The house rules

What sort of game you can make for a mebobox — and the few things to leave out.

Make almost anything. A platformer, a puzzle, a racer, something nobody has thought of yet. These are the only limits, and they exist for one reason: somebody younger than you might play your game, and it should be a good afternoon for them too.

This page is about what your game is about. For the technical side — the files, the size, working offline — see what every game needs.

🎯 Make it for everyone

• Aim for ages 10 and up — roughly a PEGI 7 or an ESRB "Everyone 10+". If you'd be happy for a younger cousin to watch you play it, you're there.
• Cartoon peril, baddies, bumps, falls and cartoon-level violence: all fine. That's most games ever made — think a bonk on the head, a puff of smoke, a baddie who disappears. What isn't fine is when it stops looking cartoonish: blood, injuries, or anything that hurts to watch.

🚫 What to leave out

Nothing here is a trick question — if you're wondering whether something counts, it probably does, so leave it out.

• Nothing sexual, and no nudity.
• No gore or cruelty, and no realistic or drawn-out violence. Cartoon bonks are fine; blood is not.
• No swearing, hate speech, or content that puts a group of people down.
• Nothing pushing religion, politics, drugs, weapons, self-harm or anything illegal.
• No gambling — real money or pretend.
• Nothing designed to frighten or upset a younger player. A spooky level is fine; a jump-scare that makes a nine-year-old cry is not.
• No tricks or scams: nothing pretending to be something it isn't.

✏️ Make it yours

• Use your own work, or work you're allowed to use. Art, music, sound and code all count.
• Found something online you'd like to use? Check its licence says you can, and keep a note of where it came from. Plenty of people share things for free, on purpose. More about licences →
• Don't copy somebody else's game and call it yours. Being inspired by one is how every game gets made — that's different, and it's welcome.

🕵️ Nobody's watching the player

A mebobox is a box in somebody's living room, not a shop window. So:

• No adverts. None. Not a banner, not a sponsor, not "watch this to continue".
• Never collect anyone's information, or send anything about a player anywhere. Games run with no internet at all, so this is mostly taken care of — but don't try to work around it.

🤔 Not sure?

Ask before you build it. It's much nicer to hear "go for it" early than to have your game turned down after a fortnight's work. Every submission gets checked, and if something needs changing mebobox tells you exactly what, in plain words.