Gamedev.js Jam 2025:
Challenges winners,
and expert feedback

Gamedev.js Jam celebrated Web games - build an HTML5 game within 13 days of the jam on a given theme, it ran between April 13th, 5 PM CEST and April 26th, 5 PM CEST 2025.

Below is the list of winners from the Challenges: Open Source, Build it with Phaser, and $NOODS. Judged by experts and awarded with prizes. There are also top5 picks by experts along with their feedback.

Check the detailed list of winners from:

• Open Source Challenge by GitHub
• Build it with Phaser Challenge by Phaser Studio
• $NOODS Challenge by OP Games

Top5 picks with feedback from experts.

1. 1. Balance Ma'atters
   Card games are one of my favorite genres, and this one particularly stands out with its fantastic music and art!
   I love the concept of using the goddess Ma'at as part of the game's strategy, maintaining a balanced scale throughout gameplay. The integration of Egyptian mythology into the mechanics feels both thematic and engaging.
   The tutorial is well-designed and effectively invites you to play once completed. The balance mechanics create an interesting strategic layer where you must carefully consider each card's effect on both the small scales (for multipliers) and the large scale (to avoid instant defeat).
   I would appreciate some way to increase my character's health, as I find that after advancing through several rounds, I've often lost too much health and end up losing the match inevitably. This could add more sustainability to longer play sessions.
   It would also be interesting if they added other Egyptian gods to fight against us as boss battles or special encounters, expanding on the mythological theme.
   Overall, the game is excellent, with great music and outstanding artistic design. The balance-focused gameplay creates a unique twist on traditional card battlers that feels fresh and engaging.
2. 2. Split Push
   Wow, this is genius! This puzzle game is killing with all the ideas it has for the "balance". Balancing objects each side, check! Balancing the divided platforms, check. Weight check between the platforms, also check! Sokoban mechanics, check! It's also greatly polished, would be catching myself playing the full-release for sure :)
3. 3. Lootcycle Inc.
   Absolutely amazing! I love RPG claw machine crawlers and this one is adding more sauce to it! If you see smoke accumulating, drop your keyboard and ran awa... BOOOM!
4. 4. SplintaBrix
   This was just wonderful! To take such a classic old-school game as Breakout and then genuinely manage to breathe new life into it is truly something to be applauded. The variety of power-ups kept it fun and I especially liked the lightning strikes and fire-balls. I've no idea if it's possible to get multi fire-ball, but that would have been epic if you could! The backgrounds were nice, the way the level rebalanced itself kept it you on your toes and the music and effects really enhanced it. The only minor frustration was how sometimes when the new level was appearing it could put a brick immediately in front of the ball, sending it flying back down when you've no chance of returning it. Aside from this I had lots of fun playing up through the levels (although sadly nowhere near all 300 of them!)
5. 5. Illumicati
   Illumicati is a quirky card-based game where you play the role of a new initiate in a secret society. Manipulate a feline civil war between the Nyanists and Meowists to maintain perpetual conflict by balancing trust and resources. With charming pixel art, humorous narrative, and a cat-themed design, Illumicati is original, funny, and polished.
6. 6. Ammo Flow
   Base? Check. Turrets? Check. Now choose your ammo, assign workers and equip your turrets for battle! With minimalist game design and stylish execution, Ammo Flow scratches the itch of strategy gamers looking for the next tactical game. A perfect balance between production and loading is a recipe for disaster. Instead, look at coming waves and prioritise based on enemy types. Good fun, great replay value.
7. 7. Ride the Line
   A challenging hand-eye coordination game. After figuring out how to coordinate the controls with my clumsy fingers, it's a really fun and challenging game to play. Definitely one of those easy to play, difficult to master kind of game. Great for a quick few minutes distraction when you need it. Just wish the controls were on-screen at all times!
8. 8. Loaded Shots
   A very entertaining drink-serving game!
   I enjoy seeing how wild combinations of ingredients produce better sales for the drinks. Your job at the bar requires you to balance as many ingredients as possible on your glass to earn more money, while keeping an eye on the growing queue of customers. The game has good music and atmosphere that enhance the bartending experience.
9. 9. Log Legend
   Log Legend reminds me a lot of a NES game called Antarctic Adventure.
   In Log Legend, you control a strongman who must carry a large log and prevent it from falling by maintaining balance. Objects may fall onto your log during gameplay - if you can bear the added weight, you'll be rewarded with points, but if not, you'll watch your score decrease.
   Based on similarities to Antarctic Adventure, it would be interesting to see enemies that obstruct your path, and perhaps a final goal to reach in order to advance to the next level with different enemies or challenges.
   The current infinite mode provides a good foundation, but adding level-based progression with varied obstacles and environments could enhance the gameplay experience.
10. 10. Diet Hard
    Really well polished, diet-balancing game! You have to coordinate with your movement & eating skill while keeping your eye on the diet scale, otherwise if you get all the junk food, becomes harder to jump!
11. 11. SLIANCE
    It's like Fruit Ninja does a math puzzle! First impression: surgical Fruit Ninja. Each level presents you with an object to slice. Falling slices carry precise weights used to balance the weight of a chocolate bar on the side. The closer the matching weight, the more stars you get.
12. 12. Treemino
    Treemino's clean visual design and calming atmosphere is a simple stacking-and-matching puzzle game becomes more challenging over time. The immediate grasp of the rules and fresh gameplay loop immediate leaves a strong, positive first impression. The audio design works well and perfectly complements the puzzle gaming experience. Adding touch controls for mobile devices would make this a perfect entry!
13. 13. Balance of Tris
    Like playing two games of inverted Tetris at the same time! What a lovely concept. Nice presentation and easy to read and understand, the only part I struggled with was missing some kind of 'current weight' indicator - it wasn't always easy to know where you should put the next block. Even so, on-theme and playable fun!
14. 14. Work-Life Balance
    Work-Life Balance is a multitasking game where you have 60 seconds to simultaneously manage two mini-games. The game gives you a glimpse of managing real-life stress of juggling multiple responsibilities. Solve math problems while mowing the lawn or spot spelling errors while following a dance instructor. While reality is more challenging, this simulation is plain fun without the headaches and real-life consequences.

