Idle Hands: And the Winners Are...
By RUN.team · June 16, 2026
Ten days, one theme, and a whole lot of games that stayed hard at work while their creators slept.
Idle Hands was RUN's first ever creator jam, and from the moment the kit dropped on June 5th, the energy in our Discord was infectious. Creators building, iterating, sharing progress, cheering each other on, watching the leaderboard shift in real time. It was the kind of community momentum that makes you want to do it all over again.
Which, for the record, we totally are. But first, the part you've been waiting for!
The Winners
1st Place, $1,000 | Strain
ChopJohn
Start with one organism and watch it multiply, mutate, and evolve!
2nd Place, $600 | Dodgeball Dynasty Idle
Patthew
Start with a cracked slab and a dream. Scout ballers and dodge your way to victory!
3rd Place, $400 | The Great Galactic Gulp
kazuo7
The galaxy is entirely underwater, and you’re the only hero with a stomach…
4th Place, $100 | Pay Me Back, Bill!
drvirjinity
A reverse idle game where you sabotage your former best friend for not paying you back.
5th Place, $100 | Endless Heroes
animeaigames
Collect endless heroes, fight endless battles, and devise endless strategies!
Voter's Choice, $300 | Grandfather's Sword
Elric
Your family ages but the sword remembers. Guide your heirs down dangerous roads in the pursuit of gold and renown.
Congratulations to all six winners, and to every creator who shipped something over the past ten days. Finishing a game in less than two weeks isn’t an easy feat to accomplish, and the amount of talent shown by participants has us excited for what comes next.
Looking Ahead
The prizes aren’t where the fun stops. If your game crossed 100 plays during the Idle Hands Jam, you’re being granted a ticket into something bigger. Several of you qualified for the RUN Founders Program which means preferred rev share for your creations along with a bunch of other awesome perks you can learn about HERE. Yesterday we released a new Creator Program that gives members of all sizes and experience levels more tangible support, and we’re pumped to share that quite a few of our jam participants qualified. We'll share the full details a little later, so keep an eye on your inbox and the Discord.
In the meantime, the Cozy Game Jam has just kicked off, with another $2,500 prize pool and a whole new creative direction. This one is all about atmosphere, warmth, and building worlds people want to settle into and return to. If you've been sitting on a cozy game idea, your moment is just about here.
And Cozy is only the next one on the list. Jams for video tools and interactive fiction are on the way too, so wherever your creative energy lives, we have a home for it.
Stay tuned, and thank you for making our first big Jam something special.
Full Cozy Jam details: https://events.run.game/events/stay-awhile/
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