First things first: 

DRINK LOTS OF WATER. 

EAT HEALTHY SHIT. 

SLEEP AT LEAST 6 HOURS A NIGHT. 

I have to get that out of the way immediately - this is a bit of fun, do not destroy your body for this 😉 you'll make a better game and you'll enjoy yourself more. I know the temptation is strong, but resist.

Don't compare yourself. You're going to see a lot of awesome things from a lot of talented people, and that's ok. There are people taking part who have a ton of experience, there are people who have spent a ton of money on the Unity Asset Store, and there are people who are outrageously talented. It can be frustrating to see that, I'm still in that position - one of my co-hosts must've sold their soul to the devil because they are just too good. But that's ok - the aim isn't to be the best! There's always someone better, someone who had more time, someone who had more assets, it doesn't matter. Make a game, publish the game, and be really proud that you managed to get that far. Most won't. And if I know anything about game development (psst: I really do), I know that if you cram as much juice into your game as you can muster, your game is going to be fun.

Keep it simple. You're not making an open world RPG. You're not making a multiplayer game. My general rule of thumb is to try make something you think will take you just one day - that way when things go wrong (and things will go wrong) you have time to fix them. Have a practice before the jam, get a feel for how long things take! Make a list of "nice to have" vs "core to the game". Focus on the core stuff, and see if you've got time left over for the "nice to have"s.

Got any other tips to share or questions to ask? Post them below!

Since this jam focuses on juice and polish, try spending most of your time on perfecting the game instead of adding content or mechanics. :)

Ive done a jam before but damn this is some good advice

Should choose a jam with lots of restrictions. For example, the only restriction on this jam is the timelimit. It's aimed more at people who are applying knowledge they already know, and work they have already done. Your game won't be as grand by design, but you'll learn more for time spent if you apply your own sets of restrictions when you enter jams like this. In that case, the aspect you lose out on is comparing yourself to others, thus the first point.

I'd honestly be curious who is planning to restrict sleep under 7 hours to work on this jam. The only valid reason I can think of for that is if you are very experienced and want to test just how big a game you can make in the timelimit. I see nothing but detrimental effects for people otherwise. Sleep deprivation is seriously scary when you learn just how important it is for your health, esp during a pandemic...you shouldn't think of it as 'I'll heal after', ur twisting the metal of a bridge...it may solidifies but remains bent.

This one here got posted on the host's discord server for guide and stuff lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPyYZjCQ0Is