Vibeware

About

Vibeware is a free collection of frantic microgames, designed for phones first. Its pitch is that we are all secret experts at the tiny rituals of using a phone and the web, such as typing 4242 into a Stripe checkout, skipping ads, closing popups and swiping on dating apps. Vibeware turns those chores into split-second challenges in the style of Nintendo's WarioWare. The joke is that you play a scraping bot working through them, all to a deliberately annoying soundtrack. It is a fun five minutes for anyone who spends too long online, and a good example of a sharp idea carried by AI-assisted speed. It took second place, and $5,000, at the first Vibe Jam in 2025. Pieter Levels ran the jam, and entries had to have at least 80% of their code generated by AI. Maker Matt Gordon is known for playful internet projects such as MpTr.ee, which planted tens of thousands of trees through Spotify listening, and Bufferi.ng, a filter that fakes a bad Zoom connection. He built Vibeware in React with plain web APIs. He also included instructions you can paste into an LLM to generate and add your own microgames. Gordon has since said he expanded the concept into an iOS app called Training Data. Highlights: • Rapid-fire microgames based on everyday phone and web interactions • You play as a bot gathering "training data" by clearing each task • Mobile-first touch controls that also work on desktop • Escalating speed in the WarioWare tradition • Intentionally ridiculous soundtrack • Built-in instructions for writing new microgames with an LLM Vibeware is free to play in mobile and desktop browsers, with no account, ads or purchases. Tap "Skip" on the opening screen to go straight into the games. The source code is not published.

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