Blogging the ENnies

Finally - my pick for the 2010 ENnies Judges' Award

2010-08-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

I had an extremely difficult time choosing my which one of the fantastic products we received to recognize with my Judges' Award, so in the end I went with the most important criteria I could think of - which one provided the most fun at my game table. To that end I've decided to recognize Fiasco from Bully Pulpit Games. It's extremely well written, and the kind of game that makes you want to stop reading and start playing. In my case, it took a group of people who barely knew each other and had us playing and laughing together for nearly 4 hours without any hesitation or awkwardness. I don't know that there is a better test for a roleplaying game.

Best Original Game

2010-07-17T13:36:00.004-06:00

So, I'll admit it. I'm vain enough to go back through and look at sites that link to my blog. Today that exploration led me through one forum and over to another, one that I used to frequent before I stopped surfing the web at work all night.

There I found an extremely interesting thread asking the question, "Are the ENnies Broken?" What I found interesting however wasn't the actual question (though I'd be glad to discuss the points raised if anyone really wants to), but the discussion that lead from it. Specifically on the appropriateness of a Best NEW Game or Best ORIGINAL Game category.

Bias up front: I'm a new category junkie. Seriously; I'd argue for a 'Best Book Apparently Written by 12th Century Monks' category provided enough entries of quality to justify nominating a stand-out product from amidst the pack.

I like categories. I like adding more slots to fill up with games that deserve a nomination for something they do better than anyone else. I like being able to judge products on specific merits and common features rather than nebulous overarching monster categories. Every year I argue for the inclusion of a new category or the reworking of an old one, and every once in a while, they stick.

That out of the way, I actually kind of like this idea. When I first read it my instinct was that it was unnecessary like maybe people feel that the products we nominate somehow aren't capable of standing up against the big name products. As a judge you look at the games you've put on those lists and think "I've read all these, compared them side by side, why would someone think one isn't just as good as the other?"

But that's coming at it from the wrong angle of course, and that's where the misunderstanding lies. I'm thinking like a judge;. I look at Best Rules or whatever, and in my opinion Hero deserves its place every bit as much as Wild Talents or Atomic Highway does. But I'm not thinking like a fan, or like someone who is looking at a list of winners for that matter.

You see, Hero is fantastic. It's really the best iteration of that game I've ever seen, and it deserves recognition for that. I stand firmly behind my vote to call it one of the best games of last year. Then again, I get to pick five, don't I? Not only that, I get to pick five I like for Best rules, Best Setting... Would I say the rules for Hero are absolutely better than BASH if I only got one choice? If they are, why?

From this perspective a Best Original award makes sense. Not because the games can't stand on their own, but to celebrate a different kind of common ground: The designer came up with something from scratch. Innovation should always be recognized, maybe above all else.

Now, new categories are at the discretion of ENnies management, and I wouldn't campaign on the promise that I'd add one, but I find the idea intriguing, and I'd definitely like to discuss it. As seen over the last few years, they've been trying hard to find the right categories to fit the right products, and I think that Tony, the new manager will be open to anything that would help to continue this improvement. To see proof of that you only have to look at this year's categories, a mixture of proven favorites, reworked existing awards, and yet another new one - Best Blog, to show their difference in focus and technology from traditional websites.

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That out of the way, let me go ahead and say that I'm going to post at least a couple more of these updates soon. I'd like to touch on some of the additional issues in that thread and general questions I've seen floating around, so I'll do a Q&A style post (probably tomorrow). I'd also like to touch on the article I had planned for today: "(What I used to call) The other 80%".

If you have anything you want to talk about please let me know. I stopped updating regularly because I flat out ran out of content. Three years of telling how I do this and why makes me feel like I've covered it all, like I have nothing left worth sharing. If I'm wrong, let me know.

As always, you can leave comments here, or I'll do my best to keep up my forum lurking, but the absolute best way to talk to me or see my thoughts is always on Twitter. I'm @motg.

Why your product doesn't suck

2010-07-16T13:57:00.007-06:00

This year, perhaps more than any other that I've been a part of, I've seen a great many publisher comments and questions. They're always polite, always good natured, and always reasonable. As someone who is sent a great many products at publisher expense every year, I can tell you they are always understandable as well.

Still, they usually come down to the same thing: "Why wasn't my product nominated." Publishers go through a lot of hassle to enter the awards, and with that hassle comes a not inconsiderable expense as well. This makes the question fairly natural.

So, here's my general answer:

If my little spreadsheet (see how we've come full circle? That's talent baby.) is to be believed, I received 301 entries for the awards this year. There are 20 award categories (now - the number has expanded as the awards have expended), each with six slots for recognition (counting Honorable Mentions); except for Product of the Year, which has 12. This year we also added five more slots to recognize great games, but we'll come back to that.

That's 126 slots available (131 if you'd rather count the Judges' Awards, which haven't been announced). By my count that means 60% - give or take a tad - will not see an award no matter how good they are. But of course there's far more to it.

Each category has 5 slots to fill with nominations. Your product isn't competing for 126 openings. You're competing 20 times for 5.

That's less than a 2% chance that you'll be recognized for anything.

So, if you don't get a nomination, does it mean that we didn't like your product, or that we think you need to change anything? No, it just means that 2% is a really small number, and there's not room for everything, no matter how much we like it.

I'm going to use Penny for My Thoughts as an example. I choose it because I'm familiar with the publisher and the author, and based on dealing with them in the past I trust them not to take my words the wrong way or find offense. The reason I have this trust is because it's come up with them in the past. Not that they questioned a nomination, but because my love of Don't Rest Your Head helped cost Spirit of the Century a much deserved nomination back in 2007. I've learned a lot since that first year, and it's a mistake I wouldn't make again, but their response to my admission was far more understanding than I deserved :)

So, Penny for My Thoughts was one of my favorite entries this year. I know it is because of those Judges' Awards. Each judge had to pick one game to give it to, and found myself torn between three, one of which was Penny. Its a fantastic game. It's well-written, fun, interesting, and different. Exactly the sort of thing I look for first in a nomination, and I couldn't recommend it more. Yet it didn't get a single nomination.

So, why is that?

Well, it's because it never quite seemed to make it. There's no doubting it's a good game, and worthy of recognition, but it always seemed to fall just short. Something always seemed to just edge it out. When it failed to make the final cut in Best Writing, the place I felt it best belonged, it became clear that the game, no matter how much I wanted it to, wasn't going to quite make it.

The fact disappoints me quite a lot, but I don't really think its the wrong choice. Finding a place to put it on the list means knocking out another game that deserves its place just as much.

Judges decide on nominations (at least in my experience) by mutual assent, not through arbitrary voting. If we don't all believe it needs to be on the list, it isn't, and by doing this we've created the most diverse list of nominations that I've seen in my time with the awards.

126 slots, 96 unique nominations. That's amazing to me, and I think it's a real testament to the work of the judges I worked with this year and the system we used. It's easy for one favorite product to completely dominate the awards, or for a handful to see nomination over and over again in a dozen categories. It's harder, and in my opinion better, for the judges to look at every product and honestly recognized their individual strengths in each category, rather than see a single much-loved product and nominate it over and over again until something sticks.

The downside of this, of course, is than many products that were really exceptional only received one - or a small handful - of nominations. That doesn't mean that the dominating products from previous years were better with their larger number of nominations, but is rather a reflection of the judges' dedication to putting the right product in the right place, and of the exceptional number of truly outstanding products that we received this year.

I want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to do this again this year, it's been quite an honor, and it's something I enjoy more than I can say. I hope this does something to explain why good games don't make the list. Choosing these games - making sure the right games make it into the right place - is harder than it seems. It's disappointing to see good games go without the recognition they deserve, as much to us as to the fans of the games that don't make it. As often as not, we're fans ourselves.

I think great strides are being made toward spreading the love around, and have absolute confidence that the awards' new leadership and new judges will be able to make use of all these new tools we've begun using to continue that trend. The Judges' Awards themselves are a great representation of this; a chance for each judge to pick just one thing that didn't quite make it, that they wish had.

I can't wait until they're announced so I can talk about them more.

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Just to head off the questions, no - Penny wasn't my Judges' Award. I'm not allowed to say what that is until the ceremony. For that I was forced into a tie breaker, and I chose the game I had the most fun with in actual play. Sadly I didn't get a chance to playtest Penny, but the guys who taught me [my Judges' Pick] made it one of the best times I've had playing a game the entire year. Maybe it was the group, maybe it was the game facilitating the fun, but I had a blast, and I had to put my award where I found the fun first-hand.

I love spread sheets

2010-07-16T12:31:00.002-06:00

No, seriously, I do. This is going to be all over the place, but bear with me please.

My first year as an ENnies judge I wrote down all on my thoughts about books on post-it notes and littered my books with them. I created stacks of "yes", "no", and "maybe". I printed up sheets with the names of every book and every category and used different colored highlighters to show which ones I had read, liked, and needed to revisit. Finally I broke down and used lined paper with a category name at the top and went through each book one by one and wrote its name on the paper with the category I thought it belonged in.

Somehow it actually worked, and it worked well. I'm proud of the lists we produced that year, and I'm proud of the work I did to make it happen. I'm a closer you see. I listen and I discuss, but in the end, as time winds down the part of me that was a small business owner, the part that handled sales, marketing, and operations all by myself for 12 years kicks in. At that point I organize, gather everyone's opinion, then push through to consensus.

In 2007 we used a message board for that. Each award had its own thread, and each judge published their lists for what would be in the category. I then went through an organized them into a single list, ranked in order of what games had appeared the most on various lists. From that point discussion resumed with a focus on explaining our choices and wheeling and dealing our way to consensus.

In 2009 I updated my personal process to the use of a spreadsheet and everything got better. It was faster, easier to read, and I didn't have to look through the same books over and over again to compare my thoughts. I listed each book in one column, then created columns for every award category. As I read each book I scored it with a number in every column, followed by commentary on why it got that score. If the book didn't qualify I highlighted it red and ranked it "0". Books that had no chance got orange and a "1". A "2" was yellow and indicated a good quality submission that was lees than likely to make the final cut. "3" was green, and often the hardest category; these are books that deserved recognition in the area, but not instant winners. Finally there was "4"; I tried to be very stingy with these, 2 or three at most in every category. They were the books I read, and knew had to make the short list.

When time came to discuss what was getting the award I simply sorted each column by score, then compared the notes that followed until I had narrowed my choices to a reasonable number. this worked extremely well, and I still use it to help me narrow down my own thoughts. Then again, I still have my highlighters and paper too, so maybe I'm just old-fashioned.

The point of this whole thing is that this year we moved EVERYTHING to spreadsheets. Thanks to the easy and ubiquity of Google Docs we were able to make a spreadsheet with a column listing every category, and another for each judge. If a judge wanted to discuss a product for possible nomination he or she would add it under the appropriate category and then start an email (through Google Groups of course) discussing the product, what he/she liked about it, and asking for thoughts of the others. At the end this turned into emails about each category, and each judge went in and put an "X" in their column next to any products they supported.

These weren't votes precisely, more an idea of where each judge stood - a starting point for discussion. From there we talked at length in each category's email, while adding and taking away "X"'s on the spreadsheet.

I think that this system is the best we've ever used. There was no last minute scramble, no going-along to get-along; we came up with a solid list determined by mutual assent.

Did everything that deserved an award make it on to the list? No. That'll never happen. But I am firmly of the mind that everything that is on the list deserves to be there.

This method gave us the most diverse group of nominations I've ever seen in the awards, and I'm proud of it.

So, why waste so much of your time going over a long list of the "hows" of judging? I know it doesn't much effect anyone who is not a judge, but it lays the groundwork for my next post: "Why your product doesn't suck."

Do me a favor. Go vote for me before you read that one, okay?

Climbing back on the stump

2010-07-16T08:33:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, for the last several years I have participated as a judge for the Ennie Awards. The ENnies – an annual award seeking to recognize the best in games and gaming – are held in August each year, and I have once again been nominated to serve as a judge.

This is an elected position however, and the judges are chosen from among the nominees in an online vote between August 16th and 25th. I'd appreciate it a great deal if you would go to the awards' web site (http://www.ennie-awards.com/voting/judgesballot.asp), and cast a vote for me and a couple of my friends! The election uses a Single Transferable Vote system, which means you must numerically rank the candidates, and margins tend to be in the tens, rather than hundreds, so every vote counts.

Please, take less than 60 seconds to vote, remembering the the number "1" denotes your top choice, going down to "5", the total number of judges that can be elected. If you have no preferred candidates of your own, I suggest the following:
1. Jeramy Ware
2. Tracey Michienzi
3. Kennon Bauman

4. Matthew Maddoux
5. Christopher W. Richeson

Voting has just opened, and I know the site can be hard to connect with right now, but I'd appreciate your persistence, as this is something I really enjoy doing. Thank you for your time.

2010 Nominations

2010-07-09T09:07:00.001-06:00

Best Adventure

* The Grinding Gear (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)
* Pathfinder AP #31: Stolen Land (Paizo Publishing)
* A Song of Ice and Fire: Peril at King’s Landing (Green Ronin)
* Trail of Cthulhu: The Armitage Files (Pelgrane Press)
* WFRP: The Gathering Storm (Fantasy Flight Games)
* HM: Trail of Cthulhu: Shadows over Filmland (Pelgrane Press)

Best Aid or Accessory

* Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards (Longtooth Studios)
* Campaign Coins (King of the Castle Games & Paizo Publishing)
* Gaming Paper (Gaming Paper)
* Hero Lab v3.6 (Lone Wolf Development)
* Pathfinder GM Screen (Paizo Publishing)
* HM: A Song of Ice and Fire Narrator’s Kit (Green Ronin)

Best Art, Cover

* Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)
* Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
* Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
* Trail of Cthulhu: Rough Magicks (Pelgrane Press)
* WFRP: The Gathering Storm (Fantasy Flight Games)
* HM: Star Wars: The Unknown Regions (Wizards of the Coast)

Best Art, Interior

* Escape from Tentacle City (Willow Palecek)
* Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)
* Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
* Shadowrun – 20th Anniversary Ed. (Catalyst Game Labs)
* Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)
* HM: Hero 6th Edition (Hero Games)

Best Blog

* Critical Hits
* Gnome Stew
* Kobold Quarterly
* NewbieDM.com
* One Geek to Another
* HM: Sarah Darkmagic

Best Cartography

* Aces and Eights: Judas Crossing (Kenzer & Company)
* Dungeon of Terror Virtual Box Set (0one Games)
* Maps of Mastery: Swamp Caves (Maps of Mastery)
* Pathfinder City Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)
* Revenge of the Giants (Wizards of the Coast)
* HM: Death Frost Doom (Lamentation of the Flame Princess)

Best Electronic Book

* The Great City Player’s Guide (0one Games)
* Heroes of the Jade Oath BETA (Rite Publishing)
* To Kill Or Not To Kill (Rite Publishing)
* Pathfinder Society Scenario #29: The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats (Paizo Publishing)
* Shambles (A Terrible Idea)
* HM: Fey Folio: The Unseelie Court (Alluria Publishing)

Best Free Product

* Advanced Players Guide Playtest (Paizo Publishing)
* Combat Advantage #15 (Emerald Press)
* Lady Blackbird (one.seven Design)
* Warriors Adventure Game (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
* Wayfinder #1 (Paizo Fans United)
* HM: Hexographer (Inkwell Ideas)

Best Game

* Dragon Age: Set 1 (Green Ronin)
* Hero 6th Edition (Hero Games)
* Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)
* Shadowrun – 20th Anniversary Ed. (Catalyst Game Labs)
* Wild Talents 2nd Edition (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* HM: Labyrinth Lord (Goblinoid Games)

Best Miniature Product

* Alkemy Minis (Kraken Editions)
* D&D Minis (Wizards of the Coast)
* Fortress of Redemption (Games Workshop)
* Gaming Paper (Gaming Paper)
* Maps of Mastery: Swamp Caves (Maps of Mastery)
* HM: Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards (Longtooth Studios)

Best Monster/Adversary

* Aces and Eights: Rustlers & Townsfolk (Kenzer and Company)
* Hellfrost Bestiary (Cubicle 7 & Triple Ace Games)
* Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
* Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing)
* Supernatural: Guide to the Hunted (Margaret Weis Productions)
* HM: Fey Folio: The Unseelie Court (Alluria Publishing)

Best Podcast

* All Games Considered
* Atomic Array
* NewbieDM.com Minicast
* Open Design
* Power Source
* HM: The Gamer’s Haven Podcast

Best Production Values

* Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)
* Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)
* Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
* Shadowrun – 20th Anniversary Ed. (Catalyst Game Labs)
* Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)
* HM: Mysteries of the Hollow Earth (Exile Game Studio)

Best Regalia

* Battletech: 25 Years of Art and Fiction (Catalyst Game Labs)
* Buried Tales of Pine Box, Texas (12 to Midnight)
* Cthulhu 101 (Atomic Overmind Press)
* Grind (Privateer Press)
* Three Dragon Ante: Emperor’s Gambit (Wizards of the Coast)
* HM: Best of All Flesh (Elder Signs Press)

Best Rules

* Atomic Highway (Cubicle 7 & Radioactive Ape Designs)
* BASH Ultimate Edition (Basic Action Games)
* Diaspora (VSCA)
* Hero 6th Edition (Hero Games)
* Wild Talents 2nd Edition (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* HM: Earthdawn 3rd Edition, Player’s Guide (RedBrick LLC)

Best Setting

* Day After Ragnarok (Atomic Overmind Press)
* Goblin Markets (White Wolf Publishing)
* Kerberos Club (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* Judge Dredd (Mongoose Publishing)
* Rome: Life and Death of the Republic (Cubicle 7 & Alephtar Games)
* HM: Shadowrun: Seattle 2072 (Catylst Game Labs)

Best Supplement

* Lucha Libre Hero (Hero Games)
* Mysteries of the Hollow Earth (Exile Game Studio)
* Nobis: The City-States (Pantheon Press)
* Player’s Handbook 3 (Wizards of the Coast)
* Rebellion Era Campaign Guide (Wizards of the Coast)
* HM: Cthulhutech: Damnation View (WildFire)

Best Website

* d20PFSRD.com
* Epic Words
* Obsidian Portal
* Pathfinder Wiki
* Pen & Paper Games
* HM: Hexographer

Best Writing

* Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)
* FantasyCraft (Crafty Games)
* How We Came to Live Here (Galileo Games)
* Kerberos Club (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* Victoriana 2nd Edtion (Cubicle 7)
* HM: Colonial Gothic (Rogue Games)

Product of the Year

* Doctor Who (Cubicle 7)
* Dragon Age: Set 1 (Green Ronin)
* Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)
* Geist the Sin-Eaters (White Wolf Publishing)
* Kerberos Club (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)
* Rome: Life and Death of the Republic (Cubicle 7 & Alephtar Games)
* Shadowrun – 20th Anniversary Ed. (Catalyst Game Labs)
* Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)
* Wild Talents 2nd Edition (Cubicle 7 & Arc Dream Publishing)
* HM: FantasyCraft (Crafty Games)
* HM: Savage Suzerain (Cubicle 7)

This year

2010-04-02T12:00:00.002-06:00

This is my third year participating as a judge for the awards, and it's been a ton of fun.

