The Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Challenge®

About the Competition

The Rube Goldberg Institute, in partnership with Epic Games, announces the Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Challenge®. This interactive 3D competition invites students to use their creativity to animate a virtual Rube Goldberg Machine in the digital world.

Create, record, and submit a video of your Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Machine that accomplishes the annual task. Prizes are outlined in the rulebook.

2026 Official Rulebook

Winners Livestream

How to Enter

FORM A TEAM: Teams consist of up to two members who must be within the same division. The Senior Division is ages 18 & older, and the Junior Division is ages 17 & under.
DESIGN & BUILD: Designs must incorporate a minimum of 12 steps, include each of the six simple machines at least once, and successfully complete the annual task.
SUBMIT: Please ensure the viewing privileges are set appropriately so that the judges can watch your entry.

Scoring Criteria

Entries are judged subjectively by a panel of Rube Goldberg and Unreal Engine experts. They are looking for a recognizable theme, entertaining presentation, utilization of Learning Kit assets, additional effects, use of simple machines, humor, and more.

The Build a Virtual Rube Goldberg Machine in Unreal Engine Learning Kit provides a student guide, lesson plans, and project files. Additionally, a catalog of live tutorials from the 2023 competition are available to help guide participants through each learning activity. Rewatch the 2023 livestreams here.

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Additional (FREE) Resources to Get Started

#1 - Build a Virtual Rube Goldberg Learning Kit

#2 -Tutorial for Downloading / Installing the Open the Box Assets

#3 - Cleverlike Rube Goldberg Resources

#4 - How to access Rube Goldberg Resources on the Intel Skills for Innovation Platform

Don't Have the Minimum Hardware Specifications Required?

Apply for Assistance HERE!

InspireTech provides a proprietary virtual machine solution powered by AWS that allows students to use their existing computer which may not have the minimum required hardware specifications to take part in the Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Competition. This solution requires the student's existing computer to be connected to the internet to participate in the Rube Goldberg Unreal Engine Competition.