Finnish Game Jam is coming on 24-26 January 2025!

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Finnish Game Jam 2025, or #FGJ25, will be traditionally held as a part of Global Game Jam during the last weekend of January (24th – 26th of January, 2025).

Global Game Jam is the world’s largest game jam event, occurring simultaneously in multiple locations around the world. Finnish Game Jam in it’s turn unites all Global Game Jam sites from Finland under one umbrella. In 2024, the Finnish region of the Global Game Jam alone gathered more sites and participants than all other Nordic countries combined! Finland ranks #1 globally in games created per capita during the Global Game Jam, showcasing the immense talent we foster.

Are you a sponsor?

If you are willing to sponsor Finnish Game Jam 2025 (or other upcoming jams), contact Eduardo Reyes.

Are you a jammer?

Participation requires registration through our Eventbrite page – each location has their own registration, and each location establishes weather it is an online, in-person, or hybrid site. For more information contact your local organizer.
List of currently approved sites (subject to updates):
FGJ Helsinki Arabia
FGJ Turku
FGJ Kuopio
FGJ Jakobstad
FGJ Vaasa
FGJ Porvoo
FGJ Next Games Helsinki Hybrid

To be updated on the latest news, follow our social media:

Facebook | LinkedIn | Youtube | Instagram | Discord

Still not sure if it is for you?

A game jam is a game making event that brings together all types of game developers (beginners, hobbyists, students, and professionals), and creators of various fields (art, music, 3D modelling, storytellering, and others) to innovate new games in a single weekend. Typically participants work in small teams, or not so often solo, racing to produce as complete a game as possible with limited time and resources, but unlimited creativity. Join Finnish Game Jam 2025 with friends, join an ad hoc team, or do it solo,
YOU ARE WARMLY WELCOME!

Call for sponsors for #FGJ25

💯 Finnish Game Jam is a non-commercial organization fueled by the passion and dedication of its members and volunteers to the game development community. We maintain one of the most vibrant and inclusive game jam networks in the world, connecting thousands of creative minds and uniting Finnish Global Game Jam sites under one umbrella. Organizing an event of this scale — spanning dozens of sites and bringing together over 1,000 participants — is no small feat. Your sponsorship can make all the difference in helping us continue this incredible tradition of creativity, collaboration, and innovation.

💥 Why Partner with Us?
🗨️ Unmatched Reach: In 2024, the Finnish region of the Global Game Jam alone gathered more sites and participants than all other Nordic countries combined!
🗨️ Proven Impact: Finland ranks #1 globally in games created per capita during the Global Game Jam, showcasing the immense talent we foster.
🗨️ Tailored Opportunities: We offer flexible sponsorship options that align with your goals – discuss your needs today with Eddie Reyes!

💥 What’s in It for You? By sponsoring Finnish Game Jam, your organization will:
🗨️ Amplify Your Brand: Gain visibility among thousands of passionate creators, industry professionals, and gamers. Showcase Your Values:
🗨️ Demonstrate your commitment to supporting creativity, inclusivity, and community-driven initiatives.
🗨️ Become an invaluable part of this celebration of creativity and game development. Contact Eddie Reyes for more information on how your support can drive positive change, for more information on tiers or discuss your custom package with him!

Finnish Game Jam Board elected

We are happy to announce the election of the new Board for the Finnish Game Jam organization! Meet and greet incubent and newly elected members who will share their passion towards games and jams organising future events:

Board members elected:
Jani Gröhn, President
Jenna Toivonen, Vice-President
Olli Juhola, Treasurer
Emil Ekroth, Secretary and FGJ25 Regional Organizer
Ren, Streaming and Vibing
Irina (Irko) Kekman, Public Relations
Riikka-Lotta Pehkonen
Joonas Luhtanen, Vice-Secretary

Deputy members elected:
Annakaisa Kultima
Pavla Oubret
Solip Park
Vesa Raudasoja
Teemu Kokkonen
Eddie Reyes
Henri Sarasvirta
Kuutti Paartola
Christopher Hamilton
Jade Walther
Björn Lindholm
Ville Kankainen
Ville Heiskanen
Elina Koskinen

We are endlessly grateful to the retiring members of the board for their service and look forward to partner with them in future endeavors!

Zero Hour Game Jam – Small Jam, Big Results

Our traditional gimmick 0-hour game jam was held last weekend during the daylight saving transition hour. Making a game in zero hours sounds impossible at first, but caffeine-fueled jammers have once again proved that it is indeed possible, especially with very relaxed rules (1 hour of actual development plus extra time for uploading and making an optional video).
Altogether, 8 games have been uploaded to the jam’s itch page (some of these heroes worked solo!): Play Zero Hour Jam games

Game jams are amazing for boosting confidence in working on a tight schedule, and the Zero Hour Jam is the ultimate test, with high reward and zero risk. Join our Zero Hour Game Jam next year, or keep an eye on future posts—we are planning more jams SOON!

