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July - Open Build-A-Thon

Enter the build. The build is the application.

No paragraph pitch, no waitlist. In July you ship something that helps ZABAL Gamez, ZABAL, or The ZAO - a live app, a video, an image, a track, art, or a repo - in public. Post it wherever you already do and it gets pulled onto the site automatically, sorted by track. The strongest July builds get curated into the August Finals - each finalist paired with a ZAO mentor, every finisher paid and given the commemorative collectible.

How to enter

  1. Make anything for the ecosystem

    A live app, a video, an image, a track, art, or a repo - any piece of IP for ZABAL Gamez, ZABAL, or The ZAO, with any harness or tool you like. Three tracks: artist, builder, creator. Adopt a started project or start fresh with the context file - every kind of build counts.

  2. Ship it in public

    A live URL, an open-source repo, a 60-second demo, and a cast on /zabal. Building in the open is the point - the work is visible as it grows.

  3. It lands on the site automatically

    Most builds get pulled onto the site from where you post them - a cast, a claim, a drop - and grouped under your profile by track. No form required. If you are shipping a repo and want the season tracker to follow your commits into Bonfire, the ZAO memory layer the judging reads from, you can register your wallet and repo below - optional, and the same wallet just updates, no duplicates.

  4. Claim the prize pot

    There is a community prize pot for July builds. Once your build is live, drop your proof on the ZABAL Gamez Open Pot to be in the running. Anyone can add to the pot, and a bigger pot means a bigger reward for the best builds. Registering here and claiming the pot are two steps of the same entry - do both.

What each track ships

Pick your lane. The shape is the same: make it, post it in public, and it lands on the site under your track. Repo builds also register below.

Artist

A track, a cover, a visual, a set, a piece of art. Post it where you publish - a cast in /zabal counts - and it lands under the artist track. Drop your proof on the Open Pot to claim.

Builder

A live app, a tool, a mini app, or a repo, any harness. Ship a live URL and an open repo, then register your wallet and repo below so the season tracker follows your commits.

Creator

A video, clips, a recap, a thread, a written piece. Post it where you publish - a cast in /zabal counts - and it lands under the creator track. Drop your proof on the Open Pot to claim.

Register your build

Registering is optional and for repo builds - it lets the season tracker follow your commits. If you register, both fields are needed: your wallet is how prizes reach you, your repo is what the tracker watches. Artist and creator builds can skip this - just post in public and drop your proof on the Open Pot.

An address starting with 0x, 40 hex characters. Used for payouts and per-build tracking.
Either owner/repo or a full github.com URL. Must be public.
Helps mentors judge per track. You can leave it blank.

What happens after you register

A scheduled tracker reads your public repo and pushes each new commit into Bonfire as part of the season's shared record - it never judges or ranks on its own, it just keeps the memory current. Mentors watch July ships and pick their champions; the most interesting builds advance to the August Finals. Getting selected is the first win.

How the road to the Finals works, in three steps:

  1. Vote. Anyone can upvote builds on the board below - one vote per person. Votes are the demand signal, and they rank the board into a shortlist per track.
  2. Mentors pick. ZAO mentors choose the finalists from the shortlist, one lane at a time. Picks show up on the Finals page as they form.
  3. The Finals settle it. Finalists build with their mentor and the market decides placement. Every finalist is paid and gets the commemorative collectible.

Two ways to start if you have not yet: adopt a started ZAO project from the maturity-sorted list, or load the context file into your harness and find the gap that wants filling. New to building for the ecosystem? The Builder Playbook walks the tracks, the rails you build on, and the July bar. Full details on the season are in All the Details.

Building in public

Every registered build shows up here, ranked by community votes - the demand signal that shortlists builds for the mentors. One vote per person. See how the Finals settle.

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