William & Mary's 6th Annual Hackathon

Hi! Welcome back! We're excited to bring Cypher online this April 9-11, 2021. It's a hackathon, so we'll be learning, making cool things, and having a lot of fun.

Check us out at cypher.cs.wm.edu! There you can register, find our Discord (for all the information you could ever need), find our livestreams, and more.

• Beginner-friendly, no code needed. We welcome hackers of all backgrounds, majors, experiences - you name it! If you've never coded before, we'll get you started! And new this year, we're accepting all kinds of projects, code or no code. If you've got ideas, we want to see them!
• Earth Hacks. The Earth Hacks Foundation partners with hackathons at colleges across the USA. At Earth Hacks events, hackers are challenged to generate innovative, actionable solutions to pressing environmental problems. At Cypher, Earth Hacks will provide an exciting array of workshops and challenges for people of all majors and backgrounds to learn from. The goal of Earth Hacks is to create an inclusive space for everyone to become hackers, and not just the STEM majors - because environmental problems are everyone’s problems.
• Williamsburg tech. Cypher is a uniquely local event. We've partnered with exciting local tech companies so you can learn from the best Williamsburg has to offer!

Check out our prizes! You could win a prize from our treasure chest:

• $25 of Netflix or Hulu
• three months of Discord Nitro
• three months of Spotify
• one year of Curiosity Stream
• your choice of Jackbox Party Pack
• Minecraft (on any platform!)
• five copies of Among Us (not a joke)
• a mechanical keyboard
• a laptop stand
• tickets to an audio escape room experience from Trapped Puzzle Rooms (must be taken as a team)
• Chromecast

Or, by winning one of our grand prizes, you could win a mega prize:

• your choice of three things from the treasure chest!
• a custom knit item (limit one)
• an Amazon Echo Dot
• a Google Chromecast with Google TV
• Nest Mini
• Stadia Controller
• a Raspberry Pi kit
• a Keychron K2 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard
  

Also, stay tuned for details on how you could win bonus stickers, free T-shirts, or even the right to be first in line for food at Cypher VII, coming in-person to Williamsburg, VA this fall!

$3,920 in prizes

• Effectiveness
  The project's usefulness to its intended audience. If your hack intends to solve a real-world problem, does it successfully address your users' needs? If it's silly, does it make us laugh? And so on.
• Ingenuity
  This incorporates creativity and originality. Projects with ingenuity are unique and solve a problem in a novel and effective way.
• Completeness
  How much did the team do with their time? Projects with completeness should be polished and fully functional.
• Expo Quality
  Was the expo demonstration thorough and convincing? Well presented projects are compelling and have complete demonstrations. Video quality not required, though!
• Complexity
  Was the project of a high technical difficulty? Projects with complexity are ambitious in their undertakings.
• Judges' Impressions
  Did the project stand out to you? What was your overall impression?