How to Enter Idle Hands: Your Guide to RUN’s First Creator Jam
Join RUN's first creator jam and build an idle game in 10 days for a shot at $2,500. Free to enter, no coding experience needed—start with the Idle Jam Kit today.
By RUN.team · June 5, 2026
The Idle Jam Kit drops today, June 5 at noon PT — and that’s your starting gun. Idle Hands is RUN’s first creator jam: a 10-day sprint to build an idle game, ship it to RUN, and compete for a $2,500 prize pool. It’s free to enter, there’s no submission form, and you don’t need a team — or any coding experience.
Here’s everything you need to go from zero to on the leaderboard.
The jam at a glance
- Theme: Idle games — the core loop has to keep running even when nobody’s playing
- Dates: June 5–15, with judging through June 16
- Prize pool: $2,500
- Cost to enter: Free (prize money is open to US residents only)
- Submission: Publish to RUN before June 15 at noon PT — that’s it
Step 1: Start from the Idle Jam Kit (required)
Every entry must be built with the Idle Jam Kit, which unlocks June 5 at noon PT. This one’s non-negotiable: anything started before the kit drops is disqualified.
There are two ways in — pick whichever fits how you build. Either way, no coding experience required: both tracks let you describe your game in plain English while the AI writes the code.
Track A: Build in RUN Studio (in your browser)
Studio runs entirely in your browser. You describe the game; the AI builds it; you keep steering until it’s fun.
1. Open RUN Studio and click the big button at the top of the page: “Create an Idle Hands Game Jam entry.” That starts a project already set up for the jam.
2. Describe what you want to build in the prompt box. Be specific about the idle loop — what keeps growing or earning while the player is away.
3. Attach your own art with the paperclip button — up to 10 files — then ask the Studio agent to work them in.
4. Keep chatting with the agent until the game feels right. It rebuilds as you go.
Track B: Build with the rundot CLI in Cursor or Claude Code
Prefer working locally in your editor? The CLI scaffolds an Idle Hands project on your computer. Setup takes about five minutes, once.
1. Install Node.js (LTS) — click the LTS button, run the installer with defaults, then confirm in your terminal:
node --version
2. Install the rundot CLI — paste this into your terminal and let it finish (Windows / other setups guide here):
curl -fsSL https://github.com/series-ai/rundot-cli-releases/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
3. Update to the latest CLI — the jam template needs it:
rundot update
4. Create your jam entry — run this in the folder where you want the project. It scaffolds an Idle Hands project wired to the kit, with full docs in a .rundot-docs/ folder:
rundot jam init idle-hands
5. Open the project in Cursor or Claude Code and build by talking — “a cozy farm that grows while I’m away.” When it’s ready, tell the agent:
Initialize this as a RUN.game called My Game, then build and deploy it
Need art? Grab the free jam-ready asset pack, or bring your own.
Step 2: Build your game
You have 10 days, including two full weekends. Solo or team — your call, no team-size cap, but every team member must be credited.
The only hard creative rule: your core loop has to keep running even when nobody’s playing. Beyond that, make it cute, make it crunchy, make it weird.
A few rules to keep your entry safe:
- Original ideas only. No 1:1 clones of existing games.
- No copyrighted character names or art.
- Stuck or want feedback? There are themed office hours throughout the jam, and the #idle-hands channel on the RUN Discord is where collaborators and questions live.
Step 3: Publish to RUN before the deadline
Publishing happens right from Studio (or your editor agent on the CLI track), and it asks one important question — visibility.
1. Hit Publish Game — the rocket button at the top-right of Studio.
2. Publish to private first to playtest. Your game deploys privately and only people with the direct link can open it.
3. When it’s ready to compete, publish to public. Your game goes through a quick review by the RUN.game team; once approved, it’s visible to every player — and entered.
The deadline is Monday, June 15 at noon PT. Late means disqualified, so don’t cut it close. Once your game is public and approved, it lands on the Idle Hands leaderboard automatically — usually within about 5 minutes. No form, no submission step. Only public, approved games enter the leaderboard and count plays — private builds are for testing only.
I published — now what?
Now you get plays. The game the most people come back to wins, and that comes down to sharing:
- Grab your game’s share link and post it everywhere it fits — the #idle-hands channel on Discord, Reddit, X, your group chat. Every public play and vote counts.
- Point people at the leaderboard. Watching the standings move is half the fun, and it pulls in more plays.
- Keep shipping updates. You can keep improving your game all jam — a more fun loop means more repeat plays, which is exactly what’s scored.
How winners are picked
Scoring is built around the only metric that matters for an idle game: do people come back?
Your game is scored on average daily plays — unique players per day — from the day you publish through the close of the play window on June 16. Because it’s a daily average, publishing on day 3 or day 9 doesn’t help or hurt your standing. The real takeaway: ship the moment it’s fun. Plays only count once your game is public and approved.
Voter’s Choice is separate, decided by community votes during the June 15–16 judging window.
The prizes
1st: $1,000
2nd: $600
3rd: $400
4th–5th: $100 each
Voter’s Choice: $300
Winners are announced the afternoon of June 16, live on the RUN channel. Note: prize money is open to US residents only.
Key dates:
June 5, 12:00 PT: Idle Jam Kit goes live — building opens
June 5–15: 10-day build sprint
June 15, 12:00 PT: Submissions close
June 15–16: Judging: community plays + votes
June 16, afternoon: Winners announced live
Quick answers
Do I need to know how to code? No. Both tracks — Studio in the browser, or the CLI with Cursor or Claude Code — let you build by describing your game in plain English. The AI writes the code; you guide it and test it.
Can I work with a team? Yes. Solo or team, no size cap. Just credit every member on your entry.
Is it really free? Yes. Anyone can join, build a game, and compete for the $2,500 prize pool.
When does it all end? Submissions close Monday, June 15 at noon PT. Plays and votes are counted through June 16, and winners are announced live on the RUN channel that afternoon.
Ready?
The kit is live, the clock is running, and the leaderboard is waiting. Open RUN Studio, start from the Idle Jam Kit, and build something that plays while you’re away.
Build on RUN · Join the Discord · Live leaderboard · Full event details