Hello quantum!

Welcome to the wonderland of quantum computer games! In this jam, you will create games that can be run on quantum computers using Qiskit, an open source quantum software development kit.

This jam is hosted in parallel to Ludum Dare 46 jam (LDJAM46). There is only one additional restriction: your games must run on a quantum computer (see "Rules" below for more details).

Our official communication channel is #qiskit-games on Qiskit Slack workspace. Join Qiskit Slack workspace here and search for #qiskit-games channel.

Theme

Our theme is “keep it alive” (from LDJAM46). How appropriate for a Schrödinger’s cat game! 

How to make games with quantum computers?

Qiskit is a Python library. You can make games with Qiskit using any Python game engines (Pygame, Python Arcade, etc.). 

If your favourite game engine doesn't support Python (which is extremely likely!), you can follow this workaround: run Qiskit on a Flask server, either locally or remotely, and send command from your favourite game engines to the Flask server via HTTPS request. 

The best way to learn how to code is to read the source codes. We picked a few good examples of quantum games for you to follow:

• QPong (pygame/Python)
• QPong-Unity (Unity/C#)
• Qiskit Blocks (Minetest/Lua)
• Qubit Tic Tac Toe (Tkinter/Python)
• Wolfiverse (Twine/JavasScript)
• Quantum Gate Quest (Phaser.io/JavaScript)
• Fredventure (Pico-8/Lua)

You can find more details about Qiskit game development on the  Qiskit for GameDev repo and about MicroQiskit with PewPew game development on this repo. You can find more quantum games on Awesome Quantum Game repo. When in doubt, ask on #qiskit-games channel!

If you are interested in the history of quantum games, read this seminal piece written by the father of quantum games, Decodoku: Making games with quantum computers.

Rules

1. Your games must run on a quantum computer. The quantum computer can be:
   1.  a simulator in Qiskit running locally on your computer (examples: QPong, QPong-Unity, Qubit Tic Tac Toe)
   2. a simulator in Qiskit running remotely on a cloud service (examples: QiskitBlocks, Wolfiverse)
   3. a real device on IBM Quantum Experience(examples: CatBoxScissors, Quantum Battleships, Quantum Awesomeness)
   4. a simulator in MicroQiskit written in the native language of the game engine (examples: Fredventure, Q-Snake, PewPew-Qube)
2. Follow the rules and theme of LDJAM46.

What will happen when the jam is over?

1. After submission deadline, the public can vote for a week. The judging criteria are the following:
   1. Quantumness: accuracy of quantum physics principles implemented in the game, such as superposition, entanglement and randomness.
   2. Theme: how well the theme is reflected in the game.
   3. Fun: how much you enjoyed playing the game.
   4. Graphics: how good the game looks.
   5. Overall: Your overall opinion of the game, in every aspect important to you.
2. The prize: the prize of any game jam is the joy of making, learning and meeting new people. The bonus is that your games may be featured in our talks about quantum games in the future, such as this one.