Night of Code 2027: the 11 ᵉ Edition of the Programming Marathon is launched

Last updated on 30 September 2026

Have you spotted a range of two or three hours in your spring schedule and the desire to have your students coded for real, not just with a closed exercise on a notebook? This is exactly the niche that is aimed at the Night of Code 2027, the programming marathon, which brings together tens of thousands of French-speaking students each year around a single challenge: make a video game in a handful of hours.

The 11 ᵉ edition, for the school year 2026-2027, has just opened its registration.

What is the Night of the Code in practice?

The principle is in one sentence: teams of two or three students have six hours (less for the youngest) to designing and coding a complete video game, based on a game universe provided on the same day. No note to revise, no programme to complete, just a creative challenge, with sets, characters and music already ready, and the obligation to manage as a team so that all this becomes playable before the end of the time.

The event is open to all French schools, both in France and abroad, as well as to French-speaking schools around the world. There is no limit on the number of students enrolled, and registration is free of charge. It has been run since its creation by the Lycée Français International de Tokyo, with the support of volunteer IT teachers.

What it really works in class, beyond video games

One could stop at the nice image of students making a game, but what is played behind it is more concrete for a teacher. By manipulating loops, variables and conditions in Scratch or Python, students touch on algorithmics without realising it, exactly what the digital skills of the common core and, later, the Pix certification items aim for.

Debugging is also part of the game: when the character crosses the walls instead of stopping, it is necessary to look for why, test, start again. This is a much more formative form of error than a mistake highlighted in red on a copy.

And then there is teamwork, which is not just a marketing argument here : with two or three people under time pressure, roles must quickly be divided up, one on the character’s movements, the other on points or obstacles, otherwise nothing will end. For a class that struggles to collaborate without it being everyone-for-it-yourself, the urgency of time sometimes has more effect than a long speech about working in a group.

A 10 ᵉ edition that broke all its records, before giving way to the following

The 2026 edition, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the operation, ended with figures that gave rise to vertigo for an event organised almost on a voluntary basis: more than 600 registered schools, more than 15,000 participating students, spread over 400 cities and some 60 countries. I took a look at the games of the final selection published on the official website, and the level of some productions, especially on the high school side in Python, is surprising for a project completed in a single session.

Six categories, from CM1 to post-bac

The organisation does not change from one edition to another, which is rather reassuring when you discover the event. Students are divided into six categories, depending on their level and the tool they use:

• scratch (block programming, visual and intuitive): CM1-6ᵉ, 5ᵉ-3ᵉ, and high school
• Python, with the Pyxel game engine: NSI Première, NSI Terminale, and post-bac

This distribution makes it one of the few events of this type accessible from primary school. For a class of CM1 that has never touched Scratch, the block format avoids the pitfall of the code that blocks everything because a comma is missing, which is also worth a look on the side of allophone students or students in difficulty with writing: Here, we manipulate visual blocks before manipulating text.

Night of Code 2026-2027: the full calendar

Registration for this 11 ᵉ edition has been open since September 2026 and will remain open until the end of May 2027, via the official website nuitducode.net. Once registered, the institution has access to all the documents, resources, tutorials and materials needed to prepare and organise its Night of the Code, with the idea put forward by the organisers of minimising the workload of the person leading the project.

The preparation phase runs from January to May 2027: tutorials, videos, guides and discussion space between organisers are available, as well as game worlds accompanied by evaluation grids. There are two possible uses, and there is nothing to prevent them from doing both: use it for training sessions with students, or as internal selection topics if the school has more candidates than places available.

The heart of the event then takes place between the 2 May and 28 May 2027, each institution choosing its own date according to its resources and constraints. The game worlds, confidential, are transmitted 48 hours before the selected date. Establishments not aiming at international selection may postpone their session until 30 June.

A minimum level of logistics is still needed: enough computers (which is why some establishments have to organise a selection upstream), supervisors, and enough to feed everyone. The organisers also encourage groupings between nearby establishments where possible. The ‘Night of Code 2027’ selection will be announced in mid-June, with eight games selected per category by a jury of teachers.

How much does it cost, and what resources are provided?

Registration costs nothing. The actual budget depends on what each institution decides to add around: to my knowledge, the range announced by the organisation ranges from zero to a few dozen euros, mainly for catering if the event stretches in the evening. There is also nothing to stop families from being asked to bring something to snack on ….

On the resources side, everything is provided once registered: pedagogical sheets, video tutorials for students, training topics, presentation slideshows for families or colleagues, and a discussion space between organisers. No previous proficiency in Scratch or Python is required on the teacher’s side, a few discovery sessions are sufficient, the rest is done independently on D-Day. On the issue of data, registration is done at the school level and not per pupil per pupil, which immediately limits what is to be monitored on that side. Still, check the specific conditions when creating your organizer account, especially if you plan to publish the games made.

What pleases, what questions

What I like:

• Total gratuity and the absence of technical constraints on the teacher side
• Entry from CM1 thanks to Scratch, rare on this type of event
• The short format, one session, not a three-month project, which facilitates the organisation in an already busy schedule
• Full flexibility on date and time

What I like less:

• Six hours of intensive programming, even if distributed, require a real logistical mobilisation (room, supervisors, equipment) that not all schools have the means to release

Frequently Asked Questions about Code Night

Do I need an account for each student?
No, no. Enrolment is at school level, not pupil by pupil.

Do you already have to know how to code to participate?
No, neither student side nor supervising teacher side. A few Scratch or Python discovery sessions are enough, all preparation materials are provided at registration.

Does the event really have to take place at night?
No, it is a legacy of the original name. Each establishment chooses its own niche: morning, afternoon or evening.

Is it accessible from primary school?
Yes, the Scratch CM1-6ᵉ category is designed for this level, with a visual programming interface without writing code.

What happens to the games created by the students?
Each school selects its champion teams, whose games are part of an international selection announced in mid-June by a jury of teachers.

Hard to find such a simple event to trigger to touch code to an entire class without spending a trimester of preparation. If the idea tempts you, direction the official website of the Night of the Code to register your institution. For the youngest people who do not fall into the categories of the competition, I had identified a list of tools to learn about code and programming, a good starting point before aiming for a future edition. And if you like the contest format, the Castor Computing Competition It remains another door, shorter and more individual, to computer thinking.