Looney Labs Icehouse Mailing list Archive

["James Hazelton" <jameshazelton@xxxxxxxxx>]

I know I'm a bit late to the party on this topic--busy week--but I wanted to reiterate my preference on theme. As much as I like the idea of themed contests, many games entered in these competitions will have been designed specifically for it. Don't we want people playing the games we already have out there?

That's why I think we should have two competitions in one. Two separate but simultaneous contests--Open Division and Themed Division. This would allow all the games that have been building up for the last year or two to compete, as well as make room for a new era in the Competition with the addition of themes. It would be a little extra work on everyone's part, but as long as we're setting up the voting infrastructure anyway, it won't be that much of a hassle. Some things would need to be hammered out, of course. For instance, I think it's fair to say that a single game couldn't be entered in both divisions, but could an individual have a game for each division?

Further, my idea for this years theme would be Treehouse. Not single-stash Treehouse, and not 3HOUSE. Just Treehouse. Any game that obviously has the new Treehouse sales format in mind can complete in this Themed Division. Single-tube Treehouse games can enter, as can any game that uses a set number of Treehouse sets (nHOUSE). Using the Treehouse die is also encouraged. I think we all agree that Treehouse should be the subject of the first theme, but is it necessary to restrict it to a certain number of stashes?

Well, that's my two cents. I'm glad we're talking about this again. I don't have any games to enter, but I look forward to being a part of the playing and voting process!