Snail Math and Squabble Win Third Annual FIEA Collegiate Game Jam
January 23, 2026
A total of 20 undergraduate and 17 graduate/professional teams competed in the third annual game jam at UCF Downtown, competing for the top three spots in two divisions: undergraduate and graduate/professional. After the theme was announced at roughly 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, they had until 3 p.m. on Jan. 18 to finish.
While any team of undergraduate students from any college or university from around the state could compete, teams from University of Central Florida took home both second and third places in this division for their games following this year’s theme: exploration.
It was redemption for some in the graduate/professional division after not placing in last year’s game jam, including current FIEA students who placed first and third, and FIEA Cohort 20 alumni who placed second.
Royal House, a team made up of three FIEA students and one UF alum, took home the top prize in the graduate/professional division for their game To Boldly Escargot, a 3D puzzle game where the player moves as a snail lost in space. Gianna Giliberto, one of the FIEA students on the team, said that the player could manipulate the environment to explore the surface of the planet.
“I like how every playthrough is different,” Giliberto said. “Each tile is randomized. Every time you play, you get a different opportunity to play the game in a different way.”
Time wasn’t the only stressor in devloping the game. “The most difficult challenge was getting the cube to act the way that we wanted it to, and to get the snail to move across the surface in the way that we wanted it to. There was a lot of math on the programmers’ end,” she said.
“Snail math,” teammate and programmer Andrew Kohler described. Giliberto and Kohler won second place in the undergraduate division last year.
This year’s undergraduate division first-place team was Damage Per Second from University of Florida. Their game, Squabble, involved dragging paths in the sand on the beach with the intention of destroying a sandcastle. Two of their members competed last year, bringing their past experience and new knowledge to this year’s jam.
While most teams had the maximum of four members, one undergraduate team, Mach 9 Studio, and one returning graduate/professional team, Night of the Living Dev, had just a single developer. Undergraduate teams came from UCF, UF, Florida Polytechnic University, Beacon College, and for the first time, Ringling College of Art and Design. Graduate/professional teams, while mostly made up of FIEA alumni, included employees from Electronic Arts, Microsoft Undead Labs, Sony Interactive, Activision and Third Time Entertainment Inc.
Every time you play, you get a different opportunity to play the game in a different way.
Judges
Six judges, three for each division, determined the winners based on a few main factors: gameplay, art, playability/quality, and how well the theme was followed.
After development concluded at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, the floor was opened for gaming. Judges, FIEA faculty, classmates, friends, and competing teams moved table to table to play through each team’s games.
Two faculty judges from Florida Polytechnic University returned for a third year to judge the graduate/professional division: Christian Navarro and Brad Towle. They were joined by University of Central Florida Games and Interactive Media Associate Professor Peter Smith.
Undergraduate teams had the opportunity for three industry professionals, all FIEA alumni, to judge their games: Christopher Jay Vance ‘17MS, a senior engineer at Microsoft Undead Labs and (Cohort 13) who also spoke on the alumni panel for FIEA’s 20th Anniversary in October; Kyle A. Peplow ‘12MS, an expert software engineer at Raven Software (Cohort 8), and Kyle Conway ‘23MS, a game designer at Electronic Arts (Cohort 19). Conway also participated and won second place in 2024 and third place in 2025.
Prizes & Sponsors
After the judges decided the winners, announcements and awards took place in the FIEA Soundstage at Studio 500. FIEA Technical Design Director Ron Weaver emceed a showcase, playing 30-second video playthroughs of each of the games that were submitted.
Thanks to Activision, each member of the first-place teams in both divisions went home with a PlayStation 5 Console, along with a trophy to commemorate their experience.
Electronic Arts provided all second place winners with a Nintendo Switch Lite. Third place winners received both a FIEA Bluetooth speaker and a charging pad.
On day two, raffle prizes were awarded to six winners who were present. Prizes included Playstation 5 game codes for Battlefield 6, EA SPORTS College Football 26, and Skate, all donated by Electronic Arts. GameSir also provided three Cyclone 2 game controllers to raffle.
…Being able to sit at tables next to other teams and talk to them, and being able to engage in the shenanigans and raffles, generates a sense of community
Returning to the Jam
FIEA’s Collegiate Game Jam has become an annual event for many, including graduate/professional team CAT4 who won first place in 2024 and second place in 2026. The four members from FIEA’s Cohort 20 return annually to produce a cat-themed game. Pro team Third Time with just two members has competed all three years and took home first place last year for their theme park-themed game.
The members of the team Synergistic Strategies & Applied Solutions LLC took on a corporate theme in both name, attire, and persona. Last year, the same four members competed under the team name Mana Overload dressed as wizards (and took home second place).
Several other teams had members who previously competed. First-place graduate/professional division winner Kohler said he participated for the first time last year as an undergraduate after getting accepted to FIEA. “Having the development experience over that weekend made me feel like it was the right choice,” Kohler said.
Kohler, who has competed in both virtual and in-person jams, said that FIEA’s Game Jam experience is one of the best. “You can do an online jam and have people in five different places all over the world, but being able to sit at tables next to other teams and talk to them, and being able to engage in the shenanigans and raffles, generates a sense of community.”
Video playthroughs from each team can be viewed on our YouTube channel:
Congratulations to the 2026 Winners!
Undergraduate Division
Romeo Casale, Hailey Pham, Jaidyn Holt, Tally Smith
(Names are not in order of appearance)
University of Florida
Second Place: Lost City by Coworkers
Lauren Holloway, Summer Smith, Joaquin Royer, Donny Akers
(Names are not in order of appearance)
University of Central Florida
Third Place: Finding Erilys by Bundles of Joy
Natashia Jurman, Austin McLaughlin, Kaliyana Limear, Timothy Byrd
University of Central Florida
Graduate/Professional Division
Gianna Giliberto, Dinara Mukhtarova, Chrystina Woehler, Andrew Kohler
UCF FIEA Cohort 22 & Others
Second Place: CATastrophe 3: Meowgical Mayhem by CAT4
Jordan Diaz, Jeffrey Zhang, Dhruv Yadav, Willow Rachels
EA & FIEA Cohort 20 Alumni
Third Place: Find Me by the Tetrad
Soumya Thakur, Walter McDonald, Eggsy Simwa, Kate Miller
UCF FIEA Cohort 22