GitHub’s Game Off 2025 winners are the ten highest-rated overall entries in its annual game jam, themed WAVES. More than 700 games were submitted, and participants rated and reviewed the entries themselves. The published top ten are therefore participant-ranked—not a list selected by an independent judging panel—and GitHub says all ten are free to play with source code available.
Here are the ten games in GitHub’s published order, with their reported engines and styles, followed by what the ranking does—and does not—tell you.
What are the Game Off 2025 winners?
Game Off is GitHub’s annual game jam. The 2025 edition was its 13th and invited developers to make games around the theme WAVES. In an announcement published January 10, 2026, Lee Reilly, Senior Program Manager, GitHub Developer Relations, presented the ten highest-rated overall entries. GitHub reports more than 700 submissions.
The rankings reflect ratings and reviews from Game Off participants. GitHub does not publish exact scores, review counts, or tie-breaking rules, so the order below is the published order rather than a comparison of known score margins. The descriptions are GitHub’s summaries, not independent gameplay reviews. Read the GitHub announcement and follow its links to each game and source repository.
#1 Best Overall
- EXPLORE THE ISLAND OF CATAN: Settle the uninhabited island of Catan by gathering resources, building infrastructure, and nurturing trade relationships.
- STRATEGY AND COMPETITION: Compete with 2-3 opponents to expand your settlements and cities while managing resources and avoiding the robber.
- TRADE, BUILD, AND SETTLE: Use brick, wood, wheat, ore, and sheep to construct roads, settlements, and cities in your race to 10 victory points.
- REPLAYABLE AND ENGAGING: With a modular hexagonal board, no two games are the same, offering endless strategic opportunities and replayability.
- FOR FAMILIES AND STRATEGY ENTHUSIASTS: Designed for 3-4 players, ages 10 and up, CATAN 6th Edition is perfect for family game nights and friendly competition. Add the CATAN 5-6 Player Extension (sold separately) to expand your game to 5-6 players.
The ten winners, in GitHub’s published order
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Evaw — Godot
A moody platformer set among ruins, where light waves, sound waves, and radio transmissions guide the player. GitHub highlights adjustable difficulty, secrets, and a speedrun timer.
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Where the Water Flows — Godot
An isometric puzzle adventure built around changing sea levels. Raising or lowering the water reveals routes through the environment.
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BEACON — Unity
An exploration puzzle game about a glowing slug in a dark, abandoned world. Light helps reveal paths and secrets—and locate missing friends.
Rank #2
Jumbo, Stratego - Original, Strategy Board Game, 2 Players, Ages 8 Year Plus- Stratego is the strategic game where you challenge your opponents in the heat of battle
- Your task is to capture your opponent’s flag while defending your own
- Lead your men into battle, every move is crucial
- Includes 2 x 40 pre-printed playing pieces, Game board, Screen and 2 sorting trays for the pieces
- Suitable for 2 players, aged 8+
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A Kingdom Slightly Out Of Tune — Unity
A puzzle-strategy game in which matching colors and chaining tiles create musical shockwaves to use against enemies.
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Wave Drifter — Godot
A naval chase game focused on drifting, boosting, blasting, and collecting orbs. Players can stack upgrades as they go.
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Tidal Town — Godot
A city-planning puzzle in which players group buildings while waves reshape the board.
Rank #3
Sale
Asmodee Ticket to Ride Board Game (2025 Refresh) - A Cross-Country Train Adventure for Friends and Family, Strategy Game for Kids & Adults, Ages 8+, 2-5 Players, 30-60 Minute Playtime- EXCITING TRAIN ADVENTURE: Embark on a journey across early 20th century North America, collecting train cards and claiming routes to expand your network and connect cities.
- EASY TO LEARN, HARD TO MASTER: With simple rules and engaging gameplay, Ticket to Ride is perfect for both new and experienced players, making it a great choice for family game nights.
- BEAUTIFUL GAME COMPONENTS: Features a giant map of the North American train network, accompanied by miniature trains for each player, enhancing the visual appeal and immersive experience.
- MULTIPLE WAYS TO WIN: Strategically collect color sets of train cards, complete your tickets, and build the longest routes to secure victory, offering endless replayability.
- FUN FOR ALL AGES: Whether you're playing with family or friends, Ticket to Ride offers hours of fun, making it an ideal choice for casual and competitive gamers alike.
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Froggy Love — Unity
A ripple-physics puzzle about guiding a frog across a pond with splashes. GitHub describes three handcrafted levels.
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Ooqo — Godot
An arcade score-chaser where players glide across fish, link combos, and build momentum.
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La Ola — Godot
A typing game based on sustaining a stadium “wave.” GitHub says its procedurally generated text uses Markov chains.
Rank #4
Sale
Carcassonne Tile Placement Strategy Board Game, 2-5 Players, 35 Min- CLASSIC TILE PLACEMENT: Draw and place landscape tiles to build cities, roads, fields, and monasteries, then deploy meeples as knights, farmers, and monks to claim features and score points.
- STRATEGY FOR ADULTS AND FAMILIES: Carcassonne pairs intuitive rules with meaningful decisions, making it accessible for ages 7+ while still engaging experienced adult board gamers.
- REPLAYABLE MEDIEVAL ADVENTURE: Randomized tile draws create a different landscape every game, bringing fresh puzzles and competitive fun to family game night and casual group play.
- TWO TO FIVE PLAYERS: Built for 2-5 players with an average 35-minute playtime, Carcassonne fits weeknight sessions at home, family gatherings on vacation, and adult board game evenings.
- INCLUDES MINI-EXPANSIONS: The base game comes with The Abbot and The River mini-expansions in the box, adding variety to the classic Carcassonne board game experience from the start.
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The Last Wave — Unity
A mystery about memory, grief, and identity. Working with Saja, Korea’s grim reaper, players reconstruct people’s lives by matching names, locations, and wave signals.
How the games interpret the WAVES theme
The theme reaches well beyond water. Where the Water Flows and Tidal Town use tides directly; Evaw, BEACON, and A Kingdom Slightly Out Of Tune draw on light or sound. Wave Drifter turns the idea into nautical action, while Froggy Love uses ripples as a puzzle mechanic. Ooqo focuses on arcade momentum, La Ola on the movement of a stadium crowd, and The Last Wave on signals and emotional themes.
Which Game Off winner should you try?
Choose by the kind of play you want rather than assuming the ranking signals a particular genre or style:
- Exploration and puzzles: try Evaw, Where the Water Flows, or BEACON.
- Strategy and board puzzles: look at A Kingdom Slightly Out Of Tune or Tidal Town.
- Action and momentum: consider Wave Drifter or Ooqo.
- Physics puzzles: try Froggy Love.
- Typing: choose La Ola.
- Narrative mystery: start with The Last Wave.
GitHub lists six entries made with Godot and four with Unity. That engine split is the organizer’s listing, not a separate inspection of the projects. The announcement links to both play pages and source code, and describes all ten as free to play. Check each linked page for current access; the announcement does not independently confirm that every build remains playable now.
What the ranking does not establish
The announcement does not give individual ratings, review totals, audience demographics, or detailed scoring rules. It supports calling these the participant-ranked top ten highest-rated overall entries, but not claiming precise score differences, a particular judging formula, or an independent jury’s verdict.
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