You can put the rules in - some of your suggestions are already standard in many hackathons, but I doubt it would make much of a difference.<p>Many hackathons are judged or attended by major investors, so the incentive to cheat is extraordinary. The last hackathon I went to there were several teams that clearly had everything lined up ahead of time and were there to pitch, and I doubt you can get rid of this without getting rid of the investors.<p>More than that, many hackathons pride themselves on being interesting for investors, so they&#x27;re incentivized to look the other way so that the presentations are as impressive&#x2F;fundable as possible.<p>I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;ll be going to another hackathon for a good long while - the combination of people who seem to have no interest in the spirit of hacking on stuff, and the incredibly toxic culture I saw (getting smashed, pounding back energy drinks, flying drones around annoying people, nerf gun fights through the hallways, it was like a goddamn freshman dorm but sweatier and somehow more childish), makes me completely not interested at all.