Moray Game Jam returns for 2025
What has become known as the ‘Friendliest Game Jam’ in Scotland is taking place on the 7th – 9th March at UHI Moray. This is the 8th year for the Moray Game Jam which has grown in popularity since its inception in 2014 attracting individuals and teams from across the country to spend the weekend in Moray creating video and board games.
The Moray Game Jam started in 2014 as the UK’s most northerly Game Jam, and brings together gaming enthusiasts from across the country, industry leaders and educators for 48-hours of creativity, collaboration, and fun.
The purpose of the Jam is to attract teams from around Scotland to compete over 48 hours to create a video or board game based on a specific theme. The games are then showcased at a public gaming playground attracting large numbers of families and young people who are invited to vote on their favourite board and video game.
A number of the winning prototypes from previous Jams have been developed into commercial projects. The Jam also provides ideal opportunities for young people, parents and students to gain valuable practical insight into the computing and creative industries.
Workshops and talks are taking place on Saturday 8 March and the ever-popular Gaming Playground takes place on Sunday afternoon from 2pm – 4pm where members of the public are invited to come along and try out the games developed over the 48 hours, meet the judges and the game developers. New for 2025, the organisers have introduced additional activities for the gamers including social sessions and a quiz on the Saturday night.
Staff from UHI Moray and student volunteers will be on hand over the weekend to ensure the comfort and safety of the game developers and supplying an endless supply of food and hot drinks as always.
The 2025 Jam boasts an impressive lineup of judges bringing a wide range of educational and industry expertise who will provide support and mentor the gamers over the weekend. The judges include:
Laura Cress, Gaming & Technology Journalist | Streamer - broadcast journalist covering news, technology and gaming trends for the BBC for the past seven years. Laura also streams games and in particular indie games on Twitch, and on YouTube interviews individuals renowned for forging their own creative paths in the industry, such as Ron Gilbert, Charles Cecil and Tim Schafer.
twitch.tv/cressup | youtube.com/@cressup
Christopher Acornley, Computing Lecturer, UHI Perth. Christopher started with developing mobile games in Dundee before joining Abertay University, teaching in their Games Development and Programming courses before moving to UHI Perth. His teaching focuses on Programming and Artificial Intelligence.
Alastair Low, Indie Game Developer, Alastair Low has worked in the games industry for over a decade on loads from mobile to PS5 and playdate. He runs Lowtek Games, a small studio focusing on making dyslexia-friendly games and tools for old and new systems. Alastair has run 3 successful Kickstarter campaigns for new games for the NES in the FLEA universe. Ally helped run a local makerspace where he hosted many game jams and loves to make weird game concepts with alternative controls.
www.lowtek.games
Craig Barron, Head of Engineering, Code Wizards. With over a decade of experience in the gaming industry Craig specialises in game technology software development. Craig is actively involved in the gaming community, participating in conferences, workshops, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
codewizards.io
Corrie Green, Indie Game Developer After clinching the MGJ win in 2015, Corrie brings over a decade of experience running a small studio dedicated to multiplatform software and game development.
cjgstudio.com
As every year Moray Game Jam organisers are grateful to the range of sponsors who without their support and generous contributions the event would not be able to happen. The sponsors for 2025 so far include: H N Media, The Little Lunchbox, Code Wizards, J Thomson Print, SICSA, Lifestyle Magazine.
"We are very excited to see the Moray Game Jam returning in 2025 on the UHI Moray campus. The event provides an opportunity for prospective gamers to come together over the weekend with industry experts fuelling the passion for games development. We open our doors to the public over the weekend as well with the talks and the Gaming playground, again a great opportunity for families and young people to get involved. We are grateful to our sponsors, supporters and the UHI Moray staff who contribute to making this event the success it is."
David Patterson, Principal and Chief Executive, UHI Moray
To find out more and sign up visit Moray Game Jam