San Luis Obispo, California, USA – June 05, 2025 - Global Game Jam (GGJ), the world’s largest game creation event, is teaming up with One World or None (OWON) to debut an exciting new jam with a bold purpose. “Citizens, Assemble! A Game Jam to Level Up Democracy” invites developers around the world to create mobile-friendly game experiences that capture the challenge and spirit of Citizens’ Assemblies. The winner will receive $10,000 and a chance to bring their game to the world.
Citizens’ assemblies give ordinary people the structure and power to come together and actually resolve the issues we're all facing. People are selected through a randomised democratic lottery system that delivers a final group that is an accurate snapshot of society based on gender, age, ethnicity, economic background and geography. Through carefully crafted structures, they deliberate together on the key problems, causes and solutions. The outcome? A series of nuanced, realistic recommendations that most often go farther than politicians do - and that truly represent the voice of the population.
With democracy under pressure worldwide, “Citizens, Assemble!” offers a unique chance for game developers to engage with real-world issues, using their skills not just to entertain, but to inspire change - one game at a time.
One World or None is an initiative organized by a collective of social impact, entertainment and game industry leaders co-founder of Trailmix Games (Love & Pies) Tristan Clark and one of the pioneers in the call for global democracy renewal, Jamie Kelsey-Fry.
“We already have the tools around us to create a better future, but lack mass awareness of them,” Clark said. “That’s why this game jam is so important - no medium has the same power as video games to not only reach a huge number of people, but allow them to experience structures like citizens’ assemblies in a way that’s actually fun and engaging.”
“Citizens, Assemble!” kicks off June 6 and will run through early August. Open to creators of all backgrounds, the jam will have a $10,000 prize for the top game, amongst prizes for additional categories and the potential for further development support for standout submissions. The jam will run across two phases, with teams creating prototypes in a two-week Phase 1, then iterating concepts based on feedback in Phase 2. Final submissions will be judged on a variety of categories including Best Overall, Best Gameplay and Citizen’s Vote (determined by a public voting). Notable guest judges will include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Brian Eno and award winning founding Chair of BiG (BAME in Games) Kish Hirani.
To celebrate the launch, the One World or None team is hosting a special kickoff event at 10:30 AM on June 6th during SXSW London. If you're attending or based nearby, we’d love for you to join us! Seats are limited—please RSVP here: RSVP to the Kickoff Event
Interested teams must be registered by June 23rd and can sign up by joining the itch.io and completing this application.
For more information, including an event timeline, can be accessed via the Jam website at https://oneworldornone.world/the-game-jam
Global Game Jam is a nonprofit with a mission to empower all individuals worldwide to learn, experiment, and create together through the medium of games. In addition to holding the world's largest game jam, GGJ works year-round to promote and grow the global game development community.
About One World or None
Exists to help radically improve political decision-making on critical global challenges by amplifying the agency of ordinary people. It is a cultural campaign to create mass awareness of and advocacy for citizens’ assemblies globally and to inspire a movement for this new democracy of citizen participation.