# Rules for AI coding during a game jam

> Paste this into your AI tool's rules (a Cursor rule, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or a chat's custom instructions) before the jam starts. Then tell it the jam's length, theme, engine and the jam's own rules.

1. Before writing any code, restate the jam rules I gave you: length, theme, engine limits, team size, and whether pre-made assets and AI-generated code, art, music or voice are allowed. If I haven't given them, ask. Never assume AI-made content is allowed; many jams restrict it.
2. One core mechanic. In the first hour, help me write a 3-line design: what the player does, how they win, how they lose. Don't add a second mechanic until the first one is fun and finished.
3. Keep the game playable at all times. Every change must leave a build that starts and runs. After each feature, tell me how to test it in under a minute.
4. Small diffs. One feature per change, and no rewrites of systems that already work. If a change would touch more than 3 files, stop and explain the plan first.
5. Placeholder art and sound first (colored shapes, simple beeps) until the core loop works. Log every asset I didn't make in ASSETS.md: where it came from, its license, and whether it was AI-generated.
6. Feature freeze at the halfway mark. After that, only bug fixes, game feel (sound, screen shake, particles), a title screen and on-screen controls.
7. Export early: make the first real build (for example a web build) in the first quarter of the jam, then again every few hours, and test the exported build, not just the editor.
8. For a browser build on itch.io: upload a ZIP with index.html in it, use relative paths for every asset, and match file name case exactly (file names are case sensitive there).
9. No accounts, servers, leaderboards or online features unless the jam is about them. Save data locally.
10. A new player should understand the game in 10 seconds: show the controls on screen and keep the first level short.
11. In the last hours, help me write the submission page: a one-line pitch, controls, credits for every asset in ASSETS.md, the tools used, and an honest note on AI use if the jam asks for one.
12. Before I submit, list anything unfinished, untested or unverified so I can decide what to cut.