I'm not really sure why I feel that way. Maybe because it's been a slower, easier process, or maybe because I'm feeling pretty comfortable with it now.

2007 was my first year. All the other judges were very experienced, and they did a great job of showing me the ropes and leading me through it. It was an incredible successful year, with a ton of great products and a group that was really willing to listen to suggestions and ideas.

In 2009 I judged again, but that was only because Zachary Houghton withdrew and I always kind of felt like an outsider. Not because of anything anyone else did, but just because it was a different group than I had worked with before, and my excitement was tempered by the circumstances under which I received the job.

This year just feels like it's going fantastically. The judges did a whole lot of talking early on, which I think eased the transition and helped me to feel comfortable with them. Also, we really updated the tools we used for communication and tracking this year. Mostly thanks to google groups and documents I always feel like I can post what I need to and be sure that everyone is seeing and responding in a timely manner.

And of course there's the judges, who have been the real boon this year. I was a bit apprehensive after so many of the old guard left, leaving me as the most senior judge here. As I listed before I always felt a little separate from the others in previous years, and I certainly don't think I've done half the job of leading the way that those who taught me did, but still they really jumped right in and got down to work. Especially giving my own absence over the last couple months, it's left me humbled.

Anywho, there's not much point to my rambling I guess, just some thoughts that were on my mind that I figured I'd share. I'll try to give the next post some sort of value or at least meaning, I swear.

So yeah...

2010-03-29T12:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, it's been a really long time, like six months long, but I haven't forgotten about my responsibilities. There are a lot of good reasons why i haven't been around much, but they're not really going to be of interest to those who read here. Really it comes down to a lack of time, a lack of anything interesting to say, and some changes in the procedures for releasing information which turned me off to the process for a while.

Those who voted for me did so because I try to post my thoughts though, and I do think it's important. Also, I really appreciate those who've made it possible for me to do this job, which I love.

So, what's going on?

As anyone who cares has likely seen, there have been a lot of changes to the awards. Entry forms have migrated online, the business manager is in the process of moving control over to Tony Law, who has done a wonderful job getting things moving, and the process for submitting electronic entries has changed considerably.

For my part I've completed the side project that was occupying my time, and have begun the process of building back to an acceptable amount of feedback. To aid in this I am now writing posts in advance so that I don't run into the stumbling blocks that cause me to lose initiative on keeping this blog up to date.

I'll still write timely posts on what I'm up to, but I can at least promise two posts a week, because I've already started writing them.

Thank you so much for you patience. As always, feel free to ask any questions you might have, and look for me on Twitter where I've been posting my thoughts and entries regularly.

As for my list of entries, My last post is current for now, and I'll update the list as more items arrive.

Thanks again for all the support.

The current list

2010-03-26T11:01:00.000-06:00

Since the ENnies have their own blog this year the list on the site has been very well maintained, but I still like doing it, and I like people seeing what I actually have in hand, so I'm going to continue my online list.

Everything I've gotten is listed below, and I'll update this list as new products arrive.

Acheson Creations

Cluster of Wooden Barrels, 28mm (resin miniatures)

AEG

aethereal FORGE

Anansi Games

Terror Thirteen: A Horror RPG

Basic Action Games

Basic Action Super Heroes: Ultimate Edition

Battlefield Press

Gaslight Victorian Fantasy (Savage Worlds)

Blogs

Box Ninja

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars – Insignia (Sergeant and Brigadier)

Cellar Games

Chronica Feudalis

Chimera Creative

44: A Game of Automatic Fear

CMON Miniatures

Army Brat

Crafty Games

Fantasy Craft

d20PFSRD

Pathfinder SRD

Dagon Industries

Mythos Chips

Dark Age Miniatures

Outcast Manhunter

Dig a Thousand Holes Publishing

Time & Temp – Unbound Edition

Dragon Roots

Dragon Roots Magazine, #3

Expeditious Retreat Press

Gaming Paper

Gaming Paper

Gamer’s Rule

Dungeon Deck: Quests

Green Ronin

Habitual Indolence

Masterplan Adventure Design Studio

Hero Games

Imagination Sweatshop

MonkeyDome

Inkwell Ideas

Hexographer Map Making Software

Kenzer & Co.

Hackmaster Basic

Kraken Editions

Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Margaret Weis Productions

Supernatural RPG

Mongoose Publishing

Judge Dredd

Obsidian Portal

Obsidian Portal

Paizo Fans United

Wayfinder #1 (OGL)

Pantheon Press

Nobis: The City-States

Pelgrane Press

Pen & Paper Games

Pen & Paper Games

Podcasts

Pirate Jenny

Role Playing Girl Magazine, August 2009

Radioactive Ape Designs

Atomic Highway – Post Apocalyptic Roleplaying

Red Brick

Earthdawn 3rd Edition, Player’s Guide

Rogue Games

Shard Studios

Shard RPG Basic Compendium

Skirmisher Publishing, LLC

Sight Unseen: A Script for Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition

Stardust Publications

Dark Aeons: The Atlantean Chronicles

Tangent Games

Gem Cards

A Terrible Idea

Shambles

Tracy & Curtis Hickman

X-Treme Dungeon Mastery

Vigilance Press

Wargames 1: Superhuman Threats of the Cold War

VSCA Publishing

Diaspora

Wells Expeditions

Arcane Legions

Willow Palecek

Escape from Tentacle City

Zeitgeist Games

Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor

The new year begins early

2009-08-20T12:18:00.003-06:00

I know I've been basically silent since I started GenCon preparations, but I wanted to post and let people know that I haven't stopped working on the stuff I promised last year just because the new year has begun. I've just been trying to catch up on everything since I got home Monday.

In the mean time, I need to say thank you again to everyone who supported me this year, and voted for me in the elections. I've gotten a chance to talk to a few of the other judges online already, and it's going to be a great year.

I've also talked to Denise and Tony, and I think a lot of people are going to be happy with some stuff that's going on behind the scenes. As soon as it's finalized and announced I'll get on here to discuss it. Of the most immediate importance is the fact that, in answer to some complaints that it was awfully hard to find this place and see what has been submitted, the ENnies site will now be maintaining an official list there. I'll still post my stuff here as I get it, but I'm not particularly great at getting it done in a timely manner, and I've made mistakes, so for the official list it's best to look there.

Now for the fun stuff. My shipment from GenCon came in today. Unfortunately I had to leave before it was ready, but all the hard working people who don't get enough credit (like Denise, Tony, and Hans) shipped it out to me right away.

So here's what I got in:

Cluster of Wooden Barrels - Acheson Creations
Legend of the Five Rings: Death at Koten - AEG
Ultimate Toolbox - AEG
Terror Thirteen - Anansi Games
3:16 Insignias - Box Ninja
Army Brat - CMON Miniatures
Fantasy Craft - Crafty Games
Mythos Chips - Dagon Industries
Outcast Manhunter - Dark Age
Dragon Roots #3
Home for Wayward Minions - Expeditious Retreat Press
Lost Keys of Solitude - Expeditious Retreat Press
Dungeon Deck Quests - Gamers Rule
Gaming Paper
All In - Green Ronin
Mutants and Masterminds: Mecha and Manga - Green Ronin
Song of Ice and Fire Narrator's Kit - Green Ronin
True 20: The Lost Island - Green Ronin
Lucha Libre Hero - Hero Games
Thrilling Hero Adventures - Hero Games
X-Treme Dungeon Mastery - Hickman, Traci and Curtis
Monkey Dome - Imagination Sweatshop
Time and Temp Unbound Edition - Imagination Sweatshop
Hackmaster BAsic - Kenzer
Alkemy Aurlok Nation Starter Box - Kraken
Alkemy Khaliman Republic Starter add-on - Kraken
Supernatural - Margaret Weis Productions
Judge Dredd - Mongoose Publishing
Escape from Tentacle City - Palecek, Willow
Nobis: The City-States - Pantheon Press
Mutant City Blues - Pelgrane Press
Trail of Cthulhu: Rough Magics - Pelgrane Press
Shadows Over Filmland - Pelgran Press
Earthdawn Player's Guide - Redbrick
Colonial Gothic - Rogue Games
Thousand Suns: Foundation Transmission - Rogue Games
Shard RPG - Shard Studios
RPGirl - Shield and Cecent Press
Sight Unseen - Skirmisher
Gem Cards - Tangent Games
Arcane Legions Starter - Wells
Blackmoor - Zeitgeist Games

ENnies results

2009-08-18T08:54:00.002-06:00

So, I'm absolutely certain that everyone who care to knows who the winners of the ENnies were by this point, but I didn't bring my laptop, so I wasn't able to post earlier.

Best Cover Art

Gold: CthulhuTech, Catalyst Game Labs

Silver: Pathfinder #19: Howl of the Carrion King, Paizo Publishing

Best Interior Art

Gold: Dark Heresy, Fantasy Flight Games

Silver: Mouse Guard, Kinoichi / Archaia Studio Press

Best Cartography

Gold: Pathfinder Chronicles Second Darkness Map Folio, Paizo Publishing

Silver: Star Wars: Scum and Villainy, Wizards of the Coast

Best Writing

Gold: Kobold Quarterly, Open Design

Silver: Don't Lose Your Mind, Evil Hat Productions

Best Production Values

Gold: Dark Heresy, Fantasy Flight Games

Silver: Mouse Guard, Kinoichi / Archaia Studios Press

Best Rules

Gold: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Players Handbook, Wizards of the Coast

Silver: A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Green Ronin Publishing

Best Adventure

Gold: Pathfinder #19: Howl of the Carrion King, Paizo Publishing

Silver: P1 King of the Trollhaunts Warrens, Wizards of the Coast

Best Monster Supplement

Gold: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Monster Manual, Wizards of the Coast

Silver: Dark Heresy Creatures Anathema, Fantasy Flight Games

Best Setting

Gold: Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, Paizo Publishing

Silver: Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, Atomic Sock Monkey / Evil Hat Productions

Best Supplement

Gold: CthulhuTech Vade Mecum, Catalyst Game Labs

Silver: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wizards of the Coast

Best Aid or Accessory

Gold: D&D Insider, Wizards of the Coast

Silver: Kobold Quarterly, Open Design

Best Miniatures

Gold: Game Mastery Flip-mat: Waterfront Tavern, Paizo Publishing

Silver: DU1 Halls of the Giant Kings Dungeon Tiles, Wizards of the Coast

Best Regalia

Gold: Battletech: The Corps, Catalyst Game Labs

Silver: Art of Exalted, White Wolf Publishing

Best Ebook

Gold: Collection of Horrors: Razor Kids, White Wolf Publishing

Silver: Tales of Zobek: An Anthology of Urban Adventures, Open Design

Best Free Product

Gold: Song of Ice and Fire Quickstart, Green Ronin Publishing

Silver: Swords and Wizardry, Mythmere Games

Best Website

Gold: Obsidian Portal

Silver: Kobold Quarterly

Best Podcast

Gold: All Games Considered

Silver: Order 66

Best Game

Gold: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, Wizards of the Coast

Silver: Dark Heresy, Fantasy Flight Games

Product of the Year

Gold: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Players Handbook, Wizards of the Coast

Silver: Mouse Guard, Kinoichi / Archaia Studios Press

Fan Award for Best Publisher:

Gold: Wizards of the Coast

Silver: Paizo Publishing

And the results of the 2010 ENnies Judges Election:

1. Justin 'Jay' Peters

2. Jeramy Ware

3. Mark W. Green

4. Christopher W. Richeson

5. Megan Robertson

Still a bit exhausted from my trip, so it'll be a bit before I have a chance to talk about the con and next year's ENnies, but I wanted to say thanks for the incredible outpouring of support I've received this year, and for giving me one more year to do this thing that I enjoy so much.

I know a ton of stuff was entered at Gencon, but unfortunately I wasn't able to wait any longer for it to be divided up, but I'll post as soon as it ships.

Thanks again, and a special thanks to everyone who took time out at the cone to say hi, or congratulate me. More than anything it's the people I meet there that make me come back.

Voting for 2010 ENnies judges is now live.

2009-08-02T15:52:00.002-06:00

I'm running again this year, and if you're of a mind I'd appreciate your support. Just go to http://www.ennie-awards.com/voting/jvoting.asp, put a '1' (or other appropriately low number if there's someone else you're voting for as well) by Jeramy Ware, and click 'submit'. It only takes a couple seconds, and I could use the help.

Thanks.

In which I blatently promote myself

2009-08-02T08:00:00.005-06:00

With the polls having closed on the nominees for the 2009 ENnie awards, I find that it's time to move on. By which I of course mean moving on the the selections fot 2010 ENnies judges. It's the first day of voting for this year's judges, and I thought I'd drop at least one quick plea for whatever support anyone may have to offer.

If you're here then I hope that you know who I am, and what I have to offer. I'm listed on the ballot as Jeramy Ware, and I have served as a judge twice, in 2007 and 2009. This blog has served as a chronicle of my efforts, and does a better job of describing my judging style and the sorts of things I look for in a product far better than I could in this space, so I'll skipp reitterating all the stuff that can be found in my questionairre from the ENnies site.

Most importantly I believe that the judging process should:

Be open and honest.
Serve the needs of the community anf the publishers and fans that support it.
Judge each product on its own merits, rather than against one another.
Take into consideration the thoughts and preferences of others.
Be receptive to questions and critisism.
Be responsive to those who take their time to offer input.

I hope that in my terms I have met those goals, and I promise to continue to strive toward those ends should I be elected again.

----

Because I'm not above asking for help in my campaigning, a few testimonials from those who have followed my work:

You're exactly the sort of judge that keeps me excited about the Ennies. - Rob Donoghue

We need more hard working, open folks like you who understand the value of blogs/podcasts in the Ennies. - Dave Chalker

"Honesty and dedication to transparent processing are just two of the attributes that make (MotG) a great candidate for ENnie judge." - Jess Hartley

You gave really good feedback and updates throughout the Ennie nomination, which I really appreciated. - Sean Nittner

I felt your process, in addition to being open and honest, and revolved around quality, not just personal opinion. - Meg McG

----

Thank you for your time and your support.

Best Regalia

2009-07-30T21:20:00.006-06:00

So, this is the category I hear more about than any other. Technically it's, "Awarded for the best product which, while it does not complement role playing game play, does enhance the lives of RP gamers." In practice, it's a bit of a 'catch-all' category for that stuff that deserves a nod, but doesn't really fit into the usual products that the awards try to represent.

This year it saw a lot of neat stuff, especially with the abolition of the Fan Products award. Unfortunately there were also several things that come right to mind as having been missed because of the lack of space and different nature of the award.

