The Builders’ Challenge is ON: Publish, Engage, Earn

Up to 1,500,000 SAND prize pool over ten weeks starting February 12. Do you have what it takes to build the future?

6 min readFeb 9, 2024

This announcement follows the introduction of the new Game Maker Fund model previously announced on December 23, 2023, and the Game Maker Fund AMA on Wednesday, January 24.

In the spirit of continuing to support creators building the metaverse, The Sandbox is thrilled to announce the launch of the Builder’s Challenge — a groundbreaking event promising to unleash the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of builders worldwide. Mark your calendars for February 12, 2024, as the Builder’s Challenge takes center stage, offering an enticing prize pool of up to 1,000,000 SAND + a 500K SAND bonus shared pool exclusively for top Creators. This exciting endeavor will span ten weeks, captivating the attention of creators from February 12 to April 22, 2024. This is your moment to be at the forefront of The Sandbox revolution, crafting immersive experiences and captivating games. Let’s build the metaverse together!

Three Steps to Get Ready for Your Successful Launch in the Builders’ Challenge

Publish: Your experience or game should offer something new or a creative twist on existing genres to stand out from the crowd. We invite creators to use the latest Rules System features from Game Maker 0.9 to increase the fun and encourage players to spend more time in your game. Thinking about your game’s replayability during your concept phase will greatly help you bring more traffic once you’ve published on the map. Don’t forget to invest in crafting an awesome FTUE (First Time User Experience) to make a powerful first impression.
Engage: Start with an appealing Experience Page, optimizing your game’s title and description to improve its discoverability. Then, share it with your community on social media. Have you considered collaborating with popular content creators or content promotion, like organizing streaming sessions or engaging in community events to increase visibility?
Earn: Make sure you are eligible to claim your rewards and that you’ve validated our KYC (Know Your Customer) process if you are an individual or the KYB (Know Your Business) process if you represent a corporate entity (see below).

Unveiling the Engagement Pool: A Reward System Designed to Recognize Engagement

At the heart of the Builder’s Challenge lies the Engagement Pool, a system crafted with care to reward builders based on the engagement they foster among players. This approach aligns perfectly with The Sandbox’s core mission of empowering the community to build captivating Experiences that resonate with the community.

The Engagement Pool will be constantly adapting to the evolving landscape of The Sandbox ecosystem. Its rewards will be determined by three key factors:

Community growth: The more Experiences published on The Sandbox’s Map, the larger the reward pool. With a prize pool of up to 1,000,000 SAND + an extra 500K split among the Top 10 creators in the Challenge.
Player engagement: The more players actively engaged with your Experience, the greater your reward potential.
Session length: The longer players spend immersed in your Experience, the more you’ll be recognized for your exceptional craftsmanship.

On your analytics page, you’ll be able to see your Experience’s data, such as your Experience’s average session length and number of visits. Note that for the purposes of the Builders’ Challenge event, only players who have completed at least one quest will be considered actively engaged and count towards rewards.

Note: The Sandbox keeps the right to apply Discretionary Rewards booster during the Builder’s Challenge for all creators.

Earning Rewards: A Path to Recognition and Success

As creators embark on their Builder’s Challenge journey, they can expect to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts. The weekly distribution of SAND rewards will incentivize continuous improvement and innovation.

To claim your rewards, you must confirm your acceptance of The Sandbox’s Terms of Use and validate:

If you are an individual: our KYC (Know Your Customer) process and confirm your acceptance of The Sandbox’s Terms of Use.
If you are a business: our KYB (Know Your Business) process and accept our Terms of Use for your company account. For business screening — please share relevant documents through this form.

This ensures that rewards are distributed fairly and ethically among our community of creators.

Eligibility and Participation: Achieving Success in The Builders’ Challenge

To participate in the event and to ensure a fair and equitable playing field for all creators, we have established the following eligibility requirements:

Age Validation: The creator or their legal representative must be of legal age to participate in the Builders’ Challenge. This aligns with our commitment to foster a responsible and inclusive community.
Wallet Setup: A wallet is essential for receiving and managing rewards.
Compliance with Terms of Use: Your account and behavior must adhere to The Sandbox’s Terms of Use, ensuring a harmonious and enjoyable experience for all creators.
Game Maker Version: Your experience must be saved on Game Maker 0.9, the latest version of our intuitive no-code game development tool.
Account Activity: Your Game Maker account must have been opened on seven different days to demonstrate genuine engagement with the platform.
Event Data Exclusion: Player engagement data collected while your experience was participating in an event will not be considered for the Engagement Pool. This helps maintain fairness among participants.
Experience Eligibility Exclusion: Your creator account must not be owned by an employee of The Sandbox or an IP directly in partnership with The Sandbox. Contractors of The Sandbox are eligible to participate with the exception of contractors working on any projects directly related to the Builders’ Challenge.
Ban Policy: To deter cheating or unauthorized activities, we will periodically review the top 100 Experiences. If any suspicious activity is identified, your Experience may be banned at the company’s discretion. If your Experience is banned, you will receive a warning via email. Appeals can be made at publishing.support@sandbox.game.

For some experiences that fall under special circumstances you might be asking yourself if you’re eligible to earn rewards, check out the rules below:

Experiences from Game Jams published on the LAND of a Brand or IP are eligible for rewards.
Experiences hosted on The Sandbox-owned land are eligible for rewards
Experiences leasing land as part of the upcoming Land Leasing Program are not eligible for rewards.

If you are interested in discovering more about the upcoming Builder’s Challenge make sure to visit our FAQ page.

Event participation is only subject to eligibility rules, KYC and KYB will be required when reaching the claim stage. Event participation is open to every experience that follows the event’s eligibility rules.

An Invitation to Unleash Your Creativity

The Sandbox is excited to unveil the biggest activation dedicated to creators so far and can’t wait to get feedback from the community! But the Builder’s Challenge is more than just an event — whether you’re a seasoned builder or a budding enthusiast — it’s a call to action for visionaries and creators to join hands in forging The Sandbox’s future. With the introduction of the Engagement Pool, The Sandbox wishes to foster a community of passionate individuals who are committed to delivering exceptional experiences that resonate with players worldwide. Do you have what it takes to build the future in this one-of-a-kind challenge?