What is a Scientific Game Jam?
A âgame jamâ is a short creative marathon during which participants create a video game prototype based on a given theme.
The Scientific Game Jam aims to be a decentralized event that encourages the popularization of science through video games. Thatâs why all resources provided to organizers and all games created by participants are shared under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 3.0 license.
The Scientific Game Jam is the first game jam focused on scientific themes.
Participants have 48 hours to create a video game inspired by academic research.
How Does It Work?
After an introduction to research topics presented by PhD students, teamsâeach made up of programmers, artists, game designers, musicians, and a PhD studentâexchange ideas and brainstorm to invent a game concept, covering every aspect: gameplay, visuals, sound, and of course, the science behind it. This interdisciplinary work continues throughout the weekend in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere, with support from experts, ultimately leading to the creation of a video game.
The games are then presented to the public and a jury, either on Sunday or at a later date.
Brainstorming
Time to Work!
Presentations
Jury
Scientific Game Show
The Scientific Game Show is the closing event for all Scientific Game Jams held in the spring! It usually takes place in May and includes the âAudience Favoriteâ award: the game that receives the most public votes among all the entries.
Next Scientific Game Show: Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Indie Game Lyon
Who Are We?
The first Scientific Game Jam was launched in Grenoble in 2014 during the International Year of Crystallography, thanks to a partnership between UniversitĂ© Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble INP, CNRS, CEA, and La Casemate. Since then, other cities have joined the movement: Paris, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, ToulouseâŠ
Research
To explore further the relationship between science and video games, students have used the Scientific Game Jam as a research topic in their academic work.