Contest rules · Vibe Forge

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1. Organizer and contact

Vibe Forge is organized by the organizer named in the contact details on this page. Until the organizer's legal identity is published here, it is to be announced. Questions about these rules go to the contact e-mail shown below, or through our Instagram account @built.with.vibeforge.

Vibe Forge is free to enter. No purchase or payment is ever required.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old when you register.
People from any country may take part, subject to the laws that apply to them and to any safeguards those laws require. If taking part, or receiving a prize, is not allowed where you live, you may not enter or claim that prize.
If you are under 18 (or under the age of majority where you live), a parent or guardian must agree to your participation before you register, and the organizer may ask for that agreement to be confirmed. Where the law requires verifiable parental consent before your data can be processed, we will not process restricted data until it has been obtained.
Organizers, judges and anyone involved in running the contest may not enter, and judges may not score entries where they have a conflict of interest.

3. Solo and team entries

You may enter solo or as a team of up to three people in total, including the team leader.
The team leader registers the team, names the teammates, provides one designated contact number and is responsible for the team's submission.
Each person may belong to only one entry. Teammates must agree to be listed, and the team leader must have their permission (and, for a teammate under 18, their parent or guardian's permission) before naming them.
Team changes are allowed while your entry is still editable. Changing the roster never resets or extends your deadline.

4. What you build

You may build a project on any lawful topic. Categories help organize entries; they do not limit your ideas.
Your entry must be a real, working digital product (for example a website, web app, tool or game) that judges can open and use. A mockup, slide deck or video alone is not enough.
You must submit a video pitch of no more than two minutes. Don't show your face — record your screen with a voice-over that explains your product's architecture, shows the code where possible, and demonstrates the main features. Video editing quality is not judged.
Pre-existing projects: the work you submit must be created during your build period. You may use your own earlier ideas, open-source libraries, templates and starter kits, but you must clearly describe anything that existed before your build period in your submission. The organizer may disqualify entries that misrepresent pre-existing work.

5. AI and development tools

You may use any AI coding assistant, model or development tool, free or paid, that you are permitted to use. A list of popular options is on the How to Build page; using them is optional.
Honestly describe any significant use of AI, including the tools you used and how prompting, iteration and your own judgement shaped the result.
You are responsible for everything you submit, including AI-generated code, text, images and audio: check that it works, is accurate and does not infringe anyone's rights.

6. Originality, intellectual property and licences

You keep ownership of your project. Entering does not transfer your intellectual property to the organizer.
By submitting, you give the organizer, judges and contest staff a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to access, run, review and evaluate your project and pitch for the purposes of the contest, and — only if your entry is shortlisted or wins — to display your project name, team or display name, category, a short description and screenshots or excerpts of your pitch on the contest website and social media to announce results. Any wider use requires your separate, explicit agreement.
Credit third-party code, assets, data and APIs, and follow their licences.
Plagiarism, submitting someone else's work as your own, or copying another entrant's project leads to disqualification.

7. Prohibited submissions

Entries must not contain or facilitate:

anything unlawful, or content that harasses, threatens, defames or discriminates;
malware, or code designed to harm devices or systems;
tools for credential theft, phishing, unauthorized access or bypassing security;
collection or exposure of personal data without a lawful basis and proper notice;
sexual content, graphic violence, or content harmful to minors;
deceptive impersonation of real people or organizations.

Security research projects must be clearly defensive and must only target systems you own or are authorized to test.

8. Submissions and deadlines

Your personal build period starts when your registration is successfully completed and lasts 14 calendar days by default, calculated in the contest timezone. Your dashboard shows your exact deadline and timezone.
The organizer may change the default duration for future registrations, and may grant extensions (for everyone eligible or for specific entries) according to these rules. Approved extensions are announced in your dashboard and by e-mail. Your deadline never changes silently.
If the organizer publishes an overall contest deadline, your entry must also be submitted before it.
Submit through the participant dashboard. A submission includes the project details, a public demo link, an optional repository link, the tools and AI you used, and your video pitch (uploaded, or as a link the organizers can open).
Make sure judges can access your demo and any linked video without signing in or requesting access.
You may update your submission until your deadline while submissions are open. Deadlines are enforced by the server; late submissions are not accepted unless the organizer has granted an exception in writing.
You will see a confirmation in your dashboard (and by e-mail once e-mail is configured) when your submission is received.

9. Judging

10. Prizes and winners

Prizes are to be announced. No prize, sponsor or amount is promised until the organizer publishes approved prize terms here. Winners are published only after results are finalized and approved by an authorized organizer. Winners may need to confirm eligibility before receiving a prize, and prizes may be subject to local law and taxes.

11. Disqualification, withdrawal, complaints and appeals

The organizer may disqualify entries that break these rules, after reviewing the evidence. You will be told why.
You may withdraw your entry at any time by contacting the organizer or deleting your account.
Technical failures: the organizer is not responsible for failures of your own devices, connection or third-party services, but will consider extensions for documented platform outages affecting many entrants.
To complain or appeal a decision, write to the contact e-mail within 7 days of the decision. A different organizer will review it and reply within 14 days where possible.

12. Changes to the contest

The organizer may change, postpone or cancel the contest if necessary. Material changes are published as a new version of these rules, announced in the dashboard and by e-mail, and do not apply retroactively to work already submitted. Previous versions of these rules remain available on this page.

13. Disputes and governing law

Dispute-resolution and governing-law terms are to be confirmed after legal review and will be published here before registrations open. Nothing in these rules limits rights you have under the law where you live.

14. Third parties

Vibe Forge is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Google, Instagram, Meta, Supabase, Vercel, Cloudflare, or any AI tool provider. Mentioning a tool or service does not mean it is free or that its provider supports this contest. Your use of third-party services is governed by their own terms.

Published judging rubric

Each criterion is scored from 0 to its maximum points; the nine maxima add up to 100. Judges score with evidence-based comments. Video editing quality is not judged.

Judging rubric, 100 points in total
Criterion	Points
Problem and impactIs the problem clear, and is the solution genuinely useful to the people who have it?	10
Creativity and originalityIs there independent thinking or a distinctive approach?	10
Effective use of AI and promptingWas AI used thoughtfully? Can the entrant explain prompting, iterations, tool choice and human judgement? Tool count alone earns nothing.	20
Product functionality and executionDoes the product actually work? Are the core features implemented and usable?	20
Reliability and interaction qualityDo buttons, forms, links, navigation and validation work without major errors?	10
UI/UX design and accessibilityIs it understandable, responsive, usable and accessible? Simple, useful designs can score highly.	10
Potential for further developmentIs there a credible path to more utility and reliability?	10
Clarity of video pitchDoes the pitch clearly explain the problem, solution and main features within two minutes? Editing quality earns no points.	5
Documentation and demo readinessCan judges access and evaluate the project easily?	5
Total	100