My Favourite Games From GMTK Game Jam 2026

Video games are all about numbers going up. Score going up. Money going up. Power going up. They’re about adding and multiplying and doing out-of-control combos. It’s just rampant unchecked greed and I’m sick of it!

So - I challenged game developers around the world to come up with games about numbers going in the other direction, by asking them to make games with the theme “count down”.

And boy did you all come through. Because, for GMTK Game Jam 2026, more than 37,000 people signed up to make more than 10,500 games. Which is not only the biggest GMTK game jam yet - but it also meant we surpassed Global Game Jam this year. Which I guess means we’re the biggest jam now?

Okay. Cool.

But enough yapping and back slapping. Let’s look at some games. As always I asked the community to rate and review the submissions which gave me a shortlist of incredible experiences to check out across a bunch of different categories. And from there I chose my 20 favourite games of the jam. Here they are, in no particular order.

Picture Day

Picture Day takes inspiration from a photo-booth countdown, to make a game where kids contort their face in the few seconds before their portrait is taken. So you’ve got a target expression on the left side of the screen. And then by using all manner of keyboard keys or controller buttons, you’ve got to squeeze your subject’s facial features to match the mug on the left.

It’s one of those things where you never quite get the hang of it. Even when you internalise where the eyebrows or the lips are situated on your gamepad, you still find yourself stumbling and fumbling at the very last second - which is always more funny than frustrating.

Picture Day certainly wasn’t the only game to play with facial features and camera countdowns, but it’s certainly the most polished and playable of the bunch.

11:59

11:59 simulates that moment where you’re just minutes away from your homework deadline - and now you’re in a mad dash sprint to get it uploaded to as time counts down to midnight.

So, you’ve got a rapidly expanding list of deliverables. And each one requires more steps and side quests than the last. Like, looking up the password to a document, or converting the file into a PDF, or having to watch through a video file.

Then your screen is littered with spammy pop-ups. Then you’ve got to clear out the task manager by playing Space Invaders. Then you realise you can leave the computer and walk around your apartment to find more clues and passwords. What! No one told me that!

It’s a rapid-fire, nightmare-inducing gem of a game and I absolutely loved it.

1 2 3 D

1 2 3 D is a clever game about switching perspective by counting down the number of dimensions. From an isometric Tunic-lookin’ 3D game, to a side-scrolling 2D platformer, and even a single dimensional line. Each perspective has unique strengths and weaknesses so you’ll need to flip through the lot of them to find the perfect place to be.

Ultimately I’m just super impressed by how the developer pulled this off. It seems simple but I’m sure this was a programming nightmare to get done in just four days. Bravo.

Veggie Brawl

Veggie Brawl is an autobattler, where you watch your squad of pumpkins, aubergines, and tomatoes duke it out with another group of groceries. And if it was just that... well then it wouldn’t be in this video.

But what makes Veggie Brawl so brilliant is the way you put together your team. Each battle starts at an auction house, where 10 vegetable fighters are put up as lots. You and your opponent each start with a thousand bucks. And then you have to decide how much you want to spend on each warrior - by choosing when to stop this countdown clock.

Because - you want to pay as little as possible for each team member. But you can’t wait too long or your opponent will snap them up first. So you have to look at the vegetable’s stats and decide how much they’re worth, and if they’re worth losing.

It’s a brilliant twist on the genre. So much so that I recommended it even though I lost every single round I played.

Circuit Breaker

Circuit Breaker is a grid-based puzzle game that plays with the countdown of a bomb and its fuse. In each level you must connect a stick of dynamite to this fuse. And then exit the level before you’re blown up. Oh, that’s no good.

So, you’ll have to be clever about where you lay the fuse. Perhaps making it as long as possible so you’ve got time to get out before the whole level goes boom.

Things escalate elegantly from there. Like: the fuse becomes electrified as the spark passes along it, which means it eventually becomes an impassable obstacle. And then later, the spark can be used to trigger special switches. All in all this is a very clever puzzler with a bunch of thoughtful conundrums that, if you’re asking me, strike a perfect difficulty balance.

Major Moo’s Moonbound Milky Way Mission

Major Moo’s Moonbound Milky Way Mission is... a mouthful. But it’s also a manic rocket-building farce where you’ve got to construct the perfect spaceship in the few seconds before liftoff.

Now - okay, this game does also count up, as you make more money the higher you go. And then you can spend that cash to unlock upgrades like a longer countdown, better fuel consumption, and improved durability for your ramshackle cow construction. So we’re not exactly escaping the number-go-up grind, here.

But I gotta admit, I put a lot of time into this game as there was something oh-so addictive about slowly improving my rocket-making skills and getting closer and closer to the moon. God damnit, so that’s why so many games are all about counting up. I’ve been had!

Count Your Clones

Count Your Clones is a mind-bending... singleplayer... co-op game. Basically, you’re a little alien who is trying to explore a planet before they’re killed at the end of a six second countdown. Now you’ve got to start again, but your previous self is still here, repeating everything they just did.

