I gotta say that I really like this Jams as they push me to actually get a final product, and also force me to be creative with a theme I otherwise wouldn't have considered. I mean, I would have never considered making a reverse Tetris style game, and even if I had, I would have spent weeks working on a complete tile insertion algorithm, rather than a so-so one in one evening. In the end, the code looks like a train wreck (for my coding style, at least), but that doesn't matter because you created a game, or at the very least a game prototype. So I would definitely encourage anyone who can to participate in the Jams as it definitely teaches you a lot.
Also, Hapax and Ricky, do either of you plan on releasing your code? I only have access to a Mac, so I can't run the Windows builds, and so I'd like to try compiling them myself and see if I can get a Mac build going.
Finally, since it seems very difficult for many potential participants to make such a short deadline, maybe we should look into extending the Jam length? Personally I like the idea of having two deadlines, one after 3 days (like now), and then another one a week following that. This way, there's a good reason to make something playable quickly (so you have something to be submitted by the "Initial Release" deadline), but you still have time to add features and polish the game (or just finish it, if you were busy that weekend or otherwise couldn't participate) before the final deadline.