First, the actual nominees:

Devil's Due Publishing - Worlds of Dungeons and Dragons, volume 2

This is an excellent compilation of several Dungeons and Dragon comics that adds a face to some of the worlds and characters we've come to know from the system. The art is excellent, the writing is good, and it provides a nice contrast between worlds.

White Wolf - The Art of Exalted

There's no question the Exalted's art has a lot to do with its success. It illustrates exactly what to expect from the book, is often dynamic, and always well done. This book features some of the best works the system has showcased over the years.

Catalyst Game Labs - Battletech: The Corps

An absolutely fantastic primer into the world and intrigue behind the Battletech world. I know a lot of people think of the minis game when you first hear Battletech, not helped by the Mechwarrior game being co-opted for use in the video games, but these stories give a little insight into what can be done in this evocative setting.

White Wolf - Hunter: Deadly Play

One of my personal regrets about the ENnies is that they don't specifically cover board games. This is done on purpose, as it's important to the management that we keep our rpg focus, and probably for the best, but it would sure be fun :) We do however cover games with a roleplay focus in Regalia however, and that's where this one fits in. It's a quick, fun look at the world of hunter, that actually feels a bit like playing the game. It plays fast, and I think it might make a good 'mood-setter' while waiting for stragglers and last minute eaters before a game session.

Paizo Publishing - Planet Stories: Infernal Sorceress

This is an excellent piece of light fantasy, and classic Gygax in every way. The characters are fun, the writing is enjoyable, ad all in all in makes for a nice farewell to one of the forefathers of roleplaying.

Beyond just the nominees however there are several products that really deserve a special mention.

Innsmouth House - Lovecraftian Tales from the Table

This is a fantastic compilation of Call of Cthulhu files distributed on DVD that centers around audio recordings of two of the most famous scenarios in Call of Cthulhu's (and perhaps the hobby in general's) history. Listening to the Bradford Players as they make their way through these adventures bring you a little piece of the excitement, mystery, and fun. Beyond that however is a fantastic assortment of interviews, discussions, and even handouts from the games. This product is absolutely amazing, and it's a shame it didn't find a place on the final list.

Open Game Table - Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs

This books collects some of the best articles that RPG bloggers have to offer, and that's really saying something. It's a bit of an odd-duck, leading me to include it here, and maybe why it didn't get all the attention it deserved. It contains everything from system-specific game information to an absolutely amazing article about the formative history of modern roleplaying. This book is fantastic, and has a bit of something for everyone. Even if you don't check it out I can't encourage you to go read the excellent blogs it was based on enough.

Gold, the Series

If there was ever a series by gamers, for gamers, and about gamers, it is Gold. Clearly a labor of love, well designed, excellently produced, and fantastically written. The only look at gamer culture I've ever seen that doesn't just hit you over the head with the comedy. It's funny, but it's also touching and endearing. If you haven't seen it yet, I reccomend that you check it out, either online, or at the special screenings that are being held at GenCon on the 14th and 15th, and maybe meet some of the cast.

Exalted: Legacy of the Unconquered Sun

Like I said above, we don't get a lot of board games, but this one was definitely my favorite. Moreover, it actually makes for an excellent primer for the Exalted world. Like a lot of my favorite board games it doesn't just pit you against other players. It gives you a mission, and tells a bit of a story. The components are absolutely fantastic, and the board itself is a sturdy an beautiful copy of the map of the world of Exalted. I'm very impressed by this game, and what I hope it represents for the future of White Wolf's board game production.

Best Free Product commentary, part III

2009-07-29T22:20:00.005-06:00

As I said before, Free Products is one of the categories that suffered when we had to drop Best Fan
Product, and it really caused a lot of great stuff to get overlooked. There are a couple fan products in particular that jump to mind when I regret things that never found a home on the lists.

Dragonlance Nexus - Adlatum

For anyone who follows my Twitter (https://twitter.com/MotG) this probably won't come as a surprise, but I absolutely loved this product. Dragonlance is a gaming icon, and a bit of a shared experience for pretty much everyone from my generation of gamers. This PDF introduces a new 'third continent' to the world, and manages to keep the distinct flavor and feel of the world while introducing a whole new storyline. It's beautiful, well laid out, and well written.

When Autochthon Dreams

This neat little PDF is a compilation of dozens of cool new items for Exalted games. They're interesting, fun, and there's a ton of variety.

Best Free Product commentary, part II

2009-07-25T17:15:00.000-06:00

Given the combination of Best Free Product and Best Fan Product this year we were left with a wide variety of content, everything from complete games systems, to rich setting material, to previews of some really great new games. This gave us some really neat nominees, but unfortunately it meant that some products that deserve a nod never found room on the short list.

Obviously there's no way I'm going to cover every product in any given category, but sitting here a few weeks later there are a few that come easily to mind. First, the nominees:

Catalyst Game Labs - Battlerun

This fun little product is a bit of a guilty pleasure, and is obviously the result of an April Fools release that went way too far. It's pretty, and a fun read, and full of neat little call-backs that will be familiar to anyone who enjoys the Battletech and Shadowrun lines. Well written, extremely well produced, definitely worth the download and read.

White Wolf Publishing - Hunter Quickstarts: The Hunt and One Year Later

Obviously only The Hunt was nominated, but I feel like One Year Later could have just as easily been on the list, so I'm going to cover both here. It's no secret that White Wolf does a fantastic job with their quick start rules. For the last three years in a row their contributions have been nominated, and of course Hunter was no exception. Changeling (which won), Scion, and Mage (which took silver) have all been nominated in the past, and Hunter continues this Legacy with the inclusion of a couple really great mini-adventures, and a nice preview of what is, in my opinion, the most versatile and fun World of Darkness setting yet.

Green Ronin Publishing - Song of Ice and Fire Quickstart

There's no escaping the fact that SIFRP really hooked me this year, and this product is partially responsible for that. It was the first thing I read about the system, and the book that I passed around to my players when I was convincing them to play it with me. The adventure is quick and straightforward, but a nice introduction to the kinds of characters and rules you are most likely to see in the game. If you have any interest in this system or setting at all I recommend that you give the Quickstart a try.

Mythmere Games - Sword and Wizardry

I've heard it said that the hobby is going through an "old school renascence", and if you spend any time looking around at some of the great products being produced and distributed through non-standard means then you'll have a hard time denying it. Swords and Wizardry is the perfect example of this 'back to the basics' style philosophy. It's fun, it's familiar, and it's extremely well produced. Clearly the product of a lot of hard work and well-thought revision, if you have any interest in the 'old school' feel of RPGs you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you don't give S&W a look.

Imagination Sweatshop - Trial & Terror: Supernatural Victims Unit

This little 26 page game is another fantastic example of the kinds of interesting and innovative games being produced outside of the standard channels. It's an extremely approachable game that covers the kind of police/trial dramas that we've all seen on TV for decades, with it's own, fun twist. The kind of game you can pick up today and play this afternoon, I'm really glad this one made the list.

Now an apology. I hadn't intended to drag this out longer, bu work has been busy this week as a lot of stuff I've been putting off has begun to catch up with me. I hadn't intended for this to be three parts, but it looks like it's going to have to be, because I have to run in to the office real fast. Next up I'll cover a couple things that didn't make the nominee list as soon as I have a chance: Dragonlance Nexus Adelatum and When Autochron Dreams. If I'm missing anything someone would like a commentary on, please let me know.

Voting booth open

2009-07-24T18:51:00.001-06:00

Just thought I'd pop in and say:

Why I judge

2009-07-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

This is a little off topic, but as I look toward the nomination deadline for judging next year and think about whether or not I should try again it passes through my mind a lot. Iappologize if it goes a little off the track, or pushes back the other, more important stuff I'm working on, but I feel the need to get it out.

Please feel free to skip it. There's no great insight into the award, just my own ramblings and random thought process.

I judge first and foremost because I am a fan of the elements of roleplaying games. I love rules, I like mechanics that make me think, ones that solve problems in interesting or elegant ways, or ones that simplify overly-complex process. I love setting design. I love worlds that are interesting, unique, or that hook into me. I love to share that little piece of someone else's creativity, and maybe make it my own in some small way

I judge because I love being introduced to products and people I wouldn't otherwise see, and spreading them around to make sure everyone see what I've discovered. There's a certain, simple joy in introducing someone else to something cool. It's a little akin to having made the thing yourself.

I judge because I love the process. As much as I whine or complain about those nights sitting on the floor of my livingroom, surrounded by books, with a spreadsheet out, lists in hand, a pen and highlighter clenched between my teeth, and dozens of pages of notes scattered about, it feels absolutely amazzing. It's a sort of high, being completely in the zone like that.

I judge because I like the questions. I love being challanged on the reasons I chose what I did. I like discussing the process and what can be done to make it better. I love the immedaite and constant feedback, for better or worse.

I judge because I think I'm good at it. I don't know that there have ever been any major complaints over the choices I've made, but I stand behind them. I stand by my process, and I stand by the work that I do. I feel like I do my best to keep people informed, and I think I do it better than most who have come before. I have the time, I put in the effort, and I do my best to do it right. I feel like I have a lot to contribute, and I think I've done at least some good for the awards, for the people who submit, and for the public's perception in my time here.

I judge because I value the ability to contribute something to the hobby that has given me so much. I'm no great shakes as a writer, I'll never be the kind of guy who can put out consistant content for a blog or podcast, I don't have the drive or desire to publish anything myself. I feel like this way however, I have skills when I can point people toward places where they can find others that are the best at doing just that, and in that way, I have something to offer.

I judge because the arguments don't really bother me. The frustrating moments are fewer and further between than most acknowledge (and are more often than not built around real points). I feel like I'm less likely to take it personally. I know that opinions are not attacks, and most people will be calm and rational if you just listen, acknowledge their points, answer their questions, and stay calm and reasonable yourself.

Last, but not least, I judge because it is fun. No gaming geek could tell me that the idea of sitting around, surrounded by a mountain of the best products that rpgs have to offer and trying to figure out in which way, which one is the best.

Before product discussion begins...

2009-07-16T19:48:00.001-06:00

I know I said I’d finish my Free Products commentary today. I’m sorry to push it back, but as I was typing it a thought came up, and I felt it was important enough to take precedence. Sorry it pushes things back a bit.

Before I get started I wanted to thank everyone for all the helpful discussion and commentary over the last couple days, especially those here in the comments section of my own blog.

Now, to the actual topic:

Talking about individual products is always hard because it's impossible to cover everything. I really enjoy judging, but I'm no blogger or reviewer. Coming up with content is tough for me, and I don’t always have a huge amount to say about every single thing that I read. If I miss something you want to hear about let me know, it’s probably not because I disliked it or anything, most likely I just didn’t think about it.

Following the nominations announcements you can count on a few things: Some people are going to disagree and tell you what should be on the list. Some will pat you on the back and tell you what a good job you did. Some will find something important enough to them to argue about. Some will be disappointed that their pick didn’t make it, and wonder why.

The last one in the tough one. The others are easy enough. They can be chalked up to differences in taste or misunderstandings for the most part. Some are because of something that really does need to be looked at, and therefore can be far more valuable than the kudos.

That last one however? It sucks. It sucks because there isn’t always a good answer. It’s not like people throw their time and money away on a product that they don’t think has a good chance of winning. Therefore almost everything we get has some real value. In the probably 500 products I have reviewed for the ENnies I can probably count the number of actually “bad” products on my fingers.

No, most often the real answer is, “It didn’t make it because we only have five slots, and the five of us fight over them tooth and claw so the things that we want to see recognized.” It sucks, but it’s the truth.

Beyond that however, it breaks down even further. Roleplaying products are curious beasts, they come in different shapes, sizes, and varieties, and not only to our own individual tastes need to be sated, but the variety of different types of products needs to be considered. If you have a category that’s an amalgamation of products that are really different, but could be grouped on some similarity (read: almost every RPG product out there) you need to make sure that not only the absolute best is represented, but also the best of its type.

For example, if you have one cover with an amazing art piece on the cover, one where the cover is dominated by a fairly simple, but extremely attractive logo, and one with an embossed, textured cover, but maybe not an attractive hard-cover, I feel like they should all be represented if at all possible. Therefore you can’t just look at the five best books, but must make some attempt to show the best of the various types, even if they can’t be directly compared to one another well.

In their Origins Awards episode the Brilliant Gameologists touched on this with their “best of breed” analogy, and they do a far better job of explaining it, so I won’t go into details here, but I will steal their analogy.

What’s important here is that in every category there are only five possible winners, regardless of how many of the 260 or so products that we reviewed qualify. Those five slots must be broken down according to the various sub-types in each category, and then further sorted by each judge’s tastes. If there are five covers with absolutely amazing art, we must still at least consider the one that is just a fantastic logo. It may not always make it, but if it does then we only have one four slots left for those five amazing pieces. It doesn’t mean that fifth piece is any worse; it just means that something, somewhere, had to give.

I say this because I want to make sure that it is clear that just because something didn’t make the list it was somehow ‘rejected.’ Most likely we just didn’t have room for everything we love.

More often than not one or more of us comes out of each list just as disappointed that something we were rooting for didn’t make it as any other fan.

Like maybe a book whose cover is just an awesome logo.

Best Free Product commentary, part I

2009-07-15T08:21:00.006-06:00

I'll admit that I'm a little hesitant to jump right into this, but I think it's an important discussion, so I'm going to hope that it's best to start the dialog right away.

The biggest source of controversy with the ENnie awards comes from the disconnect between what people want/expect them to be and what they are. This year's debate over the appropriateness of allowing quick-start products into the category next to full RPGs is a perfect example.

You see, it's not a matter of allowing quick-start's to compete in the other RPGs' category, but rather allowing other RPGs into the category that was specifically made to cover things like quick-starts that is the problem.

Yeah, the full title of the award is Best Free Product or Web Enhancement.

Until this year it has always been a category designed to acknowledge all the extra stuff companies give away for their game lines. Of course quick-starts are done for promotion and advertisement, but they're still a service to their fans, and still products worth acknowledging. In addition to usually including a quicker, easier version of the rules, most include a sample adventure and some characters so people can get started playing right away. All in all they're generally a pretty neat package of gaming goodness.

So, to illustrate this I thought I'd do a little research. Here are last year's Free Product nominees:

Changeling Quickstart, White Wolf Publishing *Silver Winner*

Fire and Brimstone!, SammichCon Creations

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Alpha, Paizo *Gold Winner*

Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules, Catalyst Game Labs

Signs & Portents, Mongoose Publishing

Honorable Mention: Bits of Magicka, Tabletop Adventures

Two quick-starts and a playtest document.

2007:

Black Industries Web Site, Black Industries

6Guns: Lawmen- Earps and Mastersons, Dog House Rules

Nevermore Gazetteer, Expeditious Retreat Press

Classic Battletech Free Package, FanPro *Silver Winner*

Savage Tide Player's Guide, Paizo Publishing *Gold Winner*

Honorable Mention: Scion: Hero- Of Shadows Yet to Come, White Wolf

Two quick-starts and a player's guide for an adventure path.

2006:

Age of Worms Overload (Paizo Publishing) *Gold Winner*

Gates of Hell (Dicefreaks)

Mage the Awakening Demo (White Wolf Publishing) *Silver Winner*

Return to the Tomb of Five Corners (White Wolf Publishing)

Six-Guns: The James-Younger Gang (Dog House Rules)

Honourable mention: Temple Quarter: Ceremonies and Rituals (The Game Mechanics)

A quick-start, an adventure path intro, and an introductory adventure.

This isn't to say that those who want to see complete products have their own place don't have a point or a right to complain, but I just wanted point out that it's a little misplaced. The mixing of this category was the result of an attempt to include these products that wouldn't have had a category of their own at all, not an effort to compare a product used as an advertisement against those produced just to share with the community.

Most years these sorts of products fit into the Best Fan Product category (which could use some renaming given the shifting way and reasons these products are being produced), and so there is less of an issue. This year however there simply weren't enough products to allow for a category of their own. This is hugely unfortunate, and I'm not a fan of the decision, but according to the rules as they have always been presented there wasn't much choice. The judges had to find a home for the eight qualifying products that would have normally gone in the Fan category, and we chose to include them here. It's not ideal, but I don't see what other option there was left to us.

Hopefuly future judges and staff members can find a way to encourage enough free, complete products that this won't have to happen again. Maybe a partnership with programs like Game Chef and the like could be encouraged.

I don't know, and I don't have a great answer right now, but I hope people can see that this unfortunate circumstance was just the result of trying to be more inclusive, not any effort to push corperate products against those which are independant.

I took a couple days off

2009-07-15T04:29:00.002-06:00

Sorry I haven't been around, I know there have been several questions asked, especially in light of the nominations being posted, and I feel bad about not responding sooner, but the last week or so of finallizing ENnies stuff was extremely time consuming, and I decided to take a little break. I tried to stop and offer congratulations whenever I thought about it, but for the most part I haven't been keeping up well with the discusions.