So, if alien one stands on a pressure pad and dies, alien two can waltz through the door that’s linked to said pressure pad. Things get more complex from there. You’ll find items that let you take shortcuts and open up new parts of the world. And eventually you’ll get a gun and realise that not only can you use it to break boxes and hit buttons... but you can also kill your previous clones to stop them from doing what they did last time. What. Help. How?

I’ll be honest, it all gets a little bit much as dozens of old yous are swarming the screen like confused mice. But I’ve got to admit - it’s one of the most creative and ambitious games I played during this jam.

I Was Seen as the Weakest Hero But I Can Secretly Edit the Metadata of the World?!?

I Was Seen as the Weakest Hero But I Can Secretly Edit the Metadata of the World?!? is... a name and a half. So this one is a simple story game about a knight and a princess. In each scene you’re given a short paragraph and then must remove words until you’ve whittled down the word count - while still keeping it as a plausible English sentence.

Seems easy, but I ended up kidnapping the princess, stabbing her, bribing a horse with a guard. Yes, you heard that right. And then riding off into the sunset with truly awful karma.

Ah - turns out you can omit other words and make different stories, and the tale will branch out in other directions. Silly, funny, and actually pretty darn clever. I’d like to see an expanded version of this idea.

7 Segments

7 Segments is one of many games that used the literal digits of a countdown clock. This one is my favourite, though: a mini Metroidvania that has you scouring a map for levers and buttons that make the clock do different things.

So at first, you’ll have to wait until the numbers are in the perfect position, so you can slip past the thin one or use the three as a ladder. But then you’ll find a switch to make the numbers stop. Or count up. Or flip the digits, and so on. It turns the whole thing into a digital Zelda dungeon as you must zig zag around to make everything line up.

This is also a good example of why presentation doesn’t always matter in game jams. This one has no audio and the main character is a rectangle. But if you look past that you get a puzzle platfomer that will have your head spinning.

My Hand is a Gun

My Hand is a Gun is a top-down shooter with just five shots. You start with an outstretched hand, which works like a big ol baseball bat. But once that’s been used, it’s on to four fingers, which acts like an SMG. And so on until you’re out of digits.

It turns each battle into a tense tactical fight where you have to carefully use each of your powers. And you’ll have to internalise what each finger combo does - right in the heat of battle. Or else you’ll waste your awesome pointer-finger laser by shooting at the wall.

Between rounds you’ll get to level up your weapons, adding an addictive meta-level structure to the whole thing. Fun!

Rudimentary Unfinished Shooter Entry

Rudimentary Unfinished Shooter Entry is, well, a RUSE. Sorry for the spoiler but I can’t really talk about this one without telling you that it’s a bit more than just a dodgy twin-stick shooter prototype that looks like the creator struggled to get it up in time.

No - because once you get past the intro it turns into a clever puzzle game about shooting orbs to swap its position. And using temporal zones to slow down your bullets so you’ll have to time to get in position before the shot hits. Clever stuff. And then it does something I’ve never seen in a game before.

Because if you refresh the page, the game world resets but your character’s position stays the same. Which can be used to solve certain puzzles. It’s slightly unnerving - this is not how games work! But it also adds a bizarre extra dimension to proceedings as you must always remember you can break outside the confines of the game to unlock more angles for your puzzle solving.

By the Numbers

By the Numbers made by brain hurt. The game features a line of people, each counting down one number from 20 to 1. So when it’s your turn, remember the last number and say the next in sequence. Easy, right?

Except - there are other rules to remember. Like, if the number is a multiple of three, you gotta say fizz, instead. And if it’s a multiple of five, you gotta say buzz. Oh, and if it’s both? Say fizz buzz. Of course, if you’re a dog you gotta say woof. And if you’ve got an afro you just HAVE to say alright.

Suddenly it becomes a game of mental gymnastics where you have to keep track of the sequence and do a bunch of calculations and quick-fire assessments before answering. I ended up saying everything out loud to my computer like some sort of maniac shouting FIZZ, BUZZ, 16, WOOF! Good stuff, would woof again.

Game Jam Simulator 2026

Game Jam Simulator 2026 is a silly little slice of life, showing exactly what it’s like to make a game in a ridiculously short period of time.

So with just 80 seconds left to go you’ve got to cut the scope, draw the graphics, fix the bugs, and so on, in a series of silly mini-games.

Hey, at least the game jam website doesn’t crash at the last second.

A bug’s (short) life

A bug’s (short) life is a platformer about a tiny bug who can only survive for about five seconds. So hopefully you can use that time to quickly grab a bunch of golden leaves. Because you can then spend those to unlock more time, more powers, more speed, more mid-air jumps.

Now you can go further, get more money, get more powers - oh my god we’re counting up again, aren’t we? But it’s so much fun!

Because the level layout is exactly the same each time, you learn the best routes and the best ways to make money. And ekeing out a little more distance with each run just feels oh-so satisfying. It’s hard not to keep going until you manage to make the final rush through the hardest bit and get to the end.

Null Rush!

