◆ Breaking: Developers Challenged to Craft Entire Games in Under Nine Thousand Bytes ◆
Nine Days. Nine Kilobytes. One Game. ◆
The Jam Commences In —
15th June — 23rd June, 2026 · Nine days of furious creation
9 Days9 KilobytesInfinite IdeasWhere's My OatsGame
Jam 2026Submit Your Entry
9 Days9 KilobytesInfinite IdeasWhere's My OatsGame
Jam 2026Submit Your Entry
Where's My Oats is a nine-day game making competition of the most peculiar variety. Participants are
charged with creating a fully playable game — any genre, any theme — within the strict confines of nine
kilobytes.
Nine kilobytes. Less than a single photograph. More than enough for a legend.
— ✦ —
The Sacred Limits
9
Kilobytes Maximum
9
Days of Creation
All souls with a passion for games and a gift for frugality are most heartily invited. Whether you be a
seasoned developer or a curious newcomer — these doors stand open to thee.
Note Well
Teams and solo adventurers alike are welcome.
The 9KB limit applies to the total size of all submitted files — every byte is precious currency to be
spent with care.
— ✦ —
Any platform. Any engine. HTML, JS, C, assembly — if it runs, it qualifies.
🔒
✦ Sealed ✦
? ? ?
The theme of this jam remaineth a closely guarded secret — locked behind wax and
silence until the appointed hour.
Theme Revealed In
7th June, 2026
at the stroke of midnight
✦ Heed This Notice ✦
Join the Jam
Enlist your name among the brave souls who dare to craft entire worlds within nine
kilobytes. The jam opens on the fifteenth of June — be ready.
◆ All Times Are Approximate — The Muse Keeps Her Own Hours ◆
The Nine-Day Calendar
Day Zero — Start
June 15
Jam doors open. The clock begins. Let creation commence.
Day One
June 16
Concept locked. Begin building. No byte wasted.
Day Two
June 17
Prototype stage. Concept must be playable in some fashion.
Day Three
June 18
Core loop complete. Trim the fat. Check your byte count.
Day Four
June 19
Midpoint review. Polish begins. Every byte must earn its place.
Day Five
June 20
Sound, feel, and finish. The difference between good and great.
Day Six
June 21
Playtesting begins in earnest. Seek fresh eyes and honest opinions.
Day Seven
June 22
Final submissions open. Upload, document, and prepare for judgment.
Day Nine — End
June 23
Submissions close. Voting opens. Glory awaits the worthy.
Gameplay
Is it fun? Does it have a satisfying core loop? Does it feel complete?
Ingenuity
How cleverly has the creator used their nine kilobytes? Elegance within constraint.
Presentation
Visual and audio identity. Does it have a soul? Does it feel intentional?
Completeness
A finished small game beats an impressive unfinished one every time.
◆ Voting Opens Upon Submission Close — 23rd June, 2026 ◆
✦ The Entrants ✦
Hall of Brave Souls
All entries submitted appear below. Each confined to nine kilobytes
of glory.
The jam hath not yet opened — no entries recorded in the ledger.
Entries accepted from 15th June, 2026
✦ Register Now ✦
Submit Your Game
◆ Ignorance of the Rules Is No Defence Before the Judges ◆
I. The Nine-Kilobyte Limit
Total file size of all submitted assets must not exceed 9,216 bytes (9KB). This includes
HTML, JS, CSS, images, and audio — every last byte.
II. Original Works Only
All code, art, and audio must be created during the jam period. No recycled projects or
pre-built engines counting against your budget.
III. It Must Be a Game
The submission must be an interactive experience that qualifies as a game. Demos and
animations alone do not qualify.
IV. Content Standards
Entries must be suitable for a general audience or clearly marked otherwise. Hateful
content is grounds for immediate disqualification.
V. Solo & Teams Welcome
Both solo and team entries are permitted. List all contributors clearly in your
submission description.
Can I use external libraries?
CDN-loaded libraries do count toward the 9KB limit.
Is compression allowed?
Yes. Gzip, zip, or any compression is permitted. The limit applies to the compressed
archive at submission time.
What platforms are permitted?
Any. Browser, desktop, mobile, terminal — if a judge can run it within reasonable
effort, it qualifies.
Can I update my entry?
Updates are permitted until the submission window closes on June 23rd. After that, no
changes accepted.
Who judges the entries?
All participants may vote during the voting period. Community choice determines the
winners.