It's late, and I don't have a huge amount of time right now, but I wanted to at least drop in, appologize, and let everyone know that I'll begin my post-nomination commentary and product reviews afte I get some sleep. I'll also try to catch up on what discussions I have missed (and my twitter feed) and answer the questions I've been asked here.

Thanks for the patience, sorry about the delay. Bear with me a bit longer and I'll do what I can.

2009 ENnies Nominations

2009-07-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

Best Cover

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars

Scion: Ragnorak

Howl of the Carrion King

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide

CthluhuTech

Best Interior Art

CthluhuTech

Mouse Guard

Dark Heresy RPG

Hellas

M&M: Wild Cards

Best Cartography

Pathfinder Map Folio

Sellswords of Punjar

The Saltshacks

Modern Floorplans: Victorian Mansion

SW Saga: Scum & Villainy

Best Writing

Don't Lose Your Mind

Hot War

Hunter Horror Recognition Guide

Baron Munchhausen

Kobold Quarterly

Best Production Values

Mouse Guard

CthulhuTech

Anima RPG

Dark Heresy Core

Hellas

Best Rules

D&D 4e PHB

Dark Heresy RPG

Song of Ice and Fire

Starblazer Adventures

Hunter: The Vigil

Best Adventure

King of the Trollhaunt Warrens

The Rose Bride's Plight

Howl of the Carrion King

Land of Darkness: The Barrow Grounds

Purge of the Unclean

Best Monster/Adversary

Witch Hunter: Grand Tome of Adversaries

Night Horrors Grim Fears

Dark Heresy Creature Anathema

D&D 4e MM

Freedom's Most Wanted

Best Setting

Pathfinder Campaign Setting

Hot War

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies

Candlewick

Slipstream

Best Supplement

Hunter: The Vigil

CthuluTech Vade Mechum

Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Scion: Ragnorak

Best Aid/Accessory

D&D Insider

Dwarven Sweatshop Dice Box

Hunter Horror Recognition Guide

Kobold Quarterly

M&M Deluxe GM Screen

Best Miniature Product

Alea Tools Neo Markers

Star Wars Clone Wars Starter Set

Fat Dragon: Cliffs and Mountains

Halls of the Giant Kings Dungeon Tiles

Paizo Game Mastery Flip-Mat: Waterfront Tavern

Best Game

D&D 4e

Starblazer Adventures

Song of Ice and Fire

Cthluhutech

Dark Heresy

Best Regalia

Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, Vol 2.

Art of Exalted

Planet Stories: Infernal Sorceress

Battletech: The Corps

Hunter Board Game

Best Electronic Book

Hard Boiled Armies

The Death Mother

Tales of Zobek

Collection of Horrors: Razor Kids - CCP

Blood of the Gorgon

Best Free Product

Battlerun

Hunter Quickstart: The Hunt

SoIaF Quickstart

Sword & Wizardry

Trial and Terror: SVU

Best Podcast

All Games Considered

Order 66

Return to Northmoor

Brilliant Gameologists

Voice of the Revolution

Best Website

Dungeon-A-Day

Critical Hits

Kobold Quarterly

Mad Brew Labs

Obsidian Portal

Product of the Year

D&D 4e PHB

Mouse Guard

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies

Song of Ice and Fire

Hunter the Vigil

Dark Heresy Disciples of the Dark Gods

Don't Lose Your Mind

Star Wars Clone Wars

Scion: Ragnorak

Starblazer Adventures

Best Publisher nominations are open

2009-07-10T08:28:00.002-06:00

Fan nominations for Best Publisher are now open. Just go to: http://tinyurl.com/mf9oya and fill out a very simple form.

Nominations are done

2009-07-09T21:17:00.002-06:00

Well, the judges' meeting is over, and we have our final list of nominations. One way or another these will be out on Monday.

In the mean time, tomorrow starts the fan part of the nomination process, the Best Publisher award. This will be using a whole new system this year that should make tracking much better.

As for the nomination process itself... It was more painful than I expected. The list is good. Really, really good. As always however I didn't get everything I wanted. That sort of goes with the territory. The hardest part was the loss of a new category I advocated which I thought was pretty much a done deal.

Final List of categories:

Best Cover

Best Interior Art

Best Cartography

Best Writing

Best Production Values

Best Rules

Best Adventure

Best Monster/Adversary

Best Setting

Best Supplement

Best Aid/Accessory

Best Miniature Product

Best Game

Best Regalia

Best Electronic Book

Best Free Product

Best Podcast

Best Website

Product of the Year

19 categories.

Last time we did it via message boards. This year we did it by chat. Both have their strengths. Chat feels more confrontational, less wheeling and dealing, more 'getting it done.' This is good because it make a three day process three hours. It's bad because it can make someone with a temper like me unreasonably hot.

Still, it felt right, and these guys did a really great job. Everything on those lists absolutely belongs there, and when you get five people with such divergent tastes, that's hard to do.

My hat is off to those other judges, who did an outstanding job, and even managed to put up with me even when I got pushy. Can't wait to see everyone at GenCon.

By the way

2009-07-09T13:09:00.001-06:00

The list of entires is now final. Everything that was reviewed should now be on there.

http://enniejudge.blogspot.com/2009/05/updated-list.html

Today is the day

2009-07-09T09:37:00.002-06:00

Today should be the final day for my role with this year's awards. In a little over eight hours the judges are getting together on IM to finalize the nominations.

As of right now the judges have each picked five products for each category. Tonight we'll sort through those, discuss the ones we like the best, and argue over the rest.

Actually, looking at the list I'm pretty surprised by the amount of consensus there is. There will be disagreements, and I’m sure we each have a few things we worried won’t make it, but overall the lists are reasonably similar.

This means that the nominations should be forthcoming. Our timetable calls for the announcement to be made Monday, and thus far we’re right on schedule.

Once that happens I’ll be free to talk about the nominations or other products that didn’t make the list, so if you have any questions please just let me know.

You can tell crunch time is coming

2009-06-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

Picking the final products in each category is undoubtedly the hardest part of judging. You're never quite satisfied, there's always something else you wish had made the list.

It's also the fun part though, or at least the days leading up to it is. Today has been one of those days. I've seen more discussion among the judges today than at any other point this year. Even though it's little stuff it's great.

As a judge you kind of long to talk about some of the stuff you've read or seen, to discuss the stuff you really love, and to have some input on the choices you've made. The problem is that there's no good way to do it until the announcements come out, and then you spend so much time defending the decisions you make that it loses some of its enjoyment.

Days like today, however, are nice because you get to talk a little bit without any kind of pressure. It gets better as you get closer and stsart talking about why you like things, but for now it's just nice to make you feelings about some products known.

Finalized the list of Entries

2009-06-18T09:37:00.014-06:00

Ok, I just went through every book I have. This list should be correct now.

I added the following:

This Favored Land - Arc Dreams

Hellfrost Player's Guide - Triple Ace Games

Slipstream - Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Starblazer Adventures - Cubicle Seven

Wraith Recon - Mongoose

Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen - Magnum Opus Press

Cartoon Action Hour Season 2 - Spectrum Games

Slasher Flick - Spectrum Games

Halls of the Giant Kings Dungeon Tiles - WotC

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide - WotC

King of the Trollhaunt Warrens - WotC

Player's Handbook 2 - WotC

Adventurers' Vault - WotC

Dungeon Delve - WotC

Animalcast Podcast - Episodes 46, 58, 60, 71, 84

Making selections

2009-06-18T07:46:00.002-06:00

I know I've been quiet lately. With the end of submissions I've really buckled down a lot in the last couple weeks. Primary reading is done, even on the newest arivals, and I can't imagine anything else coming in at this point, so now I'm in the "narrowing down" phase.

Everyone does this differently. Me, I take a lot of notes when I first go through the books, add sticky tabs to anything that catches my eye, and seperate entries into piles. After all that's done I print out the list of every product that has been entered uring the year, and go through them all, entry by entry, highlighting the list so I know that I've checked everything.

As I look at each entry I decide which categories I might be interested in nominationg it for. There's no real attempt to narrow down the lists at this point. I just organize it a bit, and add anything I think might have a real chance for my nomination. Each category gets a piece of paper, anything that might fit gets it's name added to the list.

It's during this stage that I go back and re-read anything that I don't comfortably remember, and make an effort to go through every product page by page. Other than initial reading this is the most time-consuming part of the process, and it's what I'm working on right now.

After this I'll go through the lists for each category and narrow them down to five products in each. I have a couple more weeks before I have to be done with this part, but when I do finish it'll be time to compare my lists to the other judges'.

I hate judging podcasts

2009-06-04T13:35:00.002-06:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad there is a podcasting category, heck, I was the one who suggested it back in 2007 when it was added to the awards, but it's tough.

Podcasts aren't like books. They each do different things well, and in the end it's not all about content. I can look at two RPGs and see which is better at stating its goals, playing towards them, and teaching me how to do it.

Podcasts are different, there's so much more to judge. Some of the best podcasts are at their weakest when trying to present actual game content. Some ar more entertaining, some sound better, some teach you how to play better, some make you want to go out and write, and some make you want to grab some dice and go play.

Which of those things is really the most important?

Last time I did this we tried to go for a broad spectum, select completely different podcasts with completely different strengths, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Still, I can't help but wonder if there isn't a better way.

The last day for entries comes to a close

2009-06-01T22:41:00.002-06:00

Well, this is it, the final day for entries to be mailed out. I'm sure a few more products will be trickling in over the next few days, but everything to be considered should have been postmarked by today.

I'll tell you, it's quite a list. Apparently I'm not the only one who perpetually thinks to do things at the last possible moment. There's a lot of website entries from today, and at least one major publisher who submited.

I'll get to those when they're in hand, but for now I have a bunch of stuff to update. A big box from Catalyst came in full of CthulhuTech and Shadowrun goodness, and a ton more websites.

This is easily the best year for website submissions we've ever had. A special thanks to Dave Chalker, who really made this come together. I honestly don't think this category would have happened this year if it weren't for his help and support.

So, here's today's list. It may not exactly be final, I know a couple entry forms were submitted that I haven't seen, but here's what I know for sure:

CthulhuTech
CthulhuTech: Vade Mucum
Shadowrun: Ghost Cartels
BattleRun
http://hamsterhoard.blogspot.com
http://www.stupidranger.com
http://planewalker.com
http://dungeonsmaster.com
http://www.rpgseek.com
http://questinggm.blogspot.com
http://www.thegamertraveler.com
http://www.goldtheseries.com
http://exchangeofrealities.today.com
http://YouMeetInATavern.com

More entries

2009-05-30T19:58:00.003-06:00

Ok, I'm going to try emailing this blog in from my phone. I've never tried it before, so if it turns out weird, my appologies.

I just opened the packages that came in today and I can't find a good way to update my list from work, so I thought I'd at least post what came in for now:

PCGen (which I made a mistake posting earlier as Sourceforge in my haste to update my list).

Amorphous Blobcast - Episodes 20, 24, 27, 29, and D&D4e Review

Order 66 Podcast - Episodes 37, 40, 50, 52, and 56

Open Game Table: Anthology of Roleplayng Game Blogs, volume 1

If these little micro-updates are a pain, let me know. I'm just trying to avoid going weeks without updating, as I have been known to do in the past.

Very quick update.

2009-05-30T10:06:00.002-06:00

UPS came after I updated my blog yesterday, so I've added a few more products.

Notably there's a bunch of stuff on the list from Paizo now, and a few products from Fans of Mystara.

Two more podcasts (Play's the Thing and Narrative Control) were also added agter discovering and correcting a small error in the entry.

Oh, and I also added thecoremechanic.com to the website list.

Sorry this is so brief and disjointed, Saturdays are hugely busy for me, and I need to get some sleep before I run back into work for the night.

A reminder

2009-05-28T15:19:00.004-06:00

It has become apparent that my little list, because of my lack of updates, has done a little more harm than good, so I updated it as much as possible this afternoon. I can't garuntee that it's 100% accurate, given that it's a long list and it's always possible that I overlooked something, but I'd bet it probably is. I went book by book through the entries just to check. In fact, if the entry is in italics, that means it's one I have an entry form for, but didn't have at hand for whatever reason.

Now, if you sent something in the last couple days, chances are it just hasn't made its way to me yet, but if you think there's something that should be there that isn't, please let me know. I'll check the master list and get back with you right away.

Speaking of the master list, I just wanted to put out a quick reminder. I'm a judge for the awards, beyond that my affiliation is loose at best. I know and like the people within the awards, but I'm not in any sort of management or staff possition. I just read a lot.

That said, I do my best to try and help out where I can, with publishers and those who are submitting, so I am absolutely glad to be of help. The nature of my work, and the hours that I work makes me a bit more available than everyone else, so please feel free to comment here or email me, but if my list isn't exactly correct, that's my own oversight, and not neccesarily a failing on the staff memeber who does all the work, because honestly, Hans is amazing.

So, if there's a screw up, check with me first, chances are it's mine :)

Oh, speaking of Hans, in an effort to make my list as up to date as possible I simply posted everything I could. Our Submissions Coordeinator may not have had a chance to double-check these to make sure they're within the submissions period yet, since I posted stuff that just came in today, so there is a slight chance that one or two things may not qualify. I don't really expect anything not to, just thought I'd add the caveat.

Thanks for your patience. This weekend marks the end of the submission period. Once I stop getting three or four packages a day I'll be able to settle in and talk about some specific a bit more. In the mean time, I'd appreciate any questions about policy, procedure, or products that you might have.

Thanks.

What's going on

2009-05-26T14:49:00.002-06:00

So, obviously I've been quiet again the last couple weeks. We're getting toward crunch time, and it shows. The number of products I've gotten in the last few days is pretty staggering, and there are several more that I'm expecting in the next week or so.

The final day for submissions is fast approaching. Everything that is to be considered for this year needs to be in the mail and on it's way by June 1, just six days away.

I'll work on a list of everything that's come in since my last blog tomorrow, and I'll update the big list when I do. Today along I received four packages, including some more books from Fantasy Flight, Mouse Guard, and two more podcasts. I'd have to look at my notes, but I believe we have enough entries for a solid podcast award this year. Our only real worry at this point is the Website category, which is sorely lacking.

So, if you know anyone that has a site or blog that you'd like to see considered, please ask them to enter. It's easy for people to see all the great books and services that publishers put out, but forget the contributions of the community. I'd hate to see that happen. It's the community, not the companies, that make our hobby thrive.

Updated List

2009-05-15T07:48:00.041-06:00

Here's the updated list of this year's entries. It's the same list as before (with the stuff from yesterday), just hopefully a little easier to read. As new products arrive I'll keep the list here updated.