Helsinki Games Week 2024

Finland is well-known for it’s game industry scene, encompassing both indie and AAA-developeres, multiple universities teaching gamedev and game design, and of course, non-commercial organisations, such as Finnish Game Jam ry, IGDA Finland ry, W Love Games ry, and others. All organisations have goals and purposes of their own, however they all are working towards information sharing, networking, and collaboration. Helsinki Games Week 2024 has been a great collective effort to acheive this.

IGDA Leadership Day, Pocket Gamer Connects, and We Love Games Conference had something to cater to all tastes and interests. Multitude of game demos to have fun with and help developers with feedback, endless opportunities for networking with industry professionals, mentorship cafes, chat corners, panel discussions, speeches, and workshops. All these events have been packed into an unforgettable week-long event.

Special thanks to Casimir Kuusela for the IGDA Leadership Day and W Love Games Conference photographs, and Solip Park for the Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki photographs.

IGDA Leadership Day

Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki

W Love Games Conference

FGJ at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024

🎭 We have good news and bad news for you today.

Pocket Jam is still on pause this year meaning no making games together at PGConnects, BUT we offer an exciting opportunity to get a discounted ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki conference!

#PGConnects returns to Helsinki on October 1-2!
⭐️ 1,500+ attendees
⭐️ 200+ speakers
⭐️ Networking opportunities
⭐️ Content on mobile, PC, console, AI and more

🔗 Discounted ticket to PGC Helsinki

🔜 See you at PGC!

Quantum Game Jam 10 Years Celebration!

⚛ We invite you to join us for this epic game jam on September 13-15 online!

👾 13-15.09 – Quantum Game Jam 2024 Register on itch.io:

Quantum Game Jam registration

🎉 To celebrate this milestone, in collaboration with Department of Computing at Turun yliopisto – University of Turku and IGDA Future program of IGDA Finland, we are organizing a one-day IT conference “ENTANGLE: Bridging Quantum and Classical Computing” in Turku with line of esteemed guest speakers. Students can get a study credit for participating at the conference and the game jam.

➡ For more information visit quantumgamejam.org

Here comes ProtoKoli!

Just a few days ago, 9 people pioneered a new form of a game jam, happening in the beautiful landscape in Koli. ProtoKoli combines the magic of Finnish nature with game making, all organized around the sense of community. Although originally envisioned as an event for game industry professionals and game dev educators, in the spirit of game jamming ProtoKoli is open for everyone.

The first edition of the jam took place between 16th and 21st of August, combined with the GMTK game jam which was going on at the same time. This gave an added spice to the event, with the jam theme becoming “Built to scale”, in addition to Koli’s nature inspired ideation. Overall, one game has been published, however, ProtoKoli brought a lot more.

So why was all this so special? Let’s break it down. We had:

  • 1 cottage with sauna, mixed with
  • 1 pure water lake with warm water, hosting
  • 1 game jam lasting for 4 days and 6 nights, in
  • Awesome amounts of warm atmosphere, for
  • 9 people (which of 7 at the same time), releasing
  • 1 game, additionally making
  • 5+ prototypes, and also
  • 148 pixel art sprites, with
  • 62,312 lovingly handcrafted pixels, that required
  • Kilos of delicious food to feed hungry jammers, including
  • 46 eggs in 4 days and 6 nights of cooking, with surprisingly only
  • 2 packets of coffee consumed, because we also achieved
  • 7 km hiked up a hill (vaara), though we did have
  • 1 morning runner, with
  • 3 late night devs, and
  • at least 3 not-so-morning-people, ending in
  • 11 AM as the average breakfast time.

Although the jam theme “Built to Scale” felt uninspiring for some, the sauna did its healing work, as the overall spirit of We’re here to have fun! loosened up the atmosphere and got the creative juices flowing. When one participant decided to make a retro Zelda-like game with a mysterious forest as the main environment, the sauna brought a team together – reunited after 10 years, two jammers hijacked the sauna chatted endlessly, setting the base for their collaboration on what ended up becoming a published game.

(To play Legends of The Goblin Shore 2, click or tap here.)

However, if by reading all this you thought that four days is a really long time, you are sort of correct. But then, do you know how awesome Koli is?

To follow and combine the two themes of the event, on Saturday we scaled (= climbed) the vaara of Käränkä, during a hill-climbing forest walk. We testify – the berries are tastier high up in the mountains!

On Sunday, we went on to climb the most iconic mountain of Koli, right at the national landscapes. Some of our attendants had to leave early, so climbing Ukko-Koli was in a way ending the first part of the game jam.

We also got to enjoy some amazingly tasty food (that we made all by ourselves – special love goes out to our food preppers <3)!

