Hammer Jam 2026 Guide: Discounts, Builder Math & Strategy
Hammer Jam cuts Home Village upgrade times and costs by 50% if 2026 follows 2025 rules. Put your builders on your longest upgrades before the event begins. Keep all your builders busy every day, and hold your League Medals.
Keep builders busy
Put spare loot in walls
Hold your medals
What Gets the 50% Cut (and What Does Not)
Items marked as Supercell's come from Supercell's 2025 announcement. All other details come from player tests and community reports.
Gets the cut
No discount
Check on day one
Supercell confirmed the Goblin Builder was available from 1 to 30 November in 2025. His fee of 40 gems per day is a community figure from the Fandom wiki.
Builder Potions or Hammer of Building
During the event, look at how many days are left on the upgrade.
With the Goblin Builder hired, the line moves to about 10 and a half days. Potions speed up all your builders at once, while a hammer finishes only one job.
Potions win unless the hero timer is over about 12 days (165 medals buys 5.5 Builder Potions).
Before, During, and the Last Day
Fill storages to capacity before launch. If Supercharges are excluded again, finish them before the event starts so they do not take up builder time during the half-price event.
Keep all builders working on long defensive upgrades. Put extra gold and elixir into walls whenever a builder finishes a job.
Start your longest remaining upgrades right before the event ends. Use any remaining Builder Potions while all builders are working.
Hammer Jam upgrade plan by Town Hall
Rank your upgrades by checking the days left on your upgrade screen. Longest timers give the biggest discount value.
Town Hall 3 to 11
Start with: Upgrade your offensive capacity first so you can farm loot easily. Assign builders to the longest defense jobs next.
During Hammer Jam: Keep all builders working without gaps, and dump spare gold and elixir into walls between upgrades.
Town Hall 12
Start with: Laboratory and Siege Workshop, followed by Clan Castle, Hero Hall, Army Camps, and Blacksmith.
Heroes: Keep Archer Queen, Barbarian King, and Grand Warden upgrading continuously throughout the event.
During Hammer Jam: Put builders on heavy defenses like Eagle Artillery and Inferno Towers first. Sink spare gold and elixir into walls.
TH12 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 13
Start with: Hero Hall to unlock Royal Champion, then Clan Castle, Army Camps, and Laboratory.
Heroes: Keep Royal Champion and Archer Queen upgrading back-to-back all through the event.
During Hammer Jam: Target Scattershots and Giga Inferno before lighter towers. Dump excess elixir and gold into walls.
TH13 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 14
Start with: Pet House to unlock L.A.S.S.I and Unicorn, alongside Laboratory and Clan Castle.
Heroes: Keep Royal Champion and Grand Warden upgrading every single day.
During Hammer Jam: Prioritize weaponizing Builder Huts and Eagle Artillery. Spend surplus gold on walls before locking in the next job.
TH14 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 15
Start with: Monolith, Blacksmith, Laboratory, Clan Castle, and Spell Tower.
Heroes: Keep Archer Queen and Royal Champion upgrading non-stop, and advance Pet House for Phoenix.
During Hammer Jam: Prioritize Monolith and Spell Towers for maximum time savings. Dump leftover resources into walls.
TH15 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 16
Start with: Multi-Archer Tower and Ricochet Cannon merges, then Laboratory and Blacksmith.
Heroes: Keep Archer Queen and Royal Champion busy, while advancing Spirit Fox in Pet House.
During Hammer Jam: Prioritize merged defenses and Monolith over standard point defenses. Invest leftover gold into walls.
TH16 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 17
Start with: Helper Hut for Lab Assistant, followed by Laboratory, Hero Hall, Clan Castle, and Firespitter.
Heroes: Dedicate dark elixir to keeping Dragon Duke upgrading throughout the entire event.
During Hammer Jam: Push merged defenses to Level 3 before smaller targets. Pour spare gold and elixir into walls between major timers.
TH17 upgrade guide →
Town Hall 18
Start with: Laboratory, Hero Hall, Clan Castle, Revenge Tower, and Super Wizard Tower merge.
Heroes: Keep Dragon Duke upgrading all event.
During Hammer Jam: Tackle signature defenses first. Route all surplus loot straight into walls.
Skip: If Supercharges and Crafted Defenses are excluded again, focus builders on core defenses.
TH18 upgrade guide →Three Things I'm Checking When the Event Starts
Three details need quick in-game checks on day one.
