whydoisay), Madam Crime, and RaycerX are the official judges PLUS we will probably have some CELEBRITY JUDGES (by which I mean people in the COMMUNITY who are not submitting games). 

WHO IS RAYCERX? my friend who is also a streamer and will most likely be streaming some of these games!! his twitch is HERE: https://www.twitch.tv/raycerx

Judging will begin after the game submissions close and will end midnight 11/17/25. The winners will be  announced on Madam Crime's Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/madamcrime/  on Sunday the 23rd of November! Results will be posted on Discord and such immediately following the AWARDS CEREMONY STREAM!

What are the JUDGING CRITERIA? how much pain you cause Dr. Dos!!!!! no, i'm kidding. we're doing an exciting and innovative form of judging this year: WE WILL AWARD EVERY LAST GAME AN ESOTERIC AWARD! yay! but i still want to give out prizes.

q: PRIZE????

A: YES prizes will be issued.  However they are not good prizes because  THE ECONOMY IS BAD! Are we trolling YOU?  Also if Dr. Dos wins he gets a puppy hopped up on sugar!

FIRST PRIZE: TWENTY BUCKS USD and a photograph of food. what food? MY CHOICE

SECOND PRIZE: FIVE BUCKS USD AND A PHOTO OF MY DOG

THIRD PRIZE: ONE BUCK USD AND A PICTURE OF MADAM CRIME'S HAMSTER

how are we deciding who are the people i pay money to?????? IT'S ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS!!!!!
basically the games that made us laugh the most. BE FUNNY

q: THERE IS NO SPOON PRIZE!!

i don't even know what that meant

q: ANY GOOSES? 

dude no i just have a dog but she is a REALLY PRETTY DOG. however, i DID see some geese this summer so i can provide additional GEESE PICS ON DEMAND.

i am probably entering the gamejam anyway but I (Jer aka DeadPhrog aka Gajillionaire aka whydoisay) am NOT NOT NOT eligible to win so don't worry about me venmoing myself $20

AWARDS CEREMONY:

we are for sure doing an awards ceremony stream but  i am NOT guaranteeing that we will play through your entire game on stream! we'll play it a bit for sure, but if you want us to show a particular part of it on stream be sure you hit me up at least a couple days before the stream so we can make that happen!

THANKS: 

kkairos and wil for inventing oktrollberfest!!! also  90 percent of this text is copied from 2023's oktrollberfest thing that i assume kkairos wrote! it's not plagiarism if i CREDITED YOU

NO THANKS: 

me, for giving myself more work to do! way to go, me!