Season Zero · the build challenge · one page, every link

Build Challenge
Kit.

What could you build that brings people together? One question, all season. Two tracks, two $300 prizes, and pitch day is the last event. This page is the one stop: read the rules, get the tools, know how to submit, show up on the dates. Bookmark it.

Track one

GM Spaces Track

Build for or with the platform. Rooms, drops, doors, the live map.

$300 Visa gift card · one winner, solo or team

Track two

Custom Track

Bring your own creation. Any stack. Anything that brings people together.

$300 Visa gift card · one winner, solo or team

Oct 29

Cocktails with CarlSelected builders get 90 seconds with the room: what you're making, what you need. Post your idea as a drop to get picked.

Nov 19

Coding with Carl · Pitch dayTwo lanes by day, then Demo Day. Five minutes to show, three for questions. The community votes in the app.

Deadline

Before voting opensYour submission is a drop in your room. It must be live before Demo Day voting opens on Nov 19.

01Read the rules

Twenty minutes with the manual and you know exactly what wins.

The Field ManualThe whole challenge: question, tracks, lanes, submission, judging, prizes, FAQ. Start here.gmcarl.xyz/season0/docs Season 0The three checkpoints, the sponsor wall, tickets and the Season Pass.gmcarl.xyz/season0 The calendarEvery date and deadline, with a subscribe link so nothing sneaks up on you.gmcarl.xyz/season0/calendar

02Get the tools

Five minutes to a room of your own. Everything on the GM Spaces Track starts here; Custom Track builders should still set up a room, because that is where you submit.

GM SpacesWalk in, set up your room, put your pin on the map. The app is the venue and the ballot box.app.gmcarl.xyz gm-codeThe language a room is written in. Design your own room, for real.app.gmcarl.xyz/gmcode gm-code docsEvery door, drop and poll, with the exact syntax.app.gmcarl.xyz/test/docs.html gm-code playgroundType it, see the room render, save the .gmcode file or write it back to your room.app.gmcarl.xyz/test/play.html gm-spaces SKILL.mdDrop this file into your AI agent and it knows how GM Spaces works. Build with it, not around it.gmcarl.xyz/skills/gm-spaces/SKILL.md The skills libraryThe real files the studio runs on. Clone one, make it yours.gmcarl.xyz/skills

03Submit

No forms, no portals. Your submission is a drop the team captain publishes from their room. Live before voting opens, one submission, one track.

Submit without writing codeNot a coder, or your project isn't a room? This is how you enter in your own words.gmcarl.xyz/season0/submit gm-submission SKILL.mdGive this to your agent and it writes the submission drop in the shape the judges read.gmcarl.xyz/skills/gm-submission/SKILL.md

04Get sharper before November

You already know the work. Teach your agent to do it, then build faster than you think you can.

Skill Lab · Wed Sep 30, 6 to 7pm CTOne hour, online, free, small. Bring one job you do by hand, leave with a skill file. Laptop required.gmcarl.xyz/workshop SKILL.md 101 on YouTubeThe Friday series. Every episode is a real file and the scar that made it.youtube.com/@gm-carl

05Show up

Show up to all three and your receipts are the Season Zero Pass.

Cocktails with Carl · Thu Oct 29 · 7 to 9pmHaven Cafe. Meet collaborators, mentors and Milwaukee business owners. 90-second previews.Grab a seat Coding with Carl · Thu Nov 19 · 7 to 9pmHaven Cafe. Build day, then Demo Day. Pitch, vote, prizes from the stage.Grab a seat Season Pass · $30All three events, seat held, drink menu included at each.gmcarl.xyz/supporters

06Ask

One door. Reply to any GM! Carl email or write me@gmcarl.xyz. Carl reads it. Questions before Demo Day get answered before Demo Day.

ChecklistReady for Nov 19

Read the Field Manual once, all the way through.
Set up your room at app.gmcarl.xyz and put your pin on the map.
Pick a track. GM Spaces or Custom. One submission, one track.
Post your idea as a drop in October so you can be picked for 90 seconds at Cocktails.
Build. Solo or with a team. Your work stays yours.
Publish the submission drop before Demo Day voting opens.
Bring five minutes of demo and three minutes of answers.

Read the Field Manual →

© 2026 GM! Carl Studio (Aaron “Carl” Lewis), Milwaukee. The Build Challenge Kit is released under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: share it, adapt it for your city, credit “GM! Carl Studio, gmcarl.xyz/season0/build,” keep it non-commercial, same terms on what you change.
Not covered: GM! Carl, the GM! lockup, Season Zero and the “with Carl” event names are trademarks of GM! Carl Studio. Hosting one under the name takes a host agreement: me@gmcarl.xyz.

Prize pool by Red Foundry and Obsrvr · Venue Haven Cafe · Drink partner OnlyLemon
GM! Carl · Milwaukee · gmcarl.xyz/season0

Build ChallengeKit.