ZABAL Gamez
Learn to build real projects with AI, ship one in 3 months, with The ZAO.
Free to join. Any skill level. Any tools.
How it works
Join
Pick your lane - artist, builder, or creator. Free, no gatekeeping.
Learn and Build
Attend workshops in June. Ship something in July. Work with a ZAO mentor.
Ship and Earn
Finishers keep their repo and ongoing earnings. Top builders get extra rewards.
Why join
- The ZAO has run for 100+ weeks straight. Real community, proven track record.
- Your project gets used. Not a weekend demo - you build for people who need it.
- Ongoing earnings. Keep the repo and a 1% trade cut that keeps paying.
- Free mentorship. A ZAO expert as your teammate.
Ship for a community that has been here 100+ weeks - and keep earning from what you build.
The ZAO has run weekly for 100+ weeks straight. Build something real for that community, keep an ongoing cut of what it earns, and work alongside a ZAO mentor. The July open build is live now, Finals in August - and every June workshop is recorded.
New here or have questions? Join the ZABAL group chat.
Not finished is fine - post it as a WIP draft and the community shapes it with you. Every draft counts.
I'll build
Share that you're shipping in July
I'll lead a workshop
Share that you're teaching a workshop
What is it?
Three months. Different doors open in different months. You can step in any of them.
Workshops
Recorded sessions on tools, context, and the ZAO ecosystem. Watch live or anytime. Free.
Open Build Month
Anyone can build a project for the ZAO ecosystem using any tool. Ship in public, get noticed. Daily Build Days, open bounties to claim, and get funded for what you build.
Finals
Finalists picked from July ship together with ZAO mentors. Live reveal stream. Prize pool + collectibles.
Three tracks - pick your lane
Whoever you are, there is a way in. Every workshop, build, and collectible is tagged to one of three tracks.
Musical or visual
Musicians, producers, visual artists, designers. Bring sound and image to the ZAO ecosystem.
Developer or aspiring
Coders, vibe-coders, no-code builders. Ship a working project with any tool you like.
Media and distribution
Video, writing, streaming, growth, community. Tell the story and move it to the world.
What you walk away with
Not a weekend you win and forget. The payoff keeps going after the Finals.
A shipped product that gets used
You build on live ZAO rails for a 100+ member community that actually needs the tools. Real users, not a demo that dies Monday.
Income that keeps flowing
Finishers keep the repo and the 1% WaveWarZ trade cut that keeps paying after August. The $500 USDC pool is the floor, not the ceiling.
Proof you can show
A commemorative collectible for everyone who ships, your work amplified in /zabal, and a public track record in the ecosystem.
A crew, not a leaderboard
A ZAO mentor as your teammate and a community you stay part of. You join something - you don't just place in it.
Questions, answered
The honest answers to what people actually ask before joining.
Do I need to be a developer?
No. Any harness counts - vibe-coding, no-code, design, writing, community work. The workshops bring you up to speed on the tools and the ecosystem - all recorded, so you can catch up anytime.
How much time does this take?
As little or as much as you want. The July build can be a single weekend. Workshops are recorded, so you watch live or anytime. Pick one door - you don't have to do all three.
What if I don't finish?
You keep everything you built and learned. Finishing unlocks the pay and a commemorative collectible, but there's no penalty for starting and no cost to trying.
Is it really free?
Yes. No entry fee, no token you have to buy, no catch. Free to join and free workshops, open to anyone.
How is this different from a weekend hackathon?
You build for a real 100+ member community that needs the tools, on live rails, with a ZAO mentor as your teammate - and you keep the repo plus the trade cut after the Finals. It doesn't disappear when the weekend ends.
Who is behind ZABAL Gamez?
The ZAO - a Farcaster-native community that has run weekly Respect sessions for 100+ weeks straight. Builders from the ecosystem won the Snap category at FarHack 2026.
Three doors. Open as many as you want.
Learn the tools. Build the work. Watch it unfold.
