Before the seasons had numbers
A boss could steal from the prizes. A team entry could take zeroth place. Five finalists could all finish equal. BB ran five contests in 2025, before the three MetaL seasons of 2026.
There were earlier challenges too. In July 2021, the First Cert Competition asked builders to improve bad code and submit a GitHub Gist. The winning code and winner were announced on 20 July.
SmartBot: one third place was not enough
The SmartBot Development Contest opened on 17 January 2025. After an extension, submissions closed on 9 February: six entries, four valid projects.
On 10 February, Opinion Reward SmartBot took $200 and BB Trivia SmartBot took $130. The organizer found the remaining work too closely matched for a single third place, so both received $70. The main awards totalled $470.
The next day, the first- and second-place bots were announced in the Store.
The Evil Hedgehog versus an entry form
January’s side quest introduced a forest hedgehog transformed by forbidden berries. Its attack took $5 from each of the top three prizes and added the stolen $15 to its own bounty. BB later restored the main prizes and raised them further.
On 1 February, the Evil Hedgehog was declared defeated. The hidden task was to be first to fill in the competition entry form. The winner earned the separate $35 boss reward.
The boss was one of four completed SmartBot side quests. Together they awarded $55: $10 for a first bug report, $5 for a lottery, $5 for first help and $35 for the boss.
WebApp: Drop Blast takes first
The Bot WebApp Development Contest opened on 19 February, with submissions due on 10 March. Results followed on 15 March: Drop Blast won with 101 points and $250. Second place received $150 at 91 points; HazexBB took third with 89 points and $100.
The announcement also offered $10 to each remaining participant. Store posts for Drop Blast and HazexBB followed on 17 and 18 March.
Refer & Earn finds a zeroth place
The Refer & Earn Bot Contest opened on 20 March and received eighteen entries by 15 April. Fifteen survived the intake review. On 20 April, the top three were awarded $300, $175 and $125, with scores of 64, 53 and 45.
Above them sat an unusual “zeroth place”: a BB Team version based on a submitted project, outside the competition and without a prize.
Another entry missed the judging deadline but reached the Store on 27 April.
Around BB: ten videos, ten rewards
The Around BB video contest opened on 15 April. By 1 May, it had ten submissions.
The 7 May results gave $75 to first place, $12.50 each to four second-place entries and $5 each to the remaining five. The organizer confirmed that all $150 had been paid. Every submitted video landed in an award group.
GuideBot: five equal finalists
GuideBot opened on 16 July, with submissions due on 15 August. Nine submissions became five valid finalists.
The jury found their work too closely matched to choose a clear leader. On 17 August, it replaced the planned top-three split with five equal $60 awards and confirmed the transfers—eight days before the originally announced results date.
Four projects from the contests
These four entries went from the 2025 contest results to Store announcements:
- Opinion Reward SmartBot — SmartBot Contest, first place.
- BB Trivia SmartBot — SmartBot Contest, second place.
- Drop Blast — WebApp Contest, first place.
- HazexBB — WebApp Contest, third place.
The rewards add up
Across the BB archive, the documented dollar rewards now add up to at least $3,660. The five contests of 2025 account for $2,020 in main and podium awards. Three MetaL seasons add $1,375. Completed side quests and the monitor reward add another $265.
This is a minimum from 2025–2026 final results and completed quests, not a full payment audit. Some results state awards before transfers; others explicitly confirm payment. WebApp bonuses without a complete count, two Season 1 random prizes with unknown amounts, and earlier BB points are left out. Announced budgets do not count as completed awards.
| Group | Amount |
|---|---|
| Five BB contests · 2025 | $2,020 |
| Three MetaL seasons · 2026 | $1,375 |
| Side quests & the monitor reward | $265 |
