About the challenge

Checkpoint is a hackathon series for builders aged 13–18. Twice a year, we pick a theme, give you 48 hours, and see what you can make.

This is Checkpoint 01, and the theme is Games For Good.

Build a game that does something beyond entertaining. That might mean teaching a skill, raising awareness of an issue, making play accessible to someone usually left out, or supporting a real cause. It doesn't have to be serious or worthy, but it has to be good, and it has to be for something.

Checkpoint 01 runs from Friday 8 January to Sunday 10 January, 2027. It's free, fully online, and open to anyone aged 13–18 anywhere in the world.

You do not need experience. Most people who turn up won't have finished a game before, and that's the normal starting point rather than a problem. There's a workshop on Saturday about scoping something you can actually finish, and people in the Discord all weekend to help when you get stuck.

 

Use any engine, any language, and as much AI as you want.

Get started

1. Register here on Devpost. Free, takes a minute.

2. Join the Discord at https://discord.gg/nWuK2RvKSR 

This is where everything actually happens: finding teammates, asking for help, sharing what you're building, and getting announcements. If you only do one thing before the event, do this one.

3. Come to kickoff. Friday 8 January, 7:00 PM ICT. We'll walk through the theme, explain how judging works, and help people find teams in voice chat. It's recorded and posted within the hour if you can't make it live.

4. Think about ideas beforehand - but don't build. Research your cause, learn your engine, read about the problem you want to tackle. All of that is encouraged. Just don't write code or make assets until kickoff.

Not sure what to build? Some starting points:

  • A game playable by someone who can't use a mouse, see the screen, or hear the audio
  • A game built for a specific organisation, classroom, or community that needs one
  • A game that teaches something hard in a way that finally clicks
  • A game that puts you inside an experience you'd otherwise never have

Interpret the theme loosely. If you can explain who it helps and how, it counts.

Sponsors

Please email us at vdle@stu.dgs.org.vn to inquire about sponsorship for checkpoint 1. We accept cash, in-kind and any form of sponsorship.

Requirements

What to Build

A game. That's the only rule on what to build, and beyond that, anything goes.

  • Any engine or framework. Godot, Unity, GameMaker, Pico-8, Twine, Scratch, plain HTML and JavaScript, React, or something we haven't heard of. If you can share it, it qualifies.
  • Any platform. Browser games are easiest for judges to play and we'd gently recommend them, but downloadable builds and mobile are fine.
  • Any scope. A five-minute experience made well beats an ambitious game left half-finished.
  • AI is allowed and encouraged. Use it for code, art, audio, writing, ideas - whatever helps. You'll be asked to say what you used, and you're judged on the result, not the method.
  • Solo or in a team of up to 4. Team size does not affect how you're judged.

 

Everything you submit must be made during the 48 hours. See the Rules section for exactly what that means.

What to Submit

Submit through Devpost before Sunday 10 January, 7:00 PM ICT. Your submission needs:

1. A way to play it. A link to a playable build: itch.io, a hosted web build, a downloadable file, or a repository with clear instructions. A judge needs to be able to run it and test it, with all features unlocked. If your build includes purchases that lock features behind paywalls, include a code judges can use to judge.

2. A demo video, 2–3 minutes. Upload to YouTube or Vimeo, set to public or unlisted. Show the game being played and explain what it does. This does not need to be polished - a screen recording with you talking over it is completely fine, and it's what most people submit.

3. A written description covering:

  • What the game is and how it's played
  • Who it helps, and how
  • What you'd do next if you had more time

4. An AI disclosure. One or two lines listing which AI tools you used and what for. "None" is a perfectly good answer. This doesn't affect your score: we ask because being straight about it is part of how we want this event to work, and this encourages responsible AI use outside of this hack.

5. Your source code, or a note explaining why you can't share it.

6. Team members listed on the Devpost submission.

Submit even if it isn't finished. An unfinished game that gets submitted can win Best Beginner Project. A finished game that never gets submitted can't win anything. Submit anything you have when submissions close.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

6 non-cash prizes
First Place
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for First Place.

Second Place
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for Second Place.

Third Place
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for Third Place.

Best Beginner Project
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for Best Beginner Project.

Most Creative
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for Most Creative.

Best Use of AI
1 winner

More to be announced

- A verified, digital certificate of achievement for Best Use of AI.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Vuong Dinh Le

Judging Criteria

  • Impact
    Does it genuinely help someone? Is the connection to a real problem clear and thought-through, or bolted on?
  • Creativity
    Is the idea interesting? Have we seen this before? Does it approach the theme from an angle we didn't expect?
  • Execution
    Does it work? Is it playable start to finish? Does it do what it says?
  • Art & Design
    Does it look and feel like one coherent thing? Is the interface readable, is the game legible while you're playing it, does the visual and audio direction suit what the game is about?
  • Presentation
    Is the demo video clear? Does the description explain what it is and who it's for?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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