Null Rush is the brilliant Balatro successor we’ve all been waiting for. It’s a game where you fight a number by playing cards that making it count up or, more importantly, count down. Because if you get it to zero you win and move on. But if you mess it up and run out of cards, the number is removed from your health bar.

And so begins a ludicrously clever game about maths. Where you’ll need to perhaps add to a number - temporarily making it more deadly - before you chop it down to size with a deadly division symbol. There are also special cards with powerful extra abilities.

It’s just about playable for mathematical morons like myself. Though at one point I had a children’s six times table on my phone which felt like a particularly pathetic way to cheat. The animal clip art really rubs it in. Otherwise, Null Rush is an absolute belter and one of the games I’d really like to play more of. Quick shout out to Numba which had a similar idea and is also pretty swell.

Research & Detonation

Research & Detonation is a game about carefully placing down bombs. Your goal is to move boxes into goal spaces by blowing them across the room with a bomb. And each bomb counts down at a different rate - so you’ll need to get the timing right to make everything line up.

It is perhaps a little soulless. Check out Mini Bolf or Catterplosion for other games with a similar idea. But there’s something so sharp and elegant about this one that I really like. I feel like it could have come on a demo disk for Windows 95 and I would have played the hell out of it in the mid 90s.

Dexfusal

Dexfusal is a game about driving a car while looking at your phone. Which normally I would wholeheartedly oppose. But seeing as you need to play mini-games on your mobile to defuse a stick of dynamite on your dashboard... I’ll let you off. Just this once!

And so it becomes a game of dividing your attention. Between a driving game where you swap lanes to avoid crashing into mountains. And a minigame collection where you answer maths problems, play two-button DDR, and return ping pong serves. It’s manic, lots of fun, pretty addictive, and has a great pixel art style.

Drill Dracula: The Count Goes Down

Drill Dracula: The Count Goes Down is - how has it taken this long to get to a Dracula themed game? Yeah, that’s right - as with all GMTK Game Jam themes, there’s usually a way to be cheeky and find some alternative definition for one of the words. And so a lot of people made games about the most famous count of all: Count Dooku. No, wait. Count Dracula.

But this one is one is also about counting down, as Dracula drills deep into the earth - dodging moles and collecting gems - before time runs out and he explodes. Of course there’s a shop in between runs where you can level up, get more abilities, and - oi! We’re counting up again! Cut it out!

Sketchdown

Sketchdown is a game about rapid-fire note taking. You’re shown a series of paintings and have to quickly draw your own sketch of what you see - and make sure it’s accurate because you’ll have to link this sketch to the right picture at the end of the round.

Soon enough you’ll get the joke: the pictures are all alarmingly similar and you have just seconds to make your sketch. So it becomes a game of finding the most unique parts and identifying features. That’s the one with the dog! The flag! The horse! Oh crap that one also has a horse!

Despite the challenge I managed to get 10/10 thanks to my quick thinking and smart sketching, which feels like a bit of a redemption after my maths fail earlier.

Some Reassembly Required

And finally, Some Reassembly Required is my actual favourite game of the jam. I lied when I said there was no order! This is a Zachtronics-style game where you have to instruct two robot arms to build a spaceship by giving them simple commands. But the twist is that you’ve only got 10 instruction slots because you have to get everything done before lift-off.

The time limit adds an excellent new wrinkle to the Spacechem formula. And the second arm is a lot of fun to play with as you can even drop pieces from one arm and catch it with the other. And there’s even a time-scrub feature so you don’t have to watch the whole thing play out in order to find bugs. Which should make it easy but it’s still a tricky game where even the first easy level is a bit of a headscratcher.

Lovely stuff, and a truly excellent take on the theme.

So there we have it. As for some honourable mentions Mock-Mock is like Wario Ware as an adventure game, as you must figure out how to fulfil the hidden requirements on each screen. 271 SECONDS is a slick time management snipe ‘em up where every action takes a certain amount of time to perform. Kitchen Master: Cook ‘em all is a JRPG where stopping a clock is your combat system.

Down for the Count is a typing game where a coach must talk his boxer into getting back up. Plink Plonk is Balatro Pachinko, which is a real sentence, I promise. Chrono Sync Clockwork feels like a lost Super NES game. And Heistwatch is Hotline Miami meets Superhot, and if you run out of time you have to battle the time police.

What an incredible collection of games - and, I literally only scratched the surface. Because despite playing over 100 games, I’ve barely seen 1% of the entries. So I implore you to go to the submission page on itch.io and look at the games yourself. Almost everything you play will be inventive, ambitious, fun, or funny. Let me know if you found a hidden gem, in the comments down below.

And if this has inspired you to enter for yourself - then I’ve got some good news. Because GMTK Game Jam will return in 2027 on August 11th. That’s right - I’ve heard the feedback that you need more notice before the jam begins so here’s a full year to get your ducks in a row. Take time off work. Practice your skills. Get good with your engine. Maybe check out Godot which actually surpassed Unity as the most popular engine of this jam.

Thanks so much to everyone who took part. As well as my faithful moderation crew over on the GMTK Discord.

Thanks for watching. See you next year!