…And we also visited the Veistospuisto in Koli, which even had unicorns! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ

We can speak about this forever, but truly, this is one of those experiences that you just need to live it to feel it.

Sounds like your kind of jam? Keep an eye out for the next edition coming your way in 2025!

ProtoKoli was organized by Finnish Game Jam and Osuuskunta Vedenhaltijat with financial support from Usmin Fysioterapiapalvelu Oy, Jestercraft, Kooders and Boom Corp.

Special thanks to Riikka Lotta-Pehkonen for all the hard work in bringing everyone together, and all the jammers: Kiri Kälkäjä, Miikka Harjuntausta, Nevena Sicevic, Klaus Kääriäinen, Miikka Kostian, Harri Karhu, Antti Piironen and Olli-Matti Rautiainen.

ASM Game Jam 2024 is coming to Assembly!

🕹️🚀 ASM Game Jam is coming to the Assembly ‘24 again to fuel your passion for game development in August 1-4, 2024! Whether you’re a student, professional, or just love games, this jam is for you! Choose your technology, form a team or come with your teammates, and dive into the ultimate creative frenzy.

Tickets are available at: Eventbrite
❣️ Grab a free ticket if you already have Assembly ticket purchased OR buy a jammer ticket (for almost half the Assembly ticket price!!!) and get full access to Assembly Summer 2024, a computer place from our ASM Game Jam table, and of course access to ASM Game Jam!

Schedule ( may be subject to changes):

Thursday 1.7
12:00 Assembly doors open!!
16:00 Lights go out! This is the true beginning of Assembly ✨
17:00 Check in for the ASM Game Jam begins!
20:00 ASM game jam begins
20:30 ASM Game Jam theme reveal and team forming at the small stage
21:30 Jamming starts!
23:00 Midnight snacks!

Friday 2.7
11:00 Morning update at the small stage
12:00 Jamming continues!
19:00 Go around ask around, check how other teams are doing!
23:00 Midnight snacks!

Saturday 3.7
11:00 Morning update at the small stage
12:00 Jamming continues!
19:00 Public playtesting session!
23:00 Deadline for the gameplay video and midnight snacks!!

Sunday 4.7
10:00 ASM Game Jam ends! Deadline for the game uploads
11:00 ASM Game Jam ending ceremony at the small stage, thanks for jamming!
11:30 Something special for the jammers ⭐
12:30 Assembly closing ceremony
14:00 Cleaning and closing, see you next year!


🎮 See you there!

5th annual Pride Game Jam is coming!

Pride Game Jam is a 3-day game development marathon that celebrates LGBTQIA+ people by creating a safe space where participants can create art, music, and, of course, games, by which they can freely express their gender, sexual, and romantic experiences. The event is going to happen for the 5th time this year! The well-awaited jam will take place in Pelitalo Sture (Konepajankuja 3, Helsinki), during the Pride weekend 28.6-30.6.2024.

The event is hybrid, meaning that jammers can join us in-person in Helsinki, as well as through Discord from anywhere else in the world.

The Opening Ceremony and theme announcement will be streamed on Discord server. We invited really amazing people to have talks, and we booked a Finnish Game Jam block in the Pride parade!

Follow our social media LinkedInFacebook, and Instagram for all jams announcements. You can also follow us through our official hashtags, #PrideGameJamHKI24 and #FGJ. Use these when posting about the event!

Registration to the jam: Eventbrite

Registration to the FGJ parade block (you don’t have to participate in Pride Jam to join): Google registration form

And finally, huge thank you to the city of Helsinki and Pelitalo Sture, and our sponsors Metacore and Next Games!

PROGRAM (may be subject to change)

28.6. FRIDAY
16:00 – 17:00 Registrations at the venue and on Discord
17:00 – 17:10 Opening Ceremony (stream) +
Safety and Code of Conduct
17:15 – 17:30 Keynote speech
17:30 – 18:30 Guest speakers
18:30 – 19:00 Theme Announcement +
Team building exercises! (stream + Discord)
19:00 Jammers, start your engines!
22:00 Good night Jammers!

29.6. SATURDAY PRIDE + JAMMING
10:00 Good morning Jammers! + coffee time together?
10:30 – 15:00 Pride Parade FGJ block
13:00 – 13:30 Guest speaker
15:00 – 16:00 Late lunch break
16:00 – 17:45 Let’s make some games.
18:00 Evening snack
19:00 Mid-point presentations
22:00 Good night Jammers

30.6. SUNDAY LAUNCH DAY
10:00 Good morning Jammers!
11:00 Snack break
11:30 Jammer Interviews! Apply?
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
15:00 Deployment! (start uploading your games)
15:30 Talks
16:00 Prelaunch! (Upload deadline! + Final edits)
16:30 LAUNCH! —> Closing Ceremony with final game presentations!
17:30 – 18:00 Jam ends!
18:00 Cleaning the venue