> From: "Avri Klemer" <avri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Just one thing to point out - in leaving out the info boxes, some of games > are left without directions as to the number of players supported. Yeah, I kinda noticed that after the fact, but I figured that the overview and/or setup sections of each game are clear enough to remove any doubts or confusion. If anyone is experiencing trouble setting up to play some game, let me know and I'll try to update the PDF with player numbers or anything else that is documented only in the InfoBox. > To date I have personally played 3 of the 8 entries, and have loved all 3. Well, I've played three and read them all and I think I already know my personal rankings, based on the style of game play that I most enjoy. No spoilers for now, but I have noticed a few things: * There are three "build the board" positioning games (Geo, Pylon, Subdiv). * There are two Martian Coasters "move and kill" games (MCC, Zamboni). * There is one each of "abstract board" (Trip) and "standard board" (PSoc) games. * There is one "pure dexterity" game (Moon). That's a good spread of play styles, but not a huge spread (most are "conventional" board games--NOT a criticism, just an observation). That's why I am sort of hoping that the Autumn IGDC will be design-restricted, somehow, to get folks thinking out of the box. So here's the question: We really want to do a Martian Coasters design requirement, to get many more games supporting that product and driving its sales up (*cough* Xeno MC *cough*). But MCs are, basically, funky boards for funky board games; what "outside the box" styles could they support, I wonder; will we have very little variation between submissions? Perhaps a different requirement would be better. I think of Iron Chef principles (and Iron Game Design Competition themes) which tend to pick one or two "concepts" or abstract notions or even just words, which must be a part of the design (i.e. "flavor" or "theme"). In the absence of a given mechanical requirement (a board type, dice, whatever), a themed contest should spark lateral thinking and wonky ideas. As an example exercise for the reader: "Dark, Porcupine, Galaxy, Waterfall: pick at least one." Now what kind of mad ideas are bubbling already? Anyhow, this is all being pondered on the wiki's IGDC Talk page, to try to get things worked out before fall. http://www.icehousegames.org/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Ice_Game_Design_Competition David