This year, Finnish Game Jam ry gave awards to games from different jams organized by FGJ, including of course our biggest game jam, #FGJ16. Out of over 250 games from the 2015-2016 season, these nine games stood from the crowd in one way or another – and their awards are as special as the games themselves. Check them out, enjoy the jam, spread the message!

Brotality Award
Bro Fist Simulator, FGJ Otaniemi
Lauri Rustanius, Kim Valori, Juha Ylimäki

Bro Fist Simulator is an accurate description of the dangers of the bro code. Even when you’re in a danger of losing your fingers, you never leave a brother hanging. Under the surface of silliness the game contains a genuinely fun gameplay and imaginative use of the Global Game Jam 2016 theme.

Alternative Pants Award
Shaman of Rituals for working games, FGJ Kuopio
Tapio Väisänen, Pasi Saastamoinen, Matti Saarinen, Ville Turunen, Joni Pekkonen

What is the best thing you can do with your pants on? What is the best thing you can do with your smart pants on? Shaman of Rituals for working games is a simple, yet oddly compelling rhythm game which you can play with smart pants. As you work your shaman magic, you get surrounded by your strange villagers dancing around you. The game combines the persuasive powers of a digital game, the appeal of alt ctrl and the benefits of an exergame. What else do we need?

Rotary Dial Award
Luurin Luikaus, ASM FGJ ‘15
Salla Huttunen, Timo Korhonen, Janne Koski, Joona Pääkkönen, Riku Rajaniemi, Pyry Takkunen

Remember the time when there were TV games and you couldn’t participate because you didn’t have a modern phone at the house? Now you can experience why you were not allowed to call in. Luurin Luikaus feels like a true trip to the past with flowery wallpapers, CRT televisions and simple yet unapologetically hard-to-play games.

Don’t Cook and Drive Award
Gotta Have Pancake, FGJ Tampere
Mikko Lasonen

Sometimes you just Gotta Have Pancake. This game is for all of you who get the urge while travelling and are considering to cook and drive. This incredibly ingenious game concretizes the fact that cooking and driving significantly increases the possibility of traffic accidents. If your friends are considering cooking while driving, offer to cook for them. They’ll thank you later.

Ultimate Cultist Award
Casually Cultist, FGJ Tampere
Eric Hartin, Matti Isotalo, Miikka Lehtonen, Juuso Mattila, Tony Sundell

Casually Cultist excels both in style and in the interpretation of the Global Game Jam 2016 theme. It uses two of the frequently used topics of this year’s jam games – cults and everyday rituals – in an unexpected way. When the cult comes to an end and everyday life begins, how can a single cultist migrate and survive within the loneliness of mundane?

360 Elegance Award
Asteroids Redemption, Quantum Game Jam
Veli-Pekka Kokkonen, Timo Anttila, Atso Sariola, Boris Sokolov, Jaakko Vainio

Asteroids Redemption’s black-and-white, grainy graphics, distortion effects and simple arcade-like gameplay comprise an elegant game that you enjoy not only playing but also watching. Its true potential is released on the full dome projector. And this is not all: the game has a basis in the quantum physics, demonstrating the beauty of quantum tunnelling.

Survival Yogi Award
Ragdoll Yoga, FGJ Survival Mode
Jere Sanisalo, Antti Svenn

When the apocalypse begins and we start running out of power, it is soothing to know that game making will continue until the end of days. All you need is a couple of tablets and willing programmers. Amazingly awful graphics, mesmerizing soundscape and addictive as hell gameplay. With an odd interpretation of the theme “Ritual”, Ragdoll Yoga takes the player on a journey to the world of stretching.

Sinusoidal Oscillations Award
Come As You Are, FGJ Helsinki Art Museum
Perttu Hämäläinen, Ville Seppänen, Joonas Häll, Jeremia Kunnari, Bahadir Gürkan, Serdar Bingöl

This is what we suspect the ritual of a sound designer might look like. You don’t have to be a sound engineer to solve the addictive puzzles of this game, but that might help. With a philosophical backstory, eery atmosphere and simple yet inventive mechanics, Come As You Are stands out not only from the multitude of other ritual games, but from the Global Game Jam 2016 games altogether.

Sauna Award
Sauna Simulator 2016, FGJ Turku
Aapo Peltola, Aukusti Manninen, Jami Aho, Jaakko Susi, Taisto Suominen

If you give a theme of “ritual” to a Finn, you cannot avoid sauna games. After all, the sacred ritual of sauna is important to us all. The Sauna Simulator 2016 goes a step further: It wants to spread the sauna love to those without the luxury of it. Just put on your virtual reality goggles, get naked, grab your beer and throw water on the stove. It’s almost like you’re there.

In addition to the game awards, Finnish Game Jam awarded Samuli Jääskeläinen as the Superjammer of the Year 2015 for exemplary and courageous jamming, Remedy Entertainment as the Jamtivist of the Year 2015 for their remarkable and continuous support for the Finnish Game Jam, Anna Permala and Minna Eloranta for their outstanding contribution for the game jam organizing in the FGJ’s graphics team, and Meanfish, Viope, and PlayRaven for their outstanding support as the sponsors of the #FGJ16 event.