These aren't picks - they're commitments. Workshops in June. Build in July. Finals in August. Each card below is one path - claim yours by casting publicly.
Workshop Attendee
July: follow other builds, maybe contribute
August: watch the Finals
Soak up the context. Workshops are free, recorded, live in the Magnetiq library. Open to anyone.
Builder
July: ship publicly, get amplified
August: mentor pick = Finals spot
Make something. Any harness. Top 8 share USDC, Top 16 get $ZABAL, every Finisher gets a commemorative collectible.
Watcher
July: follow July builds on /zabal
August: Finals reveal stream + trade on Base
Follow along. Tune the streams. Trade Finals outcomes on Base if you want. Zero pressure.
Doing all three
Workshops in June. Build in July. Watch the Finals in August. Most folks end up here - claim it once + we save you all three.
While you decide - play the arcade
Low-commitment doors into the season. No signup to play.
Play ZAO 2048, test what you know about the ZAO, or find out what you should build - each one is a way in.
ZAO 2048
Merge the ZAO ecosystem brands all the way up to THE ZAO.
Play now -> Live - Wednesdays 11:30am ESTZAO Trivia
Questions about the ZAO and its projects. Play it live with the community Wednesdays. Practice anytime.
Play now -> Live - 30 secondsWhat should you build?
A few quick questions and we point you at your lane - artist, builder, or creator - plus a real ZAO project and a workshop to watch.
Take the quiz -> Live - clip to earnClip the workshops
Cut a 45-60s moment from any workshop recording, submit it for that recording's bounty, and climb the clippers board. Best clip wins the pot.
See the clips ->June workshop schedule
Free, livestreamed, and recorded. Leads lock exact dates through May - RSVP on Lu.ma to get notified.
Loading sessions...
Dates to be announced
Workshop calendar
Browse + RSVP via Lu.ma. Sessions get added as workshop leads lock dates.
Get the ZABAL Gamez collectible
The collectible is how you follow along. Grab it on the Magnetiq magnet and you are registered for ZABAL Gamez across all three months - every workshop, build, and Finals update reaches you as we go, you tell us where you want those updates, and you can suggest anything for the season. As a bonus, ZAO brand mementos are rolling onto the magnet over the season: short deep-dive videos on the ZAO brands (ZAO, ZAO OS, $ZABAL, WaveWarZ, ZAO Festivals, ZAO Music, COC Concertz, Respect). The games run on this site. Magnetiq is where you register and go deeper.
Register on Magnetiq
Claiming the collectible keeps you posted for the whole season, lets you pick where we reach you, and opens the upload to suggest anything for ZABAL Gamez, from build ideas to people we should know. ZAO brand mementos land on the magnet as a bonus as the season runs.
Ways to take part
Free, open to anyone, and there's a door for every kind of person. Pick one - or as many as you want.
Register
Claim the collectible and you're in for the whole season - updates reach you where you choose.
Claim the collectible ->Build
Ship something in July with any harness. Sign up as a builder or pick a project to adopt.
Sign up to build ->Host a workshop
Teach one 30-minute June session on what you know. We stream it, clip it, and cross-promote.
Lead a session ->Suggest a lead
Someone you'd love to see teach? Nominate them, upvote the board, and tag them to invite them in.
Open Dream Leads ->Catch up
Missed a session? Every workshop and fireside is recorded, transcribed, and kept - watch any time.
Watch the recordings ->Make an ad
Make the best ad for ZABAL Gamez and win 0.0125 ETH. Open bounty on POIDH, ends Jun 14.
See the bounty ->Follow along
Watch the build in public. Join on Farcaster, Discord, or Telegram - every door's on one page.
All the links ->Mentor or sponsor
Built before, or want to back the pool? Come in as a mentor or partner for Season 1.
Get involved ->Want everything - format details, prize structure, judging, ecosystem, FAQ, the whole long-form pitch?
Read all the details at /info ->