From Hackathon Winner to Fully On-Chain Pioneer – How Lewis Built Supersize
For many builders, hackathons are more than just competitions—they can be a launchpad for ideas to turn into real, successful projects.
Case in point: Lewis Arnsten, co-founder of Supersize, a fully on-chain, real-money casual game that is powered by MagicBlock to create fast, seamless multiplayer experiences.
Before winning the Gaming Track at Colosseum, Lewis had a rough prototype and a vision. A few weeks later, he had validation, momentum, and early users testing his game.
If you're considering joining a hackathon, Lewis' story is proof that it's worth taking the leap.
Also…In case you missed it, we have just announced the Real-Time Hackathon, here to bring your big idea to life.
From Idea to Winning a Hackathon
Lewis' journey into fully on-chain gaming wasn't a straight path. He had been experimenting with on-chain mechanics for a while, frustrated by the limitations of centralized servers in multiplayer games.
"I thought it would be cool to make Agar.io where you could just wager money, and when you ate, you could eat free money and take people's money. I thought it was a cool idea."
But turning that cool idea into a real, scalable game required a foundation that could support real-time transactions and trustless wagering. Lewis explored different blockchain solutions before settling on Solana and MagicBlock's ephemeral rollups, which provided the low latency and composability he needed.By the time Colosseum rolled around, Lewis had an MVP running on Devnet but needed a space to test, refine, and prove the concept.
"I had an MVP but hadn't launched on mainnet yet. It was just on devnet… I think I got it onto mainnet right around the time the hackathon ended, and I had a bunch of early users running tests."
Colosseum gave him the structure to focus, the pressure to ship, and the right audience to validate his idea.
The Hackathon Winning Formula: What Made Supersize Stand Out?
Winning a hackathon isn't just about building something cool—it's about presenting a technically sound, clearly differentiated project with long-term potential.
For Supersize, the key factors were:- ✅ A working prototype – Even though it wasn't perfect, it was live, interactive, and showed the core mechanics.- ✅ Clear innovation – It wasn't just a game; it was one of Solana's first fully on-chain, real-money multiplayer games.- ✅ Strong storytelling – Lewis backed his technical execution with a clear thesis on why fully on-chain gaming mattered and how it could scale.
"We won the gaming track… I think it was a mix of proving our engineering capability, having a real-time fully on-chain game that worked, and having a clear thesis on how we wanted to monetize these casual games."
Lewis' Tips for Hackathon Success
Having been through multiple hackathons, Lewis has a few key takeaways for anyone thinking about joining one:
- Start Before the Hackathon
"I knew what I wanted to build before it started… I already had the foundations, so I could focus on refining it rather than starting from scratch." While many people start their projects during the hackathon, having an idea and some early progress can give you an edge. Even if you don't have working code, thinking through your concept beforehand helps you move faster once the competition begins.
- Have a Prototype People Can Use
"When the judges came to test it, everything worked, and it was the first real-time fully on-chain game. That helped a lot." A working prototype is 10x more compelling than just an idea. Even if your project is rough, buggy, or incomplete, showing that it works in some form goes a long way.
- Tell a Compelling Story
"A lot of teams were building fully autonomous worlds, but we had a different approach. We showed why casual, real-money games make sense on-chain."
Judges and potential supporters aren't just looking at the tech—they want to see the why behind your project. What problem are you solving? Why does your approach matter? How could it scale beyond the hackathon?
- Use Hackathons to Build Relationships
"I found my co-founder after the hackathon, and that's been huge."
Winning is great, but one of the biggest benefits of hackathons is the network you build. Whether it's meeting potential co-founders, getting feedback from experienced builders, or connecting with investors, hackathons can open doors far beyond the competition itself.
Thinking About Joining a Hackathon? Here's Why You Should
If you've been thinking about building something, a hackathon is one of the best ways to test your idea, push yourself to ship, and get honest feedback.
"I feel like I was kind of lucky because I started early and knew exactly what I wanted to build… but the biggest thing was just putting it out there and seeing how people responded."
Hackathons aren't just about prizes. They're about validation, momentum, and opportunities.
If you want an opportunity to bring your game idea to life, check out MagicBlock's Real-Time Hackathon.The gaming track is designed to help builders explore real-time multiplayer mechanics, low-latency transactions, and fully on-chain game economies.
It's also the perfect lead-up to Colosseum—giving you a chance to test ideas, refine your project, and enter Solana's biggest hackathon with a head start.