Each expert picked their favourite top5 games from the challenge they were assigned to or from all the entries submitted this year.

Emanuele Feronato (Open Source)

1. 1. Balance Ma'atters
   Oh boy, this game has all my favorite ingredients: turn-based combat, cards, and roguelite progression. Also, a good use of “balance” theme. The graphics have a killer style, I want to see it turned into a Slay the Spire-like on Steam NOW.
2. 2. Balance Point
   Beautiful interpretation of “balance” and gameplay that is open to endless improvements, either perhaps on abundant/powerful ammunition or on hit point/stamina. Very good indeed.
3. 3. Split Push
   Really great puzzle game, quite original. I enjoyed it a lot, nice use of “balance”.
4. 4. Bridge Chaos
   Need some polish, but it's a good driving game. Keeping the bridge balanced is very complicated but I really enjoyed the gameplay.
5. 5. Sloshed: a Long Way to Bed
   LOL this is crazy, the guy definitively needs more balance, and it's a great meme game!

Honorable mentions:

• BALANCE
  I'm sure I've seen this kind of puzzle a million other times before, but I fell in love with the minimalist graphics, and the “balance” theme was used cleverly. Great job!
• Lootcycle Inc.
  The “balance” theme has been used quite marginally, but the physics is really convincing, and this gameplay can be expanded very well. Bravo!
• Time to Panic!
  Okay, here you can change “balance” to “hit point” and the game would have remained the same, however, it is a very well crafted platformer and I enjoyed playing it.
• This Game is Unbalanced!
  Another great interpretation of "balance", similar to Balance Point.
• ShaderClash
  This is a nice action puzzle for two people or even better in solo with twin stick, or maybe it could be made turn-based, 5 seconds playing with white and 5 with black. It has good potential, although graphically it is a bit spartan.