0one Games:
The Great City: Campaign Setting
The Great City: Color Map Folio
0one's Black & White: Bandits' Trail
0one's Black & White: White Wyvern Inn
0one's Blueprints: The Great City, The Saltshacks
0one's Black & White: Medusa Hideout
Urban Adventures: A Pound of Flesh
The Road to Revolution: The Bloody Fix
Road to Revolution: Tides of Blood
Road to Revolution: Puncture the Blackened Vein

AEG:
Legend of the Burning Sands

Alea Tools:
Neo-markers Stackable Magnetic Markers

Arc Dream:

Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor

Archaia Studios Press

Mouse Guard

Black and Green Games:
Under My Skin

Box Ninja:
3:16 - Carnage Among the Stars

Catalyst Game Labs:
Classic Battletech: Jihad Secrets - The Blake Documents
Classic Battletech: Technical Readout - 3075
Classic Battletech: The Corps - Battlecorp Anthology Vol. 1
Shadowrun - Unwired

Shadowrun: Ghost Cartels

BattleRun

Contested Ground Studios:
Hot War

Dark Matter Games:
Epic Roleplaying: Atlas of Eslin

Devil's Due
Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, vol. 2

Dragonlance Nexus:
The Dragonlance Nexus Adlatum

Dragonroots:
Premire Issue
Gary Gygax

Dungeonaday.com

Dungeon-a-Day

Dwarven Sweatshoppe:
Dice Tray

Evil Hat Productions:
Don't Lose Your Mind
Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies

Expeditious Retreat Press:
1 on 1 Adventures 10: Vengeance of Olindor
1 on 1 Adventures 11: Unbound Adventures
World of Nevermore
Advanced Player's Guide
The Sarcophagus Legion
Lands of Darkness: The Swamp of Timbermoor
Lands of Darkness: The Woods of Woe
Lands of Darkness: Cesspools of Arnac
Lands of Darkness: The Barrow Grounds
Plague
The Seven Shrines of Nav'k-Qar

Fabled Environments:

Modern Floorplans: Craftsman Bungalow

Modern Floorplans: Victorian Mansion

Modern Floorplans: Rooftop Garden

Fan Products:
When Autochthon Dreams

Fantasy Flight Games:
Anima: Beyond Fantasy
Dark Heresy RPG

Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema

Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods
Dark Heresy: Inquisitor's Handbook
Dark Heresy: Purge the Unclean
Dark Heresy: The Game Master's Kit

Fat Dragon Games:
Dragonshire Starter Set
E-Z Terrain Cliffs & Mountains

Frontier Games:
Old Frontiers

Goodman Games:
Character Codex
DCC 53: Sellswords of Punjar
DCC 54: Forges of the Mountain King
DCC 55: Isle of the Sea Drake
DM Campaign Record
Haiiiii-Ya!
Master Dungeons Presents: Dragora's Dungeon
Points of Light
In Search of Adventure
Master Dungeons Presents: Curse of the Kingspire
DCC 57: Wyvern Mountain
DCC 58: The Forgotten Portal
DCC 59: Mists of Madness
DCC 60: Thrones of Punjar
Blackdirge's Dungeon Denizens
DCC 56: Scions of Punjar
The Random Esoteric Creature Generator
PC Pearls
Hero's Handbook: Dragonborn

Green Ronin:
Buccaneers of Freeport
Mutants & Masterminds: Deluxe Gamemaster Screen
Mutants & Masterminds: Wild Cards
Mutants & Masterminds: Worlds of Freedom
True 20 Adept's Handbook
Character Record Folio 4E
True20 Warrior's Handbook
Mutants & Masterminds - Freedom's Most Wanted
A Song of Ice and Fire RPG
Song of Ice and Fire Quick-Start Rules

Greymalkin Designs:
Desolation RPG

Heroic Journey Publishing:

Bounty Head Bebop

HinterWelt Enterprises:
Freedom Squirrel: Nuts to the '70's

Imagination Sweatshop:
Trial and Terror: Supernatural Victim's Unit

Innsmouth House:
Lovecraftian Tales from the Table

Khepera Publishing:

Hellas

KNRPG Productions:
Empire of Dust

Lone Wolf Developement:
Hero Lab

Magnum Opus Press

Saving Stone

Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Midnight Syndicate:
The Dead Matter: Cemetary Gates

Mongoose Publishing:
Battlefield Evolution: World at War
Traveller: 760 Patrons

Wraith Recon

Mythmere Games:
Swords & Wizardy Core Rules

One Bad Egg:
Hard Boiled Armies
The Syrallax
Hard Boiled Cultures
The Witch Doctor
Shrouded Agendas: The Purifiers
The Shroudborn
Gods of the Shroud
The Death-Mother
The Unbroken
The Half-Dead
The Ape Lord

Open Design:
Kobold Quarterly #6
Blood of the Gorgon
Tales of Zobeck
Wrath of the River King
The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume 1: Adventures
Kobold Quarterly #9

Open Game Table:

Open Game Table: Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs (volume I)

Other Court Games:
Factions at War Revised
Kingdom of Ashes

Paradigm Concepts:
Witch Hunter: A Child's Game
Witch Hunter: Grand Tome of Adversaries

Paizo:

Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting

Pathfinder Chronicles: Second Darkness Map Folio

Pasthfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited

Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods and Magic

Pathfinder Adventure Path: Legacy of Fire: Howl of the Carrion King

Gamemastery Flip-Mat: Waterfront Tarvern

Planet Stories: Infernal Sorceress

PCGen:

PCGen

Q-Workshop:
Call of Cthulhu Dice Set

Relentless Publishing:
Prophecy: Player Manual

Rite Publishing:
A Witch's Choice

Spectrum Games:

Slasher Flick

Cartoon Action Hour Season 2

Status Artworks:

Dr. Wizard's Patented Elevation Indicator

Dr. Wizard's Patented Elevation Indicator Large Extender

Dr. Wizard's Patented Elevation Indicator Huge Extender

Tabletop Adventures:

Bits of the Wilderness: Into the Mountains
GM-fu Session Prep

Vaults of Pandius:

BA1: The Tomb of Thob Shanwood

GAZ F10: Kaarjala

MGAZ1: The Central Altan Tepes

Wandering Geek:
Geeks on Vacation

White Wolf:
Daeva: Kiss of the Succubus
Graceful Wicked Masques
Mehket: Shadows in the Dark
Scion: Ragnarok
Hunter: The Vigil
Night Horrors: Grim Fears
Celestial Directions: Underworld
World of Darkness: Inferno
World of Darkness: Innocents
Exalted: Legacy of Unconquered
Hunter Horror Recognition Guide
Exalted Art Book
Keys to the Supernal Tarot
Hunter: Deadly Prey
Dancers in the Dusk
Infernals
New Wave Requiem
Block by Bloody Block
Bad Night at Blackmoon Farm
The Rose Bride's Plight
Hunter Quickstart #1: The Hunt
Hunter Quickstart #2: One Year Later
A Night with Jack

ExXalted Censored

ExXalted Uncensored

Collection of Horrors: Introduction

Collection of Horrors: Razor Kids

Collection of Horrors: Host of the Clutter

Collection of Horrors: Frankenstein's Mobster

Collection of Horrors: Empty Space

Collection of Horrors: Gray Beard

Collection of Horrors: Frostbite Girl

Collection of Horrors: Getting her Back

Collection of Horrors: Body of Evidence

Collection of Horrors: Caveat Emptor

Collection of Horrors: No Escape

Collection of Horrors: Good for the Soul

Collection of Horrors: Serpent's Tooth

Collection of Horrors: Mother of All Wrong Turns

Collection of Horrors: Mother to Monsters

Collection of Horrors: Dead to Me

Collection of Horrors: Mr. Theleme

WildFire:

CthulhuTech
CthulhuTech: Vade Mecum

Windmill Games:
12 Dread, Tales of Terror: Issue 1: Wastelands

Wizards of the Coast:
Player's Handbook 4e
Monster Manual 4e
DM's Guide 4e
Star Wars : Clone Wars Campaign Guide
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
Star Wars: Scum and Villainy
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
Dungeons and Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Starter Set
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Booster Pack
Star Wars: Imperial Entanglements Booster Pack
Star Wars: Legacy Era Campaign Guide

Wizards of the Coast D&D Insider (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/insider/)

Halls of the Giant Kings Dungeon Tiles

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide

King of the Trollhaunt Warrens

Player's Handbook 2

Adventurers' Vault

Dungeon Delve

Websites:
At Will (http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/)

Bone Scroll RPG Blog (http://www.bonescroll.net/)

Cav Command Console (http://www.cavcomcon.com/)
Chgowiz's Old Guy RPG Blog (http://oldguyrpg.blogspot.com/)

Core Mechanic (http://www.thecoremechanic.com/)

Critical-Hits (http://www.critical-hits.com/)

Cultures of Play (http://culturesofplay.com/)

Dungeon's Master (http://dungeonsmaster.com/)

Exchange of Realities (http://exchangeofrealities.today.com/)

Geek's Dream Girl (http://geeksdreamgirl.com/)

Gnome Stew (http://www.gnomestew.com/)

Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons (http://hamsterhoard.blogspot.com/)

Kobald Quarterly.com (http://www.koboldquarterly.com/)

Living Dice (http://www.livingdice.com/)

Mad Brew Labs (http://www.madbrewlabs.com/)

Musings of the Chatty DM (http://chattydm.net/welcome/)

Newbie DM (http://newbiedm.com/)

Obsidian Portal (http://www.obsidianportal.com/)

Robertson Games (http://robertsongames.com/)

RPGPodcasts.com (http://www.rpgpodcasts.com/)

Rust Monster Ate my Sword (http://rustmonsteratemysword.blogspot.com/)

Spirits of Eden (http://spiritsofeden.wordpress.com/)

Stupid Ranger (http://www.stupidranger.com/)

Tenletter (http://tenletter.wordpress.com/)

http://planewalker.com/

http://www.rpgseek.com/

http://questinggm.blogspot.com/

http://www.thegamertraveler.com/

http://www.goldtheseries.com/

http://youmeetinatavern.com/

http://www.gamestopica.net/

Podcasts:
3.5 Private Sanctuary - Episodes 34, 41, 47, 65, and 66.

All Games Considered - Episodes 83, 90, 92, 98, and 101.

Amorphos Blobcast - Episodes 20, 24, 27, 29, and D&D4e Review

Animalcast Podcast - Episodes 46, 58, 60, 71, 84

Brilliant Gameologists- Episodes 16, 18, 25, 28, and 36.

D&D Podcast

Have Games, Will Travel: For a Few Games More - Episodes 28, 31, 33, 35, and 37.

Master Plan - Episodes 31, 33, 40, 41, and 44.

Narative Control - Episodes 1, 5, 8, 17, and 22.

Order 66 Podcast - Episodes 37, 40, 50, 52, and 56.

Game's the Thing - Episodes 45, 48, 50, 52, and 54.

Podgecast - Episodes 8, 12, 20, 35, and 37.

Return to Northmoor Podcast - Episodes a1, a2, w1, w2, and w3.

Roleplaying Public Radio - Episodes 14, 20, 25, AP Wushu, and AP Fear Itself.

This Just in from Gencon - Episodes 1, 5, 8, 10, and 11.

Virtual Play - Episodes 28, 29, 35, 37, 38, and the theme.

Voice of the Revolution

Just a quick update

2009-05-14T01:33:00.000-06:00

If it seems that I'm quiet here, I am. I'm really sorry about that, and I'll make an effort to do better. Part of the reason I think is because I've tranferred a lot of my immediate thoughts to Twitter, in case anyone is interested. https://twitter.com/MotG

More importantly, I've started a thread over at RPGnet discussing the products people would like us to take a special look at. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=452709

Busy Weekend

2009-05-13T21:25:00.003-06:00

A ton of new stuff came in over the weekend and it made me decide to redo the list of entries I posted the other day in a format you might actually be able to read. In the mean time I'm going to at least list all the new stuff that came in.

0one Games:
01 The Great City: Campaign Setting
02 The Great City: Color Map Folio
03 0one's Black & White: Bandits' Trail
04 0one's Black & White: White Wyvern Inn
05 0one's Blueprints: The Great City, The Saltshacks
06 0one's Black & White: Medusa Hideout
07 Urban Adventures: A Pound of Flesh
08 The Road to Revolution: The Bloody Fix
09 Road to Revolution: Tides of Blood
10 Road to Revolution: Puncture the Blackened Vein

Alea Tools
11 Neo-markers.

Windmill Games:
12 Dread, Tales of Terror: Issue 1: Wastelands

Tabletop Adventures:
13 Bits of the Wilderness: Into the Mountains
14 GM-fu Session Prep

Open Design:
15 Blood of the Gorgon
16 Tales of Zobeck
17 Wrath of the River King
18 The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume 1: Adventures
19 Kobold Quarterly #9

Podcasts:
Virtual Play - Episodes 28, 29, 35, 37, 38, and the theme.

Websites:
http://www.gnomestew.com/
http://www.cavcomcon.com/

I also got a couple of really nice letters of introduction from publishers, which I can't tell you how much I appreciate.

Up to this point I had finished the initial read-through on all the products I had received, but all these are new, and the only one I've read is Dread, Tales of Terror, which I received first. I'll probably knock out the rest over the weekend.

The Entries

2009-05-06T23:23:00.003-06:00

It's pretty early to call this a final list. Last time we got about a third of our entries in the final month of submissions, but I thought it was a good time to start the list, so here's what I have. There are a couple other entries that others have that I haven't gotten copies of yet, but as I get m hands on them I'll add them here.

AEG Legend of the Burning Sands
Black and Green Games Under My Skin
Catalyst Game Labs Classic Battletech: Jihad Secrets - The Blake Documents
Catalyst Game Labs Classic Battletech: Technical Readout - 3075
Catalyst Game Labs Classic Battletech: The Corps - Battlecorp Anthology Vol. 1
Catalyst Game Labs Shadowrun - Unwired
Contested Ground Studios Hot War
Dragonroots C.E. Rocco
Dwarven Sweatshoppe Dice Tray
Evil Hat Productions Don't Lose Your Mind
Expeditious Retreat Press 1 on 1 Adventures 10: Vengeance of Olindor
Expeditious Retreat Press 1 on 1 Adventures 11: Unbound Adventures
Expeditious Retreat Press World of Nevermore
Fantasy Flight Games Anima: Beyond Fantasy
Fantasy Flight Games Dark Heresy RPG
Fantasy Flight Games Dark Heresy: Inquisitor's Handbook
Fantasy Flight Games Dark Heresy: Purge the Unclean
Fantasy Flight Games Dark Heresy: The Game Master's Kit
Frontier Games Old Frontiers
Goodman Games DCC 53: Sellswords of Punjar
Goodman Games DCC 54: Forges of the Mountain King
Goodman Games DCC 55: Isle of the Sea Drake
Goodman Games DM Campaign Record
Goodman Games Haiiiii-Ya!
Goodman Games Master Dungeons Presents: Dragora's Dungeon
Goodman Games Points of Light
Green Ronin Buccaneers of Freeport
Green Ronin Mutants & Masterminds: Deluxe Gamemaster Screen
Green Ronin Mutants & Masterminds: Wild Cards
Green Ronin Mutants & Masterminds: Worlds of Freedom
Green Ronin True 20 Adept's Handbook
Greymalkin Designs Desolation RPG
HinterWelt Enterprises Freedom Squirrel: Nuts to the '70's
Imagination Sweatshop Trial and Terror: Supernatural Victim's Unit
KNRPG Productions Empire of Dust
Midnight Syndicate The Dead Matter: Cemetary Gates
Mongoose Publishing Battlefield Evolution: World at War
Mongoose Publishing Traveller: 760 Patrons
Open Design Kobold Quarterly #6
Paradigm Concepts Witch Hunter: A Child's Game
Paradigm Concepts Witch Hunter: Grand Tome of Adversaries
Relentless Publishing Prophecy: Player Manual
Innsmouth House Lovecraftian Tales from the Table
Dragonlance Nexus The Dragonlance Nexus Adlatum
Expeditious Retreat Press Advanced Player's Guide
Expeditious Retreat Press The Sarcophagus Legion
Expeditious Retreat Press Lands of Darkness: The Swamp of Timbermoor
Expeditious Retreat Press Lands of Darkness: The Woods of Woe
Expeditious Retreat Press Lands of Darkness: Cesspools of Arnac
Expeditious Retreat Press Lands of Darkness: The Barrow Grounds
Expeditious Retreat Press Plague
Expeditious Retreat Press The Seven Shrines of Nav'k-Qar
Green Ronin Character Record Folio 4E
Green Ronin True20 Warrior's Handbook
Green Ronin Mutants & Masterminds - Freedom's Most Wanted
Green Ronin A Song of Ice and Fire RPG
Green Ronin Song of Ice and Fire Quick-Start Rules
White Wolf Daeva: Kiss of the Succubus
White Wolf Graceful Wicked Masques
White Wolf Mehket: Shadows in the Dark
White Wolf Scion: Ragnarok
White Wolf Hunter: The Vigil
White Wolf Night Horrors: Grim Fears
White Wolf Celestial Directions: Underworld
White Wolf World of Darkness: Inferno
White Wolf World of Darkness: Innocents
White Wolf Exalted: Legacy of Unconquered
White Wolf Hunter Horror Recognition Guide
White Wolf Exalted Art Book
White Wolf Keys to the Supernal Tarot
White Wolf Hunter: Deadly Prey
White Wolf Dancers in the Dusk
White Wolf Infernals
White Wolf New Wave Requiem (Electronic)
White Wolf Block by Bloody Block (Electronic)
White Wolf Bad Night at Blackmoon Farm (Electronic)
White Wolf The Rose Bride's Plight (Electronic)
White Wolf Hunter Quickstart #1: The Hunt (Electronic)
White Wolf Hunter Quickstart #2: One Year Later (Electronic)
White Wolf A Night with Jack (Electronic)
Devil's Due Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, vol. 2
Mythmere Games Swords & Wizardy Core Rules
Fat Dragon Games Dragonshire Starter Set
Fat Dragon Games E-Z Terrain Cliffs & Mountains
The Bone Scroll The Bone Scroll RPG Blog (www.bonescroll.net)
Chgowiz's Old Guy RPG Blog Chgowiz's Old Guy RPG Blog
Wizards of the Coast D&D Insider
Obsidian Portal Obsidian Portal
Goodman Games In Search of Adventure
Goodman Games Master Dungeons Presents: Curse of the Kingspire
Goodman Games DCC 57: Wyvern Mountain
Goodman Games DCC 58: The Forgotten Portal
Goodman Games DCC 59: Mists of Madness
Goodman Games DCC 60: Thrones of Punjar
Goodman Games Blackdirge's Dungeon Denizens
Goodman Games DCC 56: Scions of Punjar
Goodman Games The Random Esoteric Creature Generator
Goodman Games PC Pearls
Goodman Games Hero's Handbook: Dragonborn
Wizards of the Coast Player's Handbook 4e
Wizards of the Coast Monster Manual 4e
Wizards of the Coast DM's Guide 4e
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars : Clone Wars Campaign Guide
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: Scum and Villainy
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
Wizards of the Coast Dungeons and Dragons Roleplaying Game Starter Set
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: The Clone Wars Starter Set
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: The Clone Wars Booster Pack
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: Imperial Entanglements Booster Pack
Northmoor Podcast Return to Northmoor Podcast
A Bunch of Exalted Fans When Autochthon Dreams
Wizards of the Coast Star Wars: Legacy Era Campaign Guide
Other Court Kingdom of Ashes
Other Court Games Factions at War Revised
Podgecast.com The PodgeCast
One Bad Egg Hard Boiled Armies
One Bad Egg The Syrallax
One Bad Egg Hard Boiled Cultures
One Bad Egg The Witch Doctor
One Bad Egg Shrouded Agendas: The Purifiers
One Bad Egg The Shroudborn
One Bad Egg Gods of the Shroud
One Bad Egg The Death-Mother
One Bad Egg The Unbroken
One Bad Egg The Half-Dead
One Bad Egg The Ape Lord
Evil Hat Productions Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies
Rite Publishing A Witch's Choice

More entries

2009-04-09T19:01:00.000-06:00

You can tell that the deadline for production is rapidly approaching. More and larger shipments have ben pouring in regularly. Most recently I received a big box from Goodman Games yesterday, and huge boxes from White Wold and Green Ronin. Electronic products have started to come in with a bit more regularity as well. I just started looking through Swords and Wizardry, and last night layed around with D&D Insider for the first time.

