Registration Closed — Event Full
The Biggest Event of the Year
Every spot is taken. You can add your child to the waitlist — if someone drops, we work down the list in order and email you.
Pictured: Hackingtons500 2025 — 100 students, one afternoon.
Sunday, Oct 25th
2:30pm – 5:30pm
Pleasant Hill Senior Center 233 Gregory Ln, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Pizza & dessert
Served during the event
Ceremony at 5:15pm
Trophies for each division
Students build a video game in Scratch or JavaScript around a surprise theme revealed at the start of the event. Trophies go to the winners of each division.
Block-based game building for our youngest competitors.
Same tools, tougher field — for experienced Scratch builders.
Open division. Write real code and go head-to-head with everyone.
Hackingtons500 is sold out. This form does not register your child — it adds them to the waitlist for a spot that may open up.
Your child does not have a spot at the event. Registration closed once we filled every seat. Adding them here puts them in line, in the order signups arrive.
You are not being charged anything today. No payment is collected on this form. If a spot opens, we email you a payment link for the $40 registration and hold the spot for 48 hours before offering it to the next family in line.
We can't promise a spot will open. Some years several families cancel; some years none do. Please don't plan your Sunday around the event until you get a confirmed registration from us.
We've added your child to the Hackingtons500 waitlist.
This is not a registration. Your child does not have a spot yet and nothing has been charged. If a family drops, we work down the list in order and email you a payment link — you'll have 48 hours to claim the spot.
Questions, or need to come off the list? Email [email protected].
Every project is scored out of 50 points across five categories.
Originality of idea, creative use of the theme, and overall fun factor.
Does the code match your actual skill level (we’ll compare to your showcase).
Visual design, clarity, playability, and overall user experience.
Is it engaging and worth replaying?
How well the project embraces the theme in gameplay/design.
Yes. Every spot for Hackingtons500 is taken and we are no longer selling registrations. The only way in now is the waitlist.
No. The waitlist is a line, not a registration. Your child does not have a spot at the event unless you receive a confirmed registration from us.
No. Nothing is collected on the waitlist form. You only pay the $40 if a spot opens, we offer it to you, and you take it.
We work down the list in the order people joined. When a spot frees up we email the next family a payment link and hold the spot 48 hours. If we don't hear back, it goes to the family behind you.
We can't promise one will. Some years a handful of families cancel, some years none do. Please don't plan your Sunday around the event until your registration is confirmed.
Email [email protected] and we'll remove you, so the spot goes to the next family faster.
Hackingtons500 is open to currently enrolled Hackingtons students. Your child must be enrolled in a class at the time of registration.
Yes. Drop off at 2:30pm and come back for the awards ceremony at 5:15pm. Pickup is at 5:30pm.
They can bring their own — Mac, PC, or Chromebook all work. If they need to borrow one, choose that option on the registration form and we'll have one ready.
Yes — pizza and dessert are served during the competition. Tell us about any food allergies on the registration form.
No—please wait for the surprise theme. You can prep your tools and warm up with practice problems.
Instructors can help with ideas and debugging, but they are not allowed to write code for you.
No AI tools, no external game libraries, no remixes, no prior games — it must be 100% new code.
Submissions close at 4:45pm, but please submit a draft earlier so we can verify links.
You can help your friend, but your submission must be individual.
Build a video game in Scratch or JavaScript using the surprise theme. You're welcome to be creative and outside-the-box.
No, we don't reveal scores nor do we share the other projects. We must judge 100 projects in 30 minutes and we do our absolute best to be fair.
We judge 100 projects in 30 minutes. Regardless of winning or not, we hope you have a wonderful time at the event.
Trophies for the winners of each division, awarded at the 5:15pm ceremony.
Three divisions: Scratch ages 8–11, Scratch ages 12+, and JavaScript (all ages). Trophies go to the winners of each division.
Yes, but you can only win 1 division.
Beginners have won in the past. Also, we have raffle prizes and we promise you'll have a great time even as a beginner!
Cancel 7 or more days before the event for a full refund. Email [email protected] and we'll take care of it.