◆ The Spirit of Making Within Constraint ◆
Where's My Oats was born from a simple and ancient idea: that limitation breeds
creativity. In an age of unbounded digital canvas, of terabyte libraries and gigabyte assets, what happens
when you impose a rule as old as craft itself — use only what you need?
"Nine kilobytes is not a prison. It is a haiku."
The jam takes its name from the eternal question of the hungry developer —
working through the night, subsisting on whatever is close at hand, asking only that their tools cooperate and
their ideas survive the morning.
Nine days. Nine kilobytes. This is not a productivity challenge. It is an art
challenge. A philosophy challenge. We ask not merely that you make a game, but that you make a
statement — one that fits in less space than a single uncompressed image.
Why 9KB?
Nine kilobytes is an homage to early home computing, when entire operating systems
shipped on cassette tapes measured in bytes, not megabytes.
Why 9 Days?
Long enough to build something real. Short enough that you cannot afford to waste a
single one. The nine is the number — in all things.
Who is this for?
Every developer, artist, writer, and dreamer who has wanted to make a game but was
intimidated by scope. Small scope. Real game.
Where to connect?
Join the conversation on the itch.io jam page. Share your progress. Encourage others.
The community is part of the prize.
✦ Be Part of It ✦
Join the Jam
◆ Tools, Tutorials & Wisdom for the Nine-Kilobyte Craftsman ◆
Engine
Twine
Build interactive stories and text adventures. Tiny output, powerful narrative tools — ideal for 9KB.
Engine
PuzzleScript
Browser-based puzzle game engine with incredibly compact output. Perfect for the constraint.
Engine
Bitsy
Make tiny pixel art worlds. Beloved by game jam veterans for its minimalist charm.
Language
LÖVE (Lua)
A Lua framework for 2D games. Small executables, expressive syntax, vast creative range.
Optimisation
Squoosh
Compress images in-browser with surgical precision. Every byte saved is a byte earned.
Optimisation
JS Compress
Minify your JavaScript online. Crucial for squeezing logic into the 9KB envelope.
Tutorial
Tuts+ Game Dev
Tutorials covering every aspect of game development — from core loops to polished presentation.
Community
itch.io Game Jams
Browse hundreds of game jams for inspiration, strategy, and prior art from fellow makers.
Reference
js13kGames Resources
Sister jam with 13KB constraint. Their resource list is invaluable for tiny web games.
Audio
ChipTone
Generate chiptune sound effects in the browser. Export tiny WAV or MP3 files for your game.
✦ Join the Community ✦
Connect & Collaborate
Share resources, ask questions, and find teammates in our Discord.
◆ Live Coverage · Commentary · Community · Glory Broadcast to the Masses ◆
✦ Presented to Thee by the Gazette ✦
The Streamers
These fine souls hath pledged to broadcast the jam in full — commentary, chaos,
and creation, live for all to witness.
I
✦
Tugan
@handle · Twitch
A seasoned broadcaster covering every byte of the jam. Live commentary, developer
interviews, and midnight game reviews.
II
✧
Unhinged Gekko
@handle · YouTube
Deep-dives into every submission. Analysis, byte-counting, and the occasional
dramatic reading of error messages.
III
❦
Airapport
@handle · Twitch
Specialising in the craft of constraint. Watch the process, hear the thinking,
witness the byte-shaving in real time.
IV
◈
Mr.T-spin
@handle · Twitch
Covering the community side — interviews with entrants, progress check-ins, and
the celebration of every submission.
V
◈
Raptor
@handle · YouTube
Late-night jam sessions, dev diaries, and the quiet art of compressing an entire
game into a handful of kilobytes.
VI
♦
Your Streamer Here
@handle · Twitch
From concept to submission — streaming every hour of creation. No sleep, all
bytes, total commitment to the craft.
+
Spot Reserved
Apply via Discord
+
Spot Reserved
Apply via Discord
✦ Become an Official Streamer ✦
Art thou a broadcaster of good standing? Contact the organisers via Discord to apply for an
official streamer slot. Requirements: an active channel, a willingness to cover at least three days of the
jam, and a passion for tiny games made under impossible constraints.
June 15
Kick-Off
Opening stream — jam begins. All streamers live.
June 17–18
Midweek
Progress check-ins, developer interviews, prototype showcases.
June 20–21
Crunch
Final polish watch-alongs. Late nights. Every byte counts.
June 23
Finale
Submission showcase stream. All entries played live.
✦ Watch the Jam Unfold ✦
Tune In
Follow our official streamers and join the community watching the
jam live.