I'm in for my 10th Ludum Dare. Double digits! I'll be using my custom C++ game library and a variety of other tools, depending on what kind of game I make.

I've learned a lot over the previous nine LDs. Here are some tips for those of you who may be new to game jams:

• Get enough sleep. My first time participating, I only slept 6 hours during the 48 hour compo. I was basically useless the following week and I'm certain my productivity over the weekend also suffered. There's an intense time crunch with the jam, but don't let your body suffer. Get up from the computer occasionally and rest your eyes as well.

• Make sure you eat well. Don't load up on sugar and caffeine. Eat healthy and keep your mind sharp.

• Spend some time brainstorming once the theme is announced. The theme is going to suck. It always does. Don't let that stop you, but also don't settle on the first idea you have. Think outside the box.

• Once you've settled on an idea, lower your scope. Then lower it again. The weekend will fly by and you won't get nearly as much done as you'd like. The smaller your scope is, the more likely you'll have something to submit at the end. If you do end up having extra time, you can add additional features and polish.

• Get your gameplay mechanics implemented as fast as you can. Once your gameplay is there, you have something you can submit. That takes a lot of pressure off. You can then spend the rest of the jam improving and polishing.

• Stick to tools you know. There's nothing more frustrating than spending two or three of your 48/72 hours trying to figure out why this one particular thing isn't working the way you think it should. Experimenting with game mechanics is great and encouraged, but not new tools. Make sure your existing tools are ready to go and use what you're comfortable with. If you do decide to try new tools, accept that you may end up not submitting a game at the end of the contest.

• Aim for a game that can be played to completion in 5 or 10 minutes. Most people won't play for longer than that anyway, and if your game is short, more people will see all of it. Also err on the side of being too easy vs being too hard, again, to maximize the amount of your game people will be able to play and see.

• At the end of the contest, be sure to play and rate games. Give other people good, quality feedback and many will return the favor. Be honest in your review, but be kind. I always try to lead my review with something I like about the game before giving some constructive criticism if I see areas of improvement. You need at least 20 ratings to get ranked at the end of the judging period, and you'll get those by rating other games.

• Most importantly, have fun! Game jams are for learning, fueling creativity and having fun. If you're too stressed out and not enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.

Good luck and have fun everybody!