Last week I taught my kids the terminal. This week we had our first family hackathon.

The challenge: One hour. Build a game. Present to the judge.

TUSHMAN FAMILY HACKATHON — RESULTS
# Hacker Project Status
1 Son Game TBD WINNER
2 Dad Game TBD SHIPPED
* Judge: Mom. Bias level: suspected but unproven.

My son won. Though I question the bias of the judge (my wife).

const canvas = doc
ument.getElement
ById('game');
let ctx = canvas.
getContext('2d');
{ building... }
Workstation A
Late night hacking
function draw() {
requestAnimatio
nFrame(draw);
update();
render();
[ game.exe ]
Workstation B
Still hacking...

The Bug That Finally Bit

I've been coding for decades. I remember the exact moment I got bitten by the bug (I also built a game using BASIC on my IBM PC). For years I've tried to pass that spark to my kids — classes, apps, games. Nothing really stuck.

But it sure clicked this time.

After he won the first round, I expected them to move on. Instead, they kept hacking. For hours. Building. Iterating. Creating, long after I went to bed.

I really encourage y'all to try this too. It's important.

I want to hear from you: Has anyone else done something like this with their family? What worked? What didn't?

The Setup

Specifically what I installed on each of their machines (Macs):

setup.sh — family hackathon starter kit
# A better terminal
$ brew install --cask iterm2
# The main event
$ brew install claude-code
# Package manager (if you don't have it)
$ /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
# Make the terminal look cool
$ brew install starship
# Window management (optional but nice)
$ brew install --cask rectangle

Do not be intimidated by this. Claude will help — and if not Claude — I personally will help. Just ask.