Nikita Bokarev (overall)

1. 1. Block Out!
   Block Out! shows excellent potential with its polished presentation and engaging core mechanics. In our experience, games like this often benefit from targeted A/B testing to optimize player retention. The current difficulty curve presents an opportunity - we'd recommend testing variants with adjusted pacing and challenge progression to find the perfect balance. Similarly, the intuitive controls could be improved by experimenting with different swipe response mechanics. These refinements, easily tested through our platform's tools, could elevate an already strong concept to outstanding performance. The foundation is clearly there - with data-driven iteration, Block Out! could become a hit.
2. 2. Elemental Delivery
   Elemental Delivery shines with beautiful pixel art and engaging dual-character mechanics. It shows strong potential for multiplayer integration. Testing co-op functionality could significantly increase engagement, as well as testing progressive difficulty levels - including simplified early levels and adjusted movement speeds. The core concept is compelling - strategic A/B testing of additional mechanics (such as environmental hazards or power-ups) could further enhance depth while maintaining the game's polished aesthetic. With a solid foundation and clear opportunities for improvement, this title is an excellent candidate to become a true standout.
3. 3. Balance Ma'atters
   Delightfully polished Balance Ma'atters features charming art, an addictive core loop, and a cleverly balanced mechanic that rewards strategic play. To further enhance the experience, we recommend testing UI variations to improve card readability - such as swapping color and text roles for faster decision-making. The game's strong foundation also offers opportunities to add depth; A/B testing additional card types or adjusting balance thresholds could combat repetition while maintaining the game's rewarding risk/reward tension. With its clear potential and player appeal, targeted iterations could turn this standout prototype into a genre gem.
4. 4. Playtesters and Co.
   Playtesters and Co. offers both depth and charm with its five mini-games and robust customization. While already polished and accessible, the persistent difficulty-curve interface overlaying gameplay creates notable friction - testing a collapsible or repositionable UI variant could significantly improve player focus, and gently encouraging players to complete mini-games before grading could deepen engagement. With these thoughtful tweaks to pacing and interface flexibility, this standout concept could achieve true excellence.
5. 5. Rogue Ramen
   Rogue Ramen boasts vibrant pixel art and simple yet engaging combat, though its unintuitive control scheme creates early friction. The alternating/stabbing mechanic and movement limitations (green impact indicators) require clearer onboarding - tutorial variants that demonstrate attack ranges through interactive examples could dramatically improve first impressions. While the initial difficulty spike warrants rebalancing, the core combat shines once mastered. Also, testing refined UI icons (for clearer item recognition) and adding sound design would immediately improve the experience. The difficulty curve - especially the challenging first encounter - could be smoothed by A/B testing enemy stats or starter equipment variations. With its strong visual foundation and strategic potential, targeted iterations in UX and pacing would unlock the game's full potential.

General feedback from the expert:

Selecting standout games from hundreds of entries always starts with first impressions and distinctive visual identities. These five titles have earned their place by mastering that initial hook while delivering compelling core experiences. More importantly, each shows remarkable potential with targeted refinement: whether through A/B testing for balance, UX polish, or expanded features like multiplayer.

Beyond their immediate appeal, these projects all share another key characteristic: the potential for in-app monetization. From cosmetic unlocks to strategic difficulty gates, their designs naturally support thoughtful revenue integration without compromising player enjoyment.

Many games in these genres, such as strategic card battlers, simulators, and adventures, have found players on Playhop through smart iteration. We've seen how small, data-driven tweaks can turn great prototypes into platform standouts - and we're ready with the tools and expertise to help your next project shine just as brightly. To all developers: Keep creating, keep iterating, and together, let's turn these standout concepts into lasting hits.