Welcome to the Hackathon! Below are the official rules and event structure. Please read them carefully to ensure a fair and competitive environment for all participants.

• Duration: Approximately 5 hours
• Kickoff: The event will begin with an opening session to review the rules and introduce the challenge topic.
• Objective: Teams will build upon a provided project skeleton to complete a specific programming task. Final submissions will be evaluated against each other to determine the winning team. Note: The topic and technical requirements will only be revealed at the start of the event. This is to ensure a level playing field for all participants and prevent pre-event preparation.

• Minimum Team Size: 2 participants
• Maximum Team Size: 4 participants
• Registration fee: R40 per team member
• Teams must be formed and registered prior to the start of the event.

• All teams will receive a common starter codebase in multiple programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, and C#).
• Teams may select any of the supported languages, but must build on the provided skeleton without rewriting core infrastructure.
• Customization and logic implementation must follow the format defined in the starter materials.  

To promote fairness while enabling efficient onboarding:

• Internet access (including AI models, forums, and search engines) is permitted only during the first 45 minutes of programming time.
• Physical resources (books, printed notes, etc.) are permitted throughout the event, but must be brought at the start--no new physical materials may be introduced during the event.

• Accessing any online resources, including:
• -AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, etc.)
• Web searches, documentation sites, and forums
• -Use of locally hosted or offline AI/LLM tools (e.g., Ollama, LM Studio)
• -Installing or importing external libraries not explicitly included in the starter code

Violations of these rules may result in disqualification.

• Each team must submit their completed solution before the final deadline announced during the event.
• Solutions will be evaluated against a consistent set of tests or challenges to determine performance and compliance.
• The top-performing submission will determine the winning team. Additional awards may be granted at the organizers' discretion.  

• All work must be completed during the event. Pre-written code, prior projects, or third-party templates are not allowed.
• Teams must work independently--collaboration across teams is prohibited.
• All participants are expected to uphold the spirit of the competition: respectful, honest, and team-focused behavior is required at all times.

• A laptop with your preferred development environment installed
• Any physical reference materials you wish to use
• Chargers, adapters, and anything else you may need for a productive session

We're excited to see your creativity and problem-solving skills in action. The challenge will be revealed at the start--come ready to think, build, and compete! Good luck to all teams!

Color-changing cards have been customized for the hackathon; standard 'Wild' cards have been replaced or modified.

• 76 number cards (0–9)
• 24 action cards (Skip, Reverse, +2)
• 8 Wild cards (Change Color, +4)

• Each color (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow) has one "0" card and two of each number from 1–9.
• Number cards can only be placed on another card of the same color or number.

• Each color has two Skip cards.
• Skip cards can only be placed on another Skip card or any card of the same color.
• Skip cards cause the next player in rotation to forfeit their turn.

• Each color has two Reverse cards.
• Reverse cards can only be placed on another Reverse card or any card of the same color.
• Reverse cards reverse the direction of play.

• Each color has two +2 cards.
• +2 cards can only be placed on another +2 card or any card of the same color.
• +2 cards cause the next player in rotation to pick up 2 cards and forfeit their turn.

• There are four Color Change cards in the deck.
• Color Change cards can be placed on any card.
• Any card of any color can be played ontop of the color change card.
• This card is a replacement for the standard uno Color Change card, instead of having the original player chose the color; the next player in the sequence may play a card of any color ontop of this card.

• There are four +4 cards in the deck.
• +4 cards can be placed on any card.
• +4 cards cause the next player in rotation to pick up 4 cards and forfeit their turn.
• +4 cards allows the next player to play (after the one who forfeited their turn and drew 4) to play any card of any color ontop.

• Each player receives seven random cards.
• Remaining cards are placed face-down on the table.
• The top card is flipped to start the discard pile.

• Players take turns matching a card from their hand to the top card of the discard pile.
• If a player has no playable card, they must draw one card from the draw pile.
• Players may NOT play a card immedietly after drawing a card (pick and play).

• The first player with no cards left wins.
• Wild cards may be played at any time (within their rules) to alter the game.