Submission for the GMTK Game Jam 2026. Theme is: Countdown.

Instructions: At the beginning of each round, read the quota and click to start the round. Click and drag aliens and robots in or out of the red waiting bay to fulfill the quota within the time limit.. Get three strikes, and you're out.

You are an employee at a space-based airline with strict quotas and stricter time limits. You must match the quota each round by loading the exact amount of requested passengers into the waiting bay: load too few and the company will punish you for inefficiency, load too many and the company's frighteningly flimsy rockets will buckle under the extra weight. Your strange customer base aren't very cooperative, so you'll have to catch them, drag them, and make sure there aren't too many hogging up the waiting bay. But be warned: you aren't told how many passengers are in the waiting bay, so you'll have to count them all yourself!

How this game fits the theme: The game's harsh timer serves as a countdown to launch.  Additionally, you're challenged to count out your passengers as you load them into the waiting bay. In the rounds where there are too many passengers in the waiting bay and you need to take some out, you're tasked with literally counting down. 

Creative inspiration: The concept is pretty similar to the minigame 'Sort or 'Splode' from Super Mario 64 DS. The fast-paced, repeating rounds were partially inspired by Wario Ware's microgames, as well as the gameplay of many Game & Watch games. The segmented screen layout was mainly inspired by the screen layout of Papers Please.

Some other stuff: This is my first time finishing a game project after a few attempts at various game engines. Recently I started learning to use GameMaker, which was what I ended up using for this game. But overall, I'm still pretty inexperienced, so forgive the amateur-ish presentation and design. Things I wanted to include but were ultimately cut due to time constraints include: a currency system, which you would collect by clicking on randomly spawning coins and could spend to use special powerups; an animation that plays after each round depicting a rocket being loaded with the passengers and blasting off (or exploding if you failed to meet the quota); and at least one more passenger type. But overall I'm proud of this result and hope you enjoy the game for what it's worth.