Upgrade Plans by Player Stage
Free-to-Play Players
Keep all six builders working on your longest defensive upgrades. Spend League Medals on Builder Potions rather than hammers. Dump extra resources into walls before starting each upgrade.
Gold Pass Holders
Your pass discount adds to Hammer Jam for roughly 60% off base timers and costs under Supercell's reworked pass system. Focus builders on your longest upgrades first to save the most total days. Advance core offensive capacity early if it is not maxed.
Near-Max Town Hall 18 Bases
Spend your resources on remaining walls. Walls get the 50% resource discount and take zero builder time. Save your League Medals and magic books for the next Town Hall release instead of burning them on short remaining timers. Supercell's calendar also lists a 'Last Town Hall 18 Challenge' for 9 to 16 November and 'TH19 Clash On & Creator Sneak Peeks' for 13 to 15 November. It does not give a release date for the next Town Hall.
Short History of Hammer Jam
Hammer Jam has run since at least 2018 (clash.ninja lists it). The format changed over time.
| Year | Dates | Discounts | Excluded | Bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 27 Nov to 11–12 Dec | 50% cost only | heroes (players report) | None found |
| 2024 | 8–25 Nov | 50% time and cost | — | 3x Collectors (players report) |
| 2025 | 1–17 Nov | 50% time and cost | Supercharges, Crafted Defenses | 2x Collectors, Ore meteors, 4x Star Bonus, Goblin helpers |
Earlier runs from clash.ninja: 2018 (before TH12), 2019 Winter Jam (TH13), 2020 (none), 2021 (TH14), and 2022 (TH15). Past events ended right before the next Town Hall release.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Hammer Jam 2026 start and end?
Hammer Jam runs 1 to 16 November 2026, according to Supercell's November season calendar. The calendar gives dates only, so the discount and exclusions are still based on the 2025 rules until the event card confirms them.
What does the Hammer Jam discount cover?
Supercell's 2025 post confirmed a 50% cut on Home Village building times and costs, excluding Supercharges and Crafted Defenses. Players report walls get the 50% cost cut, while traps were included in earlier runs. See the discount table.
Do heroes and pets get the discount?
Supercell omitted heroes from its 2025 post, but players reported they were included in 2024 and 2025. Check the event card on day one to confirm hero and pet timers. See the day-one checks.
Should I buy Builder Potions or a Hammer of Building?
Four Builder Potions save more time than a hammer on any upgrade under 9 days during the event. Use a hammer only if an upgrade exceeds 9 days. See the potion versus hammer math.
Does the Gold Pass builder boost stack with Hammer Jam?
Players report the Gold Pass builder discount stacks on top of Hammer Jam, yielding roughly 60% total savings. See the day-one checks.
Is the Goblin Builder worth it during Hammer Jam?
Yes, if you have spare gems to support the 40 gems per day fee. He adds an extra active builder while upgrade timers are cut in half. See the Goblin Builder notes.
Does Hammer Jam change Hero Equipment upgrades?
No. Equipment upgrades in the Blacksmith consume Ore with zero build time, so Hammer Jam does not discount them. See the discount table.
What happens to running upgrades when Hammer Jam ends?
Any upgrade started before the event finishes keeps its 50% reduced timer after the event ends. Start your longest upgrades right before the final cutoff. See the event checklist.
How the Numbers Work
One Builder Potion (10x speed for 1 hour) saves 9 hours per active builder. With six builders busy, one potion saves 54 builder-hours across your village. With seven builders, it saves 63 builder-hours.
| Setup | Medals | Hours Saved | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Builder Potions (6 builders) | 120 medals | 216 builder-hours | Removes 9 days of total upgrade waiting |
| 4 Builder Potions (+ Goblin Builder) | 120 medals | 252 builder-hours | Removes 10.5 days of total upgrade waiting |
| 1 Hammer of Building | 120 medals | Skips 1 upgrade timer | Beats potions only if single upgrade timer exceeds 9 days |
| Hammer of Fighting or Spells | 120 medals | 138 lab-hours | If a Research Potion costs 20 medals, which one source says and I have not verified. Beats hammer unless lab research exceeds 5.75 days. |
EXAMPLE: A defense takes 14 days (336 hours) normally. In Hammer Jam, its timer is 7 days (168 hours). A hammer skips 168 hours. Four Builder Potions remove 216 builder-hours across six busy builders. Four potions remove 48 more hours of waiting than the hammer skips.
The rules marked as Supercell's come from its 2025 post. Everything else is from player reports until I check it myself on day one.