I have to say that I'm incredibly pleased with the quality of this year's entries. It's still a little early to start choosing nominations (most entries tend to come pretty close to the deadline at the end of May), but as I went back through products to begin early sorting it struck me just how hard some of these categories are going to be to fill.

And that's just what I have to work with now. I can't help but look at books that have been recently released (or are scheduled to come out in the next couple of weeks) and wonder if any of those will make their way to us.

I hope so. This is the most difficult, and my favorite, part of the process.

Best Game vs. Best d20/OGL, part II

2009-04-02T04:14:00.009-06:00

Sorry this took so long, real life has been insane for the last couple weeks.

The main point I want to cover here is this: Best d20/OGL and Best Game don't cover the same things. It's not that there's d20 and then everything else, it's that, by their very nature, d20 games don't qualify for Best Game.

In order to qualify for Best Game the product must be a complete gaming system. Though I'm not really sure if that has been the case. The Best Game award hasn't always been a part of the ENnies. The awards began as a d20 award and it shows. If you look back as far as 2004 it was Best d20 Game and Best non-d20 Game.

Obviously there was a problem with that, and it's changed since then, but it was before my time so I can't speak to it with any authority. As long as I've been part of the awards the rule has been in place. Because of this d20 games don't qualify for best game. By their nature they are not a complete game system. Now, some OGL games do, but even those were pretty rare until the last couple years.

The two categories are closely related. Both cover all the little things that make a game book a complete package. For the most part this includes rules, writing, and presentation. They do however have a slightly different focus.

Since Best Game requires a complete system it requires a certain level of comprehensiveness. The system must cover all the reasonably necessary elements of game design and play. I'd also argue that this category could cover more than one book. For example, games like Dungeons and Dragons, Burning Wheel, or GURPS have multiple core books. As individual entities books like the D&D Player's Handbook don't qualify, as they don't contain a complete game system, but as a set of core books they do.

Best d20 however doesn't require a complete game system, so it allows for a wider variety of products. This lack of focus is probably a weakness in the award itself, but it can be helpful. When I was a judge in '07 at least 2/3 of the products we received were d20.

Not that it matters much at this point, since the Best d20/OGL award has been removed from the ballot this year, but I thought it was a discussion that needed to be had. I also think there is room for an award like this, if not this award itself. There are a lot of core books out there that don't include a complete game system, things like the World of Darkness games or Savage Worlds settings as much as the D&D books. I wonder if it wouln't be a good idea to include an award for those sorts of books? One with more focus than a d20 award, and with less singling out of a specific product line?

Best Game vs. Best d20/OGL, part I

2009-03-05T23:03:00.005-06:00

Since there was some comment on the distinction between these two categories I thought I'd go over them in a bit more detail. I'm really glad this came up for a number of reasons.

First, it gives me context to ask what people think about the d20/OGL category in general and if it is necessary. One commenter seemed to believe that the distinction between the two was a way of relegating other games to a 'lesser' Best Games award, which shocked me, and I'm really curious if this belief is prevalent.

Second, I'm rapidly running out of stuff to talk about, since anyone who really wants to know how I judge can look at all the stuff I've done before :)

Finally, I've been wanting to do a little series on some of the awards and what makes them unique for a while now. Last year The Brilliant Gameologists did a great job discussing the awards and that year's nominations. I really appreciate the way they do these things because:
(a) They actually read all the products nominated instead of just looking at a favorite and assuming nothing else could measure up. That's quite a commitment, and I salute them.
(b) They define the criteria they're using, and even though I don't agree with their definitions a lot of the time, without them you have no basis for judging the decisions they make.

That's my primary motivating factor here. It's what I think is the number one complaint about the awards, and it's a primary reason a lot of people out there voted for me. I've made it a habit to make the process as open as possible, yet there's still no really great definition for each category. So, as I'm able, I'll try and give at least some basic idea of how I decide on products for each category.

What's that got to do with d20 vs. OGL? Nothing, but it's late, so forgive me, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to finish my point.

New today: Dragonlance Nexus - Adlatum

2009-02-26T16:46:00.002-06:00

Just like the tile says, I got Dragonlance Nexus: Adlatum in the mail today. Honestly I haven't looked at it at all, but the cover is fantastic and the descriptive text really makes me want to crack it open.

Still, one thing at a time, and I promised the family I wouldn't bury my nose in my laptop or books tonight, so I'll have to come back to this one over the weekend.

I'm feeling Lovecraftian

2009-02-25T08:53:00.004-06:00

Just a quick note about the newest entry, I received the newest entry, Lovecraftian Tales from the Table today. I haven't had a huge amount of time to poke through it yet, and this one is going to take a while. The amount of content is immense.

On it's surface it's a beautifully done DVD that uses an html interface to access everything from the two epic Call of Cthulhu actual play recordings that are on the disc, as well as a ton of other interesting content. Game PDFs, audio and video interviews, and even audio recordings of some of Lovecraft's works. The interface itself is fantastic, atractive, and well laid out, and while I haven't had a chance to listen to the content yet I have high hopes for it. It's put together by the people over at Yog-Sothoth.com, and I've really enjoyed their work in the past.

Now I'm off to listen, I'll likely post more thoughts in a few days when I've picked my way through everything.

Reposting some old thoughts

2009-02-20T09:53:00.002-06:00

I'm on my way out the door on a little mini-vacation for the weekend, but I've seen a couple posts that need answering, and I'm way shy on time, so I'm going to answer what I can before I go, and drop in a quick link here to an old post that might give some of my thoughts while I'm away.

Basically it's a blog post I wrote the last time I was a judge about advice to people seeking to submit a product to the ENnies. It's a couple years old now, but I think the actual advice therein still stands up pretty well.

Anyways, I'm going to be out of touch for a few days and just wanted to make sure no one thought they were being ignored :)

The books of Expeditious Retreat Press

2009-02-19T17:52:00.000-06:00

Everyone in my house is sick except me, which basically means we're all sitting around the house doing nothing, hoping the wife and kids get better before we leave Friday afternoon.

It did give me some time to flip through the new books I received though.

Here's a quick list:

The Seven Shrines of Nav'k-Qar, an OSRIC adventure.
The Sarcophagus Legion, An OSRIC adventure.
Plague, a 4e sourcebook detailing the use of disease in a campaign.
The Barrow Grounds, a 4e adventure setting.
Cesspools of Arnac, a 4e adventure setting.
The Woods of Woe, a 4e adventure setting.
The swamp of Timbermoor, a 4e adventure setting.
Advanced Players Guide, a 4e sourcebook with a ton of new character options.

All in all I'm hugely impressed. I haven't had much opportunity to do more than flip through them, but there are some really neat ideas. Seeing Ari Marmell's name on the cover of the Advanced Player's Guide is always a good sign, and I really like the idea for the Lands of Darkness series. These books, all those listed as "adventure settings" above, give the details for an individual area, giving a map and list of encounters appropriate for a specific range of levels. These sorts of things have always appealed to me.

Anywho, I'm off for a while, but I'm going to try and maintain my current frequency of posting, now that I'm not actively reading a ton, when I get back. Look for more updates, and less superficial ones, in about a week.

Podcasts

2009-02-18T00:51:00.004-06:00

So, I've been catching up on my podcasts lately, and given my obsessive need to listen to every cast from the very beginning it's proven to be a particularly daunting task, especially since my new job doesn't require the three hour commute that I used to have.

Much to my wife's chagrin I've taken to the habit of listening everywhere. I walk around in stores with my earbuds in, listen at work when I don't have anything going on, and wander around the house listening while I clean and take care of the kids. It'd be embarrassing if I had any shame.

It's not really something I'm doing for the ENnies, it's just a personal thing, I lost my iPod in a car wreck a year and a half ago, so I got pretty far behind, but now that I've expanded my phone's memory to 4gigs it occurred to me that I have plenty of room for a few 'casts on that. I only mention it here because it's gotten me thinking about how podcasts and the ENnies relate.

Last time I was a judge I suggested that a category be created for podcasts. RPG casts were still reasonably new and few in number at the time, and as a fan I thought they'd prove to be an invaluable resource to the gaming industry. Most everyone agreed, and a new category was created, but at the time I don't think anyone really knew what position these 'casts should fill in the awards. Based on the types of podcasts available at the time, and our guess at the primary role they would fill in the hobby they were placed as a separate category under fansites.

That year 23 podcasts were entered, and there were no real guidelines in place as to what should be entered, so we listened to every episode of 23 different shows. Given how many of those were bi-weekly or even weekly it ended up being a bit much, even for someone who listens to as many shows as I do on my own time. Therefore I really approve of the idea that the judges came up with last year requiring various podcasts to choose a number of episodes to enter (I think it was six, but I wasn't a judge last year so I can't be sure).

What does this have to do with anything? I don't know really, just something I've been thinking about. Specifically, how podcasts fit into the ENnies. Personally I think that they add to the hobby a lot like conventions do. They form a sort of virtual community where gamers hang out and talk to each other, sharing tips and bad game stories with people they might not have otherwise met. This is particularly true with shows that have a strong online forum presence, but I don't think it's exclusive to that. I think anyone who really listens to, and interacts with, the hosts of these shows thinks of them as friends in much the same way you might think of forum buddies as friends. You might never meet them in person, but if you do there is an instant connection.

In essence podcasts create a shared experience in a way that the industry has drifted away from since the days when everyone had played through Tomb of Horrors or Against the Giants. Gaming grew so broad that our experiences have mostly become individual. Podcasts, among their followings at least, bring us back together, give us stories to share that have a similar foundation, and create a real sense of community.

Regardless of what else they give us, what advice they give, and what tools they provide, that alone makes them cool, it makes them an important step forward for the hobby.

That does however make me second guess their place in the awards. It's not that I don't think they deserve a category of their own, in fact I very much believe they do, I just think it needs to be moved out from under it's parent. Originally it was placed there because we worried that there might not be enough entries, and given last year's field I guess I could see why it was a concern, but I think that the field could clearly be broadened by going out and soliciting entries the way I had to do that first year.

If they had to be under any other category I think they fit best under Regalia, a category specifically provided for products that aren't part of the hobby directly, but help us to enjoy it.

I firmly believe that most podcasts exist to be part of the community. Whatever their topics, I don't really think the podcasters themselves do it to impart wisdom or give reviews, they do it to contribute to the greater hobby as a whole. The problem is, I don't know that anyone knows how to judge that.

When I first found out that I was a judge again the first place I reached out to was the podcasting community. More than anything I want to know how they would judge themselves. Sound quality, topics, humor, consistency? What makes a great podcast?

In the early days of my listening I was firmly convinced that the advice was where it was at. I really owe a debt to shows like Paul Tevis' Have Games, Will Travel for introducing me to some new games that have become favorites, or the Sons of Kryos who actively changed the way I play the game, and I still believe this is an incredible resource, especially for shows that focus on such things. I have realized as of late however that it's far from the only thing that makes a show great.

More and more I find myself drifting toward shows where the sense of community is the driving force. Old favorites like All Games Considered, Dragon's Landing Inn, and Fear the Boot really opened me up to the idea, but some of the shows I've discovered more recently, like the Podgecast and Brilliant Gameologists really drive this home for me.

I know there are a lot of great shows out there that really deserve mentioning, that there are dozens things that are just as important that could be used as good criteria to judge podcasts, but I wanted to dwell on this for a moment because this aspect is less tangible, and because it's been on my mind a lot lately.

Producing a podcast is hard work, creating consistently entertaining and informative content week after week has got to be difficult, and I'd hate to come across as saying that it's only the intangible that counts, but it's taken me a long time to figure out how important this aspect is to me, and I thought I should put it out there.

Expeditious Retreat Press arrives

2009-02-17T17:00:00.002-06:00

Just in time for me to have finished reading the original shipment of books that I received, another box of books arrived from Expeditious Retreat Press today. I haven't taken any time to look through them in any detail yet, as I'm getting ready to take my vacation in a couple days (I'm already off work, yay!), but I'll be taking them with me so I'll get plenty of time to read through them thoroughly in the days to come.

In the mean time I'm excited. The site went back up a week ago, and already new products have started to come in again. More importantly I'm excited about the quality of what I've been seeing. So many of these products hae been amazing, and I'm glad to see a publisher like XRP who's known for consistent high quality work joining with the great stuff I've already read.

WooHoo

2009-02-17T11:19:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note to say I got my room at Embassy Suites in what had to be the most painless GenCon room registration in years.

You know, unless they randomly cancel my reservation or something.

I'm going to shut up now :)

A quick update

2009-02-11T11:15:00.002-06:00

Things are progressing smoothly on he ENnies front. Personally I'm just about finished with the first batch of books. I have three left I think. Honestly I got distracted by some personal reading or I'd have those finished as well. Since nothing new has come in I've been kind of taking my time and enjoying it.

Most importantly the website finally got repaired, so all the contact information and such is easily available again. Hopefully that will encourage some more entries so I don't have to do a huge push in May again this year.

Back in service

2008-12-28T20:22:00.002-06:00

First, a confession. I should have written this blog two weeks ago. After nearly three months of not-so-patient waiting, I received the first big shipment of books on December 11th, and the proceeded to do nothing about it.

That's not entirely acturate, but it feels like it. I've read all of two books of the 40+ that I received, and waited more than two weeks to mention it here.

My appologies. I'll pull the traditional holidays excuse, you know, because I can. Visiting in-laws, birthdays, christmas, graduation, it's been a busy month, but I'm down to business now.

So, what's happening at this point? Well, as of now I have almost everything that the other judges have. A couple little things seem to have gotten lot in the transition between one judge and anotherm, but not much, and I'll just replace those myself.

In the mean time I've just finished Emily Care Boss's Under my Skin, a game about playing through the uncomfortable issues that come up when people's romantic relationships get intertwined and messy. It's very well written, and very non-traditional, even far more so that her other game I've have some experience with, Breaking the Ice.

To be honest I'm going to have to let this one soke in a bit. I literaly just finished reading it before starting this post, and it's totally different than the other games I have experience with. I've played a lot of different games, even LARPs, and this is a different stage than what I've done before. There's a discussion in the book on using it to explore your own emotions and relationships, and it definately feels like that's exactly the kind of thing that would strengthen the experience. It's a touchy subject, and it's probably not for me, but it is very well done. It feels more like a well-guided roleplaying experience than a traditional roleplaying game.

On the other end of the spectrum I've also been reading Dark Heresy. It's the most complete system I've received thus far, so it'll be the first that I settle in to playtest. I received the core book, Inquisitor's Handbook, and the Purge the Unclean campaign book, so last night we put our Saturday game on hold to make characters, and we're going to play through the adventures in Purge the Unclean. I'm going to withold comment for right now, but I will say that I'm excited. The peritextual elements, the pictures, the font, the borders, all draw you in and really put you in the mood. Last time I was a judge Warhammer Fantasy hit me in much the same way, and I ended up filling out my collection even after the judging period was over, just for my own use. I'm interested to see if the 40k version can grab me as well.

So, I guess that's it for now. I'll check back in like I did last time, a couple times a week or so, now that I'm actually getting stuff done. Because of the earlier elections I'm still three months ahead od where I was at this point last time, so I'm going to take my time and really enjoy the books this time until more stuff starts pouring in.

As always, feel free to ask if you have questions or comments.

The first arrival

2008-10-22T01:17:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a month and the books that were already submitted to the other judges still haven't made their way to me yet, but I do have some good news.

Wraith Recon from Mongoose Publishing showed up at my door yesterday.

This is pretty exciting for a number of reasons. First of course is the fact that it's my first product this year. Fifty other products have been submitted, but I'm still waiting for Zach to get those to me. This one however I have in my hot little hands. Something about birds in a bush vs. birds in a hand seems appropriate here...

