Dragon.rentals is an innovative hackathon game designed for corporate team-building and employee upskilling. Teams compete to build and operate a fully functional dragon rental business, complete with a backend server and frontend website. The game compresses a full business year into one action-packed day, creating a high-pressure, collaborative environment that enhances skills and teamwork.
Teams must have at least one frontend or full-stack developer and one backend or full-stack developer. We recommend teams of 4-5 members for optimal collaboration and fun. Teams can include members from various roles including designers, managers, finance experts, and logistics coordinators—everyone's skillset can contribute to building a successful dragon rental empire.
Yes! Dragon.rentals supports in-person, hybrid, and fully remote participation. We've designed the experience to work seamlessly regardless of your team's location, ensuring that remote teams can participate just as effectively as co-located teams.
While we provide starter code in Node.js and recommend at least one team member familiar with Node.js, teams can use any programming language or framework they prefer. The game is designed to be flexible and accommodate different tech stacks.
The hackathon is designed as an 8-hour experience, simulating a full business year compressed into one day. This timeframe creates the perfect balance of urgency and achievement, pushing teams to work efficiently while still having time to build something impressive.
Each team starts with licenses, permits, infrastructure, startup capital, server access, proprietary tools for order processing, basic starter code, and a comprehensive handbook containing all the information needed to get started—including product types, attributes, seasonal variations, API documentation, and business mechanics.
All pricing tiers include the full 8-hour hackathon experience, complete turnkey setup (we handle all infrastructure and technical setup), and a staff facilitator to guide your team through the experience. Higher tiers include swag packages and prize packages for winning teams. See our pricing page for full details.
Teams will develop a wide range of skills including web development (frontend and backend), API integration, real-time communication, data processing, server management, UI/UX design, project management, financial optimization, logistics coordination (inventory management, resource tracking, seasonal planning), customer analytics, and collaborative problem-solving. The experience is designed to upskill employees across all roles with real-world applicable skills that translate directly to their work.
The live game dashboard uses real-time communication technology, showing live rankings, each company's current financial performance, operational metrics, the latest market news, and the current business time. This allows teams to track their progress against competitors and make strategic decisions based on real-time market intelligence. You'll see exactly where you stand and what's happening in the market as it unfolds.
Teams face complex, interconnected challenges: managing multiple product types with different characteristics and seasonal availability, tracking resource management systems, optimizing infrastructure costs, processing customer orders, matching inventory to customer preferences, analyzing demographics, optimizing operational efficiency, managing marketing campaigns, maintaining daily operational readiness, and making critical financial decisions. Every decision impacts your bottom line—this is real business complexity compressed into 8 hours.
Absolutely! While technical skills are important, the game is designed so that everyone can contribute. Designers, managers, finance experts, and logistics coordinators all have crucial roles to play. The game handbook provides all the information needed for non-technical team members to contribute meaningfully.
Getting started is easy! Simply contact us to discuss your team's needs and schedule. We'll handle all the setup and preparation, so you can focus on assembling your team and getting ready for an unforgettable experience.