Jamzo Team

Why Your Game Jam Thumbnail Matters (And How to Make a Good One)

Your game's cover image on the Jamzo listing is your marketing. A blurry, uncropped screenshot will get ignored by players and judges alike.

Spend 20 minutes designing a bold, high-contrast thumbnail with a clear, readable logo. Look at other thumbnails on different platforms - what do thumbnails that catch your eye do differently? Can you spot any common themes from the ones that you don't want to click?

Thumbnail Design Tips

Keep it Crisp: Ensure your thumbnail matches the recommended dimensions of the platform (often a 16:9 ratio or specific sizes like 630x500). Scaling up a tiny image will make it blurry.
High Contrast: The title of your game should pop against the background. Use contrasting colors or add a drop shadow/stroke to your text to ensure it's readable even when the thumbnail is scaled down on a mobile screen.
Show the Gameplay (Briefly): While a cool logo is great, incorporating a piece of the main character or a recognizable element from your game helps set expectations.

Typography Rules

Don't Use Too Much Text: Your thumbnail should only contain the title of your game. Do not put your team name, the jam name, or a description on the thumbnail. It will become unreadable when scaled down.
Use a Display Font: For the title, use a thick, bold "display" font rather than a thin, elegant serif font.

Beyond the Thumbnail: GIFs and Videos

While the thumbnail gets them to click, the content on your game page gets them to play.

Use GIFs: Instead of static screenshots, record a 3-second GIF of your coolest mechanic using a tool like ScreenToGif or LICEcap. A moving image instantly communicates the "feel" of your game.
Keep it Short: Don't upload a 5-minute gameplay video. A snappy 15-second trailer or a few well-placed GIFs are far more effective.

Free Design Tools

You don't need expensive software to make a great cover image.

Canva: Excellent for quickly throwing together text and images with pre-made templates.
Figma: While built for UI/UX, Figma is an incredible, free vector graphics tool perfect for laying out thumbnails.
Photopea: A free browser-based image editor that works almost exactly like Photoshop.

A great thumbnail promises a great experience. Don't let a fantastic game go unplayed because of a MS Paint cover image.

Thumbnail Design Tips

Keep it Crisp: Ensure your thumbnail matches the recommended dimensions of the platform (often a 16:9 ratio or specific sizes like 630x500). Scaling up a tiny image will make it blurry.

High Contrast: The title of your game should pop against the background. Use contrasting colors or add a drop shadow/stroke to your text to ensure it's readable even when the thumbnail is scaled down on a mobile screen.

Show the Gameplay (Briefly): While a cool logo is great, incorporating a piece of the main character or a recognizable element from your game helps set expectations.

Typography Rules

Don't Use Too Much Text: Your thumbnail should only contain the title of your game. Do not put your team name, the jam name, or a description on the thumbnail. It will become unreadable when scaled down.

Use a Display Font: For the title, use a thick, bold "display" font rather than a thin, elegant serif font.

Beyond the Thumbnail: GIFs and Videos

While the thumbnail gets them to click, the content on your game page gets them to play.

Use GIFs: Instead of static screenshots, record a 3-second GIF of your coolest mechanic using a tool like ScreenToGif or LICEcap. A moving image instantly communicates the "feel" of your game.

Keep it Short: Don't upload a 5-minute gameplay video. A snappy 15-second trailer or a few well-placed GIFs are far more effective.

Free Design Tools

You don't need expensive software to make a great cover image.

Canva: Excellent for quickly throwing together text and images with pre-made templates.

Figma: While built for UI/UX, Figma is an incredible, free vector graphics tool perfect for laying out thumbnails.

Photopea: A free browser-based image editor that works almost exactly like Photoshop.

A great thumbnail promises a great experience. Don't let a fantastic game go unplayed because of a MS Paint cover image.