Second is that the book itself represents a new generation of products. There's no secret that third party support of DnD 4.0 has been pretty sparse. Compared to the simultaneous release, and nearly immediate deluge, of products that came out with 3.0, 4.0 has been a lot of hurry up and wait. Wraith Recon however was certainly among the first products announced for the new system, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much it has been, or can, be tweaked. Mongoose has always been good about putting their own spin on existing games.

Maybe most importantly, I think this is Mongoose's first year participating in the ENnies, and that's always very cool. Nothing helps to make the awards better like competition, and I love to see someone who puts out the sheer variety of products that Mongoose produces throw their hat in the ring.

I can't wait to read it.

Almost exactly a year

2008-09-27T21:56:00.002-06:00

It's been almost exactly a year since I posted here.

Not that it has anything to do with anything, but I've been staring at the blank title space for like 10 minutes trying to decide what to write and how to do it, and I figured anything that got me typing was a good thing. It seems to have worked.

Yippy, my superpower "Can't stop typing, even when it's for the best" finally paid off.

Yeah, I'm beginning to think I'm the king of soapbox posts that are too long for anyone to read or take seriously.

Ok, enough procrastinating.

So, I'm posting here because I'm now an ENnies judge again. Yeah, it's about a month after they were announced and I wasn't one of them. I was, however the first alternate, so here I am.

Now, if you want to feel like a heel, accept a position that someone you like has just vacated. I don't regret the decision I made, and I'm glad for the opportunity, but it feels pretty weird. Every time someone says something nice to me or about me I feel a little guilty, like I don't really belong.

So, here I am. I'm doing it because I wanted to, because it is something that has the chance to benefit the community and the hobby I love, and because a lot of really great people believed that I do belong here enough to give me the votes to be the alternate. I really hope it doesn't come off as disrespectful to Zach, because his experience was not my experience, and though I don't know him well I really like what I know of him.

That said, I guess I'm back in the saddle, and I hope people can support my decision to do it. For my part I'll be back here doing just what I did before, speaking my mind, answering questions, and listening to what advice you have to offer.

In the mean time though I don't have a huge ammount to add right now. Obviously I have no products yet. I was just given the official word today. I do however have a list of what has been entered so far, and it looks like it's going to be an amazing year. Interestingly enough I only own two of the products on the list already which both delights and amazes me.

I'll post more when I actually have something worth saying, but for now I just wanted to open up the shop again.

Final post: Pimping my new blog.

2007-09-12T13:31:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is it for me here before I turn it over to the new caretakers.

I would have stopped already, but it occurred to me that some of the readers here might be interested in following my ongoing blogs, and I haven't posted links or taken the time to pimp them yet.

In my judgment is my gaming blog, where I'll post reviews, talk about design, and generally focus on my gaming life.

Life's Journey is just my personal blog, and not gaming related at all, but if anyone is interested that's where I'll talk a little bit about all the things that are important to me, my family, my work, and my faith.

Thanks to everyone who stuck it out with me for so long, and I hope some of you make the move with me. Good luck the the new crop of judges, and I really hope you take me up on my offer here.

Jeramy Ware

Changing of the guard

2007-09-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

I changed the look and title of the blog today to reflect the change of contributors. I'll go ahead and reissue my invitation to the new judges, and hopefully you'll be seeing new content soon.

GenCon report, and moving forward.

2007-08-28T05:49:00.001-06:00

So, it's been a week since I've gotten home from GenCon, which probably makes this the latest report on the internet, but I honestly just kind of took the last week off. Not from work, mind you. I went to work the day I got back, and have been working since then to make up for the time I took off, but from games. With the exception of learning how to play the WoW card game I got as swag, I haven't opened a game book, taken a note, or typed a word on the campaigns I'm supposed to be working on. I basically took last week to decompress a bit and hang out with my wife and kids before school made our lives crazy again.

Anywho, I guess I had better start with talking a little bit about the awards. The ceremony was awesome, and best of all I got to spend a bit of time hanging out with all of the great people that I got to know on line over the last few months. There weren't a whole lot of surprises among the winners, though I sincerely wish that a few of the outstanding small press titles had gotten a bit more recognition. I really thought there would be at least a few more medals going out to them.

And then of course there were the announcements for the judge elections.

Since that night I''ve heard a huge number of people come out to tell me they were sorry that I didn't get elected, and how shocked they were. I appreciate that a lot, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I was far more shocked that Jeff Ranger (who had been a judge in every previous year) didn't get elected. My election the first time was a fluke, and the result of a whole lot of hard campaigning, drawing from groups that most other judges simply didn't have access to. I hit local gatherings and nearly every gamer in central Texas looking for votes while the others campaigned among the people who could already be counted on to vote online. This meant that I got a nice little surge of votes, but it also meant that they went away as soon as I wasn't around to remind them to get online and vote for me. While everyone else was online, campaigning and answering questions like they should have been, I was on vacation with my family. I knew I was taking a chance with the election when I made the choice, and I don't really regret it.

This isn't, however, bad news. For the judging panel we got five qualified and excited people who came straight home with piles of books and got right to work. I think they're going to do a fantastic job, and I can't wait to sit back and see what they come up with. As far as what that will mean where this blog is concerned, well I have even better news. At least three of the judges told me that they are interested in blogging like I did, and together I know they'll do a far better job than I ever did alone. I have offered to give them this blog site, since it would be a bit disingenuous of me to keep using the enniejudge address, and hopefully they'll take me up on that. Even if they maintain separate blogs, a combined blog here might make for interesting reading. Liz also asked me to consider writing a guest column on occasion, which would be extremely cool, though I have no idea what I would talk about.

As for me, I accepted a staff position doing outreach for the Ennie Awards, and I'll be moving my private blog onto another feed just as soon as I figure out whether or not there is any way to transfer over all the stuff I've already written. I'll leave my entries here as well, but I wanted to archive them on my own site if possible. Beyond Ennies stuff, I'm thinking about starting a pet project. Dan Repperger told me that he believes that everything happens for a reason, and that he was able to speak far more for podcasting by presenting the award than he ever could have in a simple acceptance speech. That got me thinking, and though I personally feel the same way, I don't usually have many opportunities to apply that to gaming. Here perhaps I do. I have two RPGs that I have all but complete, that I never bothered to do anything with because I never had any desire to try and get them published. As a judge I never could have anyways.

Having met a lot of great publishers and writers at GenCon however, I begin to understand why people might want to put their stuff our there, even if they know it'll never make them a real living. So I think I may give it a shot as well. I'm going to take this year to try and get together at least an ashcan edition, and hope that the Ashcan Front has room for one more. I really loved what they were doing there, and it would be incredibly awesome to have the chance to be a part of that.

Anywho, enough of that. Let's talk about GenCon.

Maybe it's just been too long, or maybe I'm just older, but it sure seemed like GenCon was bigger and much more of a presence than it was in Milwaukee ten years ago. You couldn't swing a boffer weapon without smacking a gamer ("2 magic!"), and you couldn't walk down the street without meeting someone cool.

That's good, because I turns out that I am the worst GenCon planner ever. I went to the con signed up to run two unofficial games, and to play in one more. Beyond that, all I had to do was two shifts at the Ennies booth. That's it. Silly me, I thought I'd just find a few games when I got there.

I did, however, run Hollow Earth Expedition, and the players there made it the most fun I've ever had in a con game, and probably the best time I've had with any game in a really long time. I cannot express enough how much I love that game, and as glad as I am that it got a silver for Best Cover, I'm pretty saddened that it wasn't honored beyond that at the Ennies. It helps of course, that the people who make it are so completely awesome. Not only did they set aside a special copy of the limited edition Secrets of the Surface World supplement for me (number 10!), they gave me a copy of the GM screen for running the game at the con, even though mine wasn't an official game, and loaned me a ton of the extremely cool new style chips to use.

I also played in a game of Traveller20 run by Psion from the ENWorld forums. There I made the unfortunate choice of playing the pilot, and I basically spent the entire game sitting on the ship hoping to make myself useful. I'm sure I was a ton of fun for the poor other players who kept trying to encourage me to leave the ship, but the paranoid GM in me was sure that the moment we left the ship unoccupied it was going to take off without us. Yeah, it's tough switch from GM to player. If you guys are reading this, sorry if I was a stick in the mud.

Finally I managed to worm my way into Chris Hussey's Skies of Glass demo (the game written by the guys over at Fear the Boot). The game itself is still in early stages of development, but it looks really cool, and that demo adventure is the best written con game I've ever seen. It's really tough to write a game for a bunch of strangers. Doubly so for a group different enough to touch on all the features of a game, and that game was perfect. Everyone at that table had something to do, and we were all engaged the entire time. I can't heap enough praise that direction. Even if my best friend did betray me to the law and get me executed...

That's really it for my gaming experiences. Like I said, I just didn't plan well at all. I was really hoping to do some stuff that I never get to at home, play some board games, demo a few story games, and play in a LARP. Ever since I read the excellent new version of the Cthulu LARPthat was entered in the Ennies I've been dying to give it a try. Anywho, I never really got the chance. That's not entirely true. I did get to do a cool demo of Breaking the Ice, which was a huge amount of fun, but I was desperate to try out Dogs in the Vineyard and Prime Time Adventures, and I'm bummed that I never made that happen. Especially after hearing the latest Sons of Kryos talk about the great Star Wars game they played with PTA.

In spite of my terrible planning I did get to meet some extremely cool people. Wednesday night the guys from Fear the Boot took me out for a great dinner, and not only gave me a Baron von Badass mug, but introduced me to a new beer to fill it with. I also got to hang out with Jeff and Judd from the Sons of Kryos, though I never did meet Storn; Paul Tevis, who also introduced me to Ken Hite (sorry, Kenneth Hite in print); Jeff, Melissa, and the Exile Crew; Lenny and Fred from Evil Hat; all three of the All Games Considered crew, Jared Sorenson; Luke Crane; all the ENnies folks (Denise, Russ, Rich, Liz, Kennon, Michael, Gertie, Jeff, Stuart, Kevin...); the list goes on and on, but now I'm just listing people, so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. Sorry if I missed anyone. I had such a great time at GenCon, and it was all because of the people I met.

So, I guess that's really all I did. I missed the Judges' Party Thursday night, so I don't have all the great stories everyone else does. I skipped it at first to run my HEX game, intending to show up late, but then promptly forgot about the party by the time the game ended at midnight, and went up to my room to sleep after my 20 hour drive earlier in the day. Other than that I spent all of my time in the dealers' room. You'd think that I'd have managed, in all that time, to get everything that I wanted, but I didn't. I don't have my stuff with me, but let me see if I can remember the list:

Play Dirty, by John Wick (Dude, if you stumble across this, you're my hero. Just throwing that out there.)
The Blossoms are Falling, by Luke Crane
Jihad, by Luke Crane
Cold City Companion, by Malcolm Craig (Who also gave me a second, signed copy, to give away at my game day next month.)
Monte Cook's World of Darkness
Hollow Earth Expedition: Secrets of the Surface World
Hollow Earth Expedition: Player's Kit (A cool little bag with Ubiquity dice and Style Chips.)
Hollow Earth Expedition: Game Master's Screen
Aces and Eights
Classic Battletech TechManual
Classic Battletech Technical Readout 3050
Shadowrun: Augmentation
Dogs in the Vineyard
GURPS: Martial Arts
Blackmoor: Clock and Steam (Which was given to me for review by the guys at Zeitgeist.)
and the guys at Eden sold me Forsaken Rites, Cryptozoology, and Atlantis Rising for Conspiracy X for $5 a piece on Sunday :)

I know I'm forgetting some stuff, but I won't remember any more until after I publish this I'm sure, so I'm going to press on. I guess the combination of crunchy and narrative games that I bought may make me the most eclectic gamer ever, but I just love new games. So long as they fulfill their design goals I'm willing to give anything a shot.

What's really notable is what I didn't get, mostly because I'm an idiot. In retrospect I'm angry with myself for skipping the new Battletech boxed set. I was already so far over budget I couldn't justify buying a starter set since I already had all of the regular books, but man I wish I had a copy. A similar thing happened with GURPS Supers, where I got money concious and started thinking about the likelihood that I would be playing a Supers game any time soon. Somehow I also missed three of the games that I specifically went into the dealer's hall to buy. Reign, Prime Time Adventures, and Dread were right at the very top of my too buy list, and I have no idea how I missed them. I went to the Forge booth to pick them up, got distracted when my inner fanboi took over and I went around getting my books signed, and managed to walk away without thinking about it. I didn't notice that I managed to leave without them until I packed up my suitcase Sunday night.

All in all however it was certainly the best four days in gaming. I can't begin to describe what a great time I had and how much fun it was meeting everyone. Next year I'll plan better, and I'll do all of my shopping Thursday in case I miss anything. Other than that, I have no regrets.

Thanks to everyone who made GenCon, and this blog, such a blast. Especially to all of those who voted for me or vouched for me when I was running for judge. I got a lot of love this year, and win or lose it meant the world to me.

THE AWARDS!

2007-08-17T23:53:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know I haven't logged on, but wireless coverage in Indianapolis is spottier than I expected.

I also promised to live-blog the awards, but due to limited internet access that didn't happen either.

So, here at least are the winners, congrats all, and thank you for your support of the ENnies and myself in particular.

Best Fan Site, presented by Russell Morrissey:
Silver: Planewalker
Gold: Dragonlance Nexus

Best PodCast, presented by Dan Repperger of Fear the Boot:
Silver: Yog Radio
Gold: Have Games, Will Travel

Best Cover Art, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Hollow Earth Expedition, by Exile Games Studio
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press

Best Interior Art:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power by Green Ronin Publishing

Best Cartography:
Silver: WFRP GM Toolkit, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press

Best Production Values:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press

Best Writing:
Silver: WFRP Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press

Best Rules:
Silver: Spirit of the Century, by Evil Hat
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin

Best Adventure:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Time of Vengeance, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP: Lure of the Liche Lord, by Black Industries

Best Setting, presented by Kieth Baker:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press

Best Supplement, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP Companion, by Black Industries

2008 ENnies Judge Election, announced by Richard Miller:
Kathryn -Gertie- Barden (Xath)
Elizabeth Bauman (Queen_Dopplepopolis)
Chris Gath (Crothian)
Zachary Houghton (Zachary The First)
Kevin Kulp (Piratecat)

Best Aid or Accessory, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: GameMastery Combat Pad, by Open Mind Games/Paizo Publishing
Gold: Deck of Many Things, by Green Ronin Publishing

Best Miniature Product:
Silver: EZ Dungeons, by Fat Dragon Games
Gold: Game Mastery: Flip-mat Tavern, by Paizo Publishing

Best Regalia:
Silver: Liber Chaotica, by Black Industries
Gold: Order of the Stick, No Cure for the Paladin Blues, by Giant in the Playground

Best Free Product:
Silver: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games
Gold: Savage Tide Player's Guide, by Paizo Publishing

Best Electronic Book:
Silver: Magical Medieval Society: European Warfare, by Expeditious Retreat Press
Gold: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games

Best d20/OGL Product, presented by Rodney Thompson of Wizards of the Coast:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing

Best Game, presented by Rob Boyle of Catalyst Games:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Scion, Hero, by White Wolf

Product of the Year, presented by Peter Adkinson:
Silver: WFRP, Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press

Fan's Choice, Best Publisher:
Silver: Green Ronin
Gold: Wizards of the Coast

Next time, on a very special episode of In My Judgment:

2007-08-12T18:50:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd go ahead and make a quick post about what's going on from my end. Since I'm leaving for GenCon Tuesday tomorrow's blog will be my last until Friday, when I will live-blog the awards ceremony, complete with pictures and winners as they are announced.

Tomorrow's blog will be a look back at my impressions of the products that were entered last year as a whole. It will likely be very long, and I've already started working on it a little bit.

After that, and the blog from the ceremony of course, what happens will largely depend on the outcome of the judge elections. When I get back from GenCon next Tuesday I will be starting my spotlight series, where I will go through products a couple at a time giving brief impressions. Whether or not those products are the ones I got this year or a sneak peak at what I'll be judging next year will have to wait and see if I get elected again.

If I'm not a judge I'll likely wrap up this blog once I finish highlighting my favorite products. If I am elected I'll shift my focus to the awards for next year. With any luck I'll bring a few entries home with me to start reviewing right away.

48 hours

2007-08-12T13:06:00.001-06:00

Well, it's almost here. In just about 48 hours I'm headed to GenCon for the first time in a decade, and being the procrastinator that I am, I have yet to even begin packing.

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am. This year is going to be fantastic, and I'm really looking to meeting everyone.

Over at ENnies HQ things are in full swing. They just got the table layout a couple days ago, so the event organizers are finally able to get to work on seating arrangements and the like, not to mention packing up the booth stuff and all the other work that goes into throwing an event for hundreds of people.

