Welcome to MechMania 30!
Register Using This Form
See you on September 21th, 2024!
MechMania is a 24 hour hackathon where students team up to write a bot that plays a game. Every year, we build a game in secret, and challenge you to write the best bot! You can fly solo, or participate in a group of up to four. We will have some time before the tournament starts for you to find a team and you can re-register if you decide to join a team! Learn more here at our FAQ.
How to Compete
MechMania open to all skill levels of coding. We provide the starter code in Java and Python, and you can focus on creating an awesome strategy to beat the other teams' bots in our game. No experience in artificial intelligence or machine learning is required to participate. In many years past, several freshmen have won the top three positions!
Competition Schedule
We will be hosting MechMania in Room 1404 of Siebel Center for Computer Science on UIUC campus, come join us!
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, September 21 | 4:00 PM | Room Opens |
| 4:10 PM | Introduction | |
| 4:15 PM | Bot Submissions open | |
| 9:00 PM | Room Closed | |
| Sunday, September 22 | 9:00 AM | Room Opens |
| 4:00 PM | Bot Submissions Close | |
| 5:00 PM | Final Tournament & Awards Ceremony |
Oh, and did we mention there are prizes?
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st Place | $300 per person |
| 2nd Place | $200 per person |
| 3rd Place | $100 per person |
(To be eligible for prizes, you must fill out the registration form at the top of the page)
If you want to find out about the game, you'll just have to see us in person, on Twitch, and/or Discord on September 21st :)
Last MechMania
Last MechMania, the theme was Humans vs Zombies! You made 2 bots, one to play as humans, and one to play as zombies. The game ends if the humans survive long enough or if the zombies infect everyone. As the game went on, better strategies developed over time, leading up to humans out-maneuvering the faster zombies! (At least, for long enough to score some points. They all got eaten in the end.)
TheForbidden65thBit vs Chonkers, Game 3, Round 2, 2023