Meanwhile, I of course am sitting on my hands. I feel pretty useless right now since my job at this point is mostly to show up and look pretty, and those who know me realized I'm going to fail at least half of that. Meanwhile I sit back and watch everyone else put a ton of time and effort into putting the presentation together and making sure that everything is done and ready to go.

Personally I can't wait. The location, the Indiana Roof Ballroom is amazing , and just around the corner from the convention center, which is very nice, especially since I won't have access to a cap in Indiana.

Anywho, I guess that's about it for now. Judge voting ends today, so if you haven't, please get out and vote. If you have, wish me luck.

I am humbled

2007-08-07T08:21:00.000-06:00

So, I'll admit that I have a Google alert looking for stuff about me and my blog. Yeah, it's vain, but I like to see what kind of job I'm doing, and I refuse to believe everyone is as positive as the guys are around here to my face.

Apparently I'm wrong. There has been an absolutely fantastic amount of support out there , and I don't even begin to know what to say. Thanks to everyone who took a moment to pass some good vibes my way. It really means a lot to me. I've gotten about a dozen hate e-mails and a couple of nasty IMs over the last couple days from people who are a bit upset about one of the decisions that was made (I'd really rather not go into it here if you don't mind), but every site that came up on my alert was not just supportive, but completely flattering.

I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if everyone came up on the alert yet, but let me at least thank Zachary (who commented here and on a number of message boards); Kevin Kulp, who gave me an amazing endorsement on his blog; Fred Hicks, who endorsed me on his blog and over at RPGnet, Christopher Richeson, who has been awesome on his blog and far more message boars than I myself frequent; Justin Jacobson, who took the time to drop me a complement over at Story Games; and everyone over on the Exile Games site.

You guys made my day.

I'm sure I missed some, and if I did, I'm sorry. You have my sincerest thanks.

Edit: I really need to add the guys at Fear the Boot to this. Despite great adversity they have been far better to me than I deserve.

Best d20/OGL commentary

2007-08-07T01:20:00.001-06:00

In some ways judging the d20 products was very easy for me, even though it required a lot of work. The reason is simple of course, I'm already extremely familiar with the underlying mechanics. It's certainly a lot easier to judge a game when you can tell at a glance how it all fits together.

It's a lot of work, however, because a huge percentage of what we received was d20 based. I don't have my notes or anything, but I'd guess something like 2/3 to 3/4 of the entries used d20-ish mechanics I say "ish" because I'm lumping in things like True20, Passages, and Mutants & Masterminds.

Here is one area where I definitely can't complain about the outcome. I don't usually share my votes for fear of betraying how other judges voted, but on this one it seems safe, since every vote I cast ended up on the list. Here at least you can see exactly how my tastes line up.

The choices I made here fell into place pretty easily. Like other categories I find myself wishing that there was room for a few more outstanding products, especially taking into consideration how many d20 products we received, but when it comes down to it the products that were selected were nothing short of amazing.

The Warlords of the Accordlands series was likely the most pleasant surprise of the entrants this year. I hadn't heard much about it going in, and most of what I did hear wasn't very flattering. I don't know anything about the CCG it's based on and of course I didn't have to put up with the delays that I know tend to frustrate fans, which left me a bit more open to enjoying the game for what it was, rather than what it wasn't. What it was is an incredibly good read, providing everything that a GM might need to run a campaign in a very compelling world. It offers some neat, new mechanical tricks, provides large amounts of world information, offers great cartography and art, and includes an interesting mega-campaign to take characters from first level all the way to 20. We combined all four of these books into one product for the purposes of the award, but any one of those books would make a great addition to this list.

Etherscope- Upload: Etherpunk is another one that I was only peripherally aware of before the awards, yet hits on every cylinder. It shouldn't be any surprise really, since Goodman Games is continuously churning out good products, but the Etherscope line in total has proven to be exceptional at every turn. I wish I had it with me so I could go into a bit more detail, but it takes the d20 Modern ruleset and tunes it in some very interesting ways. Even leaving off the great mechanics, you still find a fascinating world that cries out to be played in, compelling adventures, and strong reenforcement of its themes at every turn. No one should think of Goodman as just a company that has managed to bottle up the "old school" vibe and sell it. These products prove they have a lot more to offer.

Mutants and Masterminds: Ultimate Power has been nominated over and over again, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that it made it here as well. Everyone who knows d20 knows that Green Ronin consistently puts out some of the best products that the industry has to offer, and yet even in this year of very strong entries from their camp, Ultimate Power shines through. This book takes the already incredible Mutants and Masterminds second edition rules and really opens them up to the players. It makes power creation easy, quick, and comprehensive. I'd challenge anyone to find something it doesn't allow you to do.

Five Fingers: Port of Deceit got my vote first and foremost because it was quite possibly the single best book I read. Sure there are some books that do certain things better, but this one really grabbed me across the board. It's extremely well written, entertaining, visually appealing, and though it contains few rules, those that are there are short, easy to understand, and could pop right into any d20 game. I absolutely loved it.

I saved Helios Rising for last because I was asked to go into a bit more detail on why I liked it so much. Let me start by saying that this book is huge, and it's packed from beginning to end with gaming goodness. It doesn't waste any time jumping right in either. From the time you open it up you're getting advice on how to use it and what kind of campaigns to run. What really makes this book work for me though is the way it's laid out. Besides the fact that it's a good read to start with, or the fact that it provides excellent rules for playing everything that it presents, it's just so darn easy to find exactly what you need for the setting you're playing in. Each chapter is like a mini sourcebook with the history, geography, rules, and hooks you need to slip it right into your game. In short, the book takes everything that's great about the already fantastic Dawning Star setting, expands it, and makes it better. Any chapter in this book would make an excellent purchase, and as a whole it's phenomenal. Even if you don't use the Dawning Star setting, or don't even play d20 Modern, I'd say this would be a good buy. There is enough information and adventure ideas here to easily find inspiration for any number of sci-fi games.

I guess in retrospect that's not huge amount of extra detail, but I suppose that if anyone is interested I'll make a bit more effort when I get to work on the next series of blogs I'll be doing.

So, what didn't make the list, and why? The why part is easy really, and I already touched on it above. The things that were nominated were absolutely amazing. Even though some of the products that didn't make the list were amazing as well, the quality of the competition here can't be stressed enough.

Still, there are a few things that I can think of right away that need to be mentioned. First and foremost is the Honorable Mention, Ptolus. The vast majority of complaints that I heard this year revolved around how few nominations Ptolus received, particularly in this category. First I suppose I should point out that Ptolus did actually do very well for itself in every category where its strengths were really allowed to shine. It received nominations in Production Values, Setting, Cartography, and even Product of the Year, though it didn't fair quite as well in this category. Part of the reason for that is that Ptolus is really a setting book, and though it does present its setting very well, it already got a nomination for that. It's huge, and it's pretty, but it got a nomination for that as well. It's full of densely packed information, and among the best products released this year, but it got the nod for that as well. Hopefully everyone can see that it wasn't overlooked, it's just that, in the d20 category, we were looking for different criteria, and at it's heart Ptolus was built to tie existing d20 material together into a cohesive whole, not expand it in any meaningful way. It's a great book, and it deserves the place it got on this list every bit as much as it deserves the actual nominations that it received, but it just couldn't quite make the final list.

Another neat product was Passages, also brought to us by the same company that produced Helios Rising. This one is almost unique among d20 derived games in that it completely deconstructs the ruleset and rebuilds it until it's almost unrecognizable. Believe me when I say that I mean that in a very good way. The authors didn't bother with preserving the sacred cows, instead they took the clay it was built from and molded it into the form that fit their creation. Passages takes chances, it goes out on a limb, and throws out all of the old d20 stereotypes. It gives you the unexpected at every turn, and almost challenges you to call it "just another d20 game". Based on some of the finest literary works that the world has to offer, this book makes you a passenger in some of the greatest stories ever told. Any element of this book, its rules, setting, or writing, would make an excellent purchase. As a whole it is nothing short of extraordinary.

There are a lot more products that really deserve some spotlight time here, but I've been at this for two hours already, and I have work that needs to get done. Instead I'm just going to mention the next series that I'm going to do on this blog. I have one or two commentaries left in me, but beyond that I think I'm going to move on to a simple spotlight format. Breaking down each individual category always leaves me wishing I had taken the time to mention just a few more things, and the actual reviews I used to do were a bit too time consuming. Instead I think that I'll start putting out a post whenever I have the time with the highlights of a few products that I think deserve a second look. It won't be much, just a paragraph or two, but hopefully it'll allow me to share my thoughts in a less structured way. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see me start with.

Judge voting is open

2007-08-06T19:44:00.000-06:00

So, in case you are unaware, voting for the 2008 ENnies judges is now open. I'd really appreciate any votes I get, but even if you don't put me as your number 1 please take a second to vote. These are the people who choose the final nominees and a good selection is absolutely vital to the process.
If you feel strongly about any of the candidates I'd also like to ask that you take a moment to voice your support on any of the forums or blogs that you frequent. The process has been very quiet this year since it came so close on the heals of voting for the awards themselves, and that's not good for anyone.

Preparing for GenCon

2007-08-06T02:44:00.001-06:00

I know I let it get slow again, sorry. One of the downsides to owning a small business is that every time you're not around to do something it simply doesn't get done. It just sits there waiting for you when you get back. After my last vacation I had a ton to do, and when that was done I decided to take some preemptive measures for my trip to GenCon. Toss that together with preparing to end the Shadowrun game that I've been running for around a year now, and writing three more games to start after GenCon, I just haven't had the mental space to blog.

Hopefully that's past me now, since the eminent threat of GenCon has me all excited again.

This year will mark my first GenCon in a decade, and the first time that I really go knowing people or excited about the people I'm going to meet. Always before it was strictly about the gaming, and there will be plenty of that this year as well, but it'll be nice to put faces to some of the people that I've been chatting with. Right now I have a dinner tentatively scheduled for the night before the con in St. Louis, which should be awesome, a possible podcast interview, and a whole lot of drinks I need to buy. If any vendors wonder why I have no money for the exhibitioner's hall, blame that.

Other than that I have no idea what I'm going to do. There's the podcast party and the ENnies of course, and I have two pick-up games that I'm scheduled to run, but beyond those I'll just play it by ear. Right now I don't even think I'm bringing any game books with me outside of my copy of Hollow Earth Expedition. If I'm elected as a judge this year I'm going to concentrate my energy on seeking out games that might be entered for the awards this year. What better way to get a jump start on seeing exactly what the game was intended to do? I have no idea what all is coming out or what to expect, but I know that if I don't get to thumb through Monte Cook's World of Darkness, Aces and Eights, Blossoms are Falling, Witch Hunter, Secrets of the Surface World, and the Cold City Companion I'm going to cry. I'm not sure if there is any chance they'll be at the con, but I definitely need some ConX supplements and the new BRP as well.

Sigh. There's no way I can afford all of those right now, so my only hope is that enough of them get delayed that I won't have to try and figure out which are immediate "must haves" and which can wait.

While I'm at it, I desperately need to find someone willing to teach me to play Prime Time Adventures, Dogs in the Vineyard, and Dread. The more podcasts I listen to the more it becomes a physical need to try my hand at them.

Anywho, I guess that's enough off-topic ramblings for now. If anyone has good advice on GenCon activities let me know. Also, voting for GenCon judges should start today, and I'd really appreciate any support I can get. I'm Jeramy Ware in case anyone was wondering. With my vacation and extra work lately I've done a terrible job of campaigning, so I could use all the help I can get.

Best Setting commentary

2007-07-31T07:19:00.001-06:00

Best Setting is definitely one of those categories where you can't help but notice that things are missing. So much work and creativity is poured into the various game settings that they are easy to latch on to, and they form the core of many of the games and products that we reviewed. Everyone has their favorite setting, or some element of a game world that appeals to them, and seeing it missing from the list brings up the question of why.

Figuring out how to judge a game setting is tough. Rules are easy. Most long time gamers can look at a set of game rules, maybe play through them a bit, and see what makes them tick. Settings on the other hand are pure art, and art is hard to judge. Especially when the subjects are so different. Personally I think that measuring a city book like Five Fingers against a core setting like Qin is basically impossible to do fairly. That's why it's so important to judge each book on its own merits, rather than trying to compare them to one another. It's easy to read Five Fingers and see why it deserves the nomination, but it's much harder to figure out if it is "better" than something like Qin, which has to explain large sections of the world while leaving room for actual rules.

Unfortunately that does lead to some regrettable results sometimes. Every nomination in this category is a d20 product. That's a bit disappointing, and comparing products as a group might correct that a bit, but it would also mean that one of these very worthy products would have to be dropped to make room for something else for no reason other than it's system, which really shouldn't come into consideration in this particular category.

So, why these products and not some of the other great entries?

Mostly it falls back to the old excuse: there's only room for five. When it came down to it we had to pick the five settings that we felt were the absolute best based on their own merits, and the list we came up with was a good one. I may be a bit biased though, since there is only one product from my personal list of 5 that didn't make the final list, and in retrospect, I think that it may have been a bad choice anyways.

For me, these work well because, though they share a common system, they are all presented differently. Each really exemplifies a different design philosophy in a way that many other games just couldn't match. There were plenty of great settings entered, but in my view these made the cut because they weren't just great, they each did at least one thing in some extraordinary way. Who could deny that Ptolus is the most thorough setting book ever produced? It's well thought out, cohesive, and contains everything you will ever need to play for years on end. Five Fingers is a bit more open, choosing to instead paint itself in broad strokes, giving all the central information you need in a concise, entertaining fashion without weighing itself down with tiny details. On the other side of the scale, Helios Rising does an excellent job of presenting an entire star system and its inhabitants, giving GMs and players alike a ton of material to work with, and a variety of worlds to explore.

I guess the only really defining thing the nominees have in common is that they present real, living worlds, complete with enough information to sit down and put it all right to work.

That's not to say that they are the only ones who did that, however, they just did it in some way that made the five of us agree that they belonged as the top 5. There were a number of other exceptional entries, and though I don't have time to detail them all, I'd like to touch on a few:

I'll start with Burning Empires and go into a bit more detail here, since was the game that I originally put up that didn't make the list. I don't usually talk about my votes, but I think this is one that I have to mention, because I think it was wrong. Don't misunderstand, the setting for Burning Empires is fantastic, and very few games make you just want to sit down and see what you can come up with the way it does, but it doesn't really fit this category well. Sure, it has an overarching setting, but the real meat of the game is the setting the group itself makes. That's where the heart of the product lies, and though it deserves the nod because it makes that so easy and illustrates what can be done so well, stuffing BE into this category is like shoving a square peg into a round hole. You can't make it fit without shaving off a lot of what makes it unique. The setting provided for BE is fabulous, but that's not what makes it exceptional. It's the tools that help you make your setting that make it stand out.

Dictionary of Mu was another one that didn't quite make it in this category. Likewise things like Thieves' World, Qin, Tuala Morn, Golden Age, and Castlemorn were bandied about. The books themselves are fantastic, and do an excellent job of painting a picture of the world and the kinds of adventures that await the PCs, but they just didn't quite make it.

Also, since the role of PDFs in other categories was questioned I thought I'd point out that two products which received serious consideration were Fort Griffin and the Last Free City, which were both incredibly good products, but failed to make the list by a slim margin. Both make extremely good examples of how well a PDF can compare to print products in any category.

Well, I'm late heading home so I'm going to end this here. I know it was short and a little abrupt, but I'm still a bit exhausted from my vacation. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll go into a bit more detail.

Next up: Best d20/OGL.

My return and voting for judges.

2007-07-30T16:10:00.000-06:00

I just got back from my family vacation this morning after driving the 18 hours straight from rural Tennessee to central Texas. I'm sorry I wasn't able to update while I was gone, but unsurprisingly wireless internet seemed a little harder to find out in the mountains than it is around here.

Tonight I'll get online, catch up, and start posting commentaries again. In the mean time, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who stuck with me, and remind people that the Judge voting starts one week from today. I'd appreciate the support, or if you could pass the word along, but even if you don't vote for me (Jeramy Ware) please get out and vote. Picking the right group of judges is just as important as picking the winners themselves. After all, it's the judges who decide which products are available for voting.

Slow news

2007-07-21T11:39:00.000-06:00

If you're wondering about the lack of updates, it's mostly just my normal end of the week slow period. I'm getting ready to take a family vacation and there hasn't been much time for the internet.

I'm also running a little low on things to talk about. I think I've pretty much answered all the questions I've been asked, and there's really not a lot going on right now. Votes are coming in, and I don't think the judge nominations have stared yet, though I haven't been online much.

Hopefully that'll at least get going soon. We're running low on time for people to make an informed decision, and I'm going out of town at the end of this week.

Anywho, I'll try to get back to work on my commentaries late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Without the questions to guide me they may be a bit shorter, which might be a good thing.

Combining products

2007-07-19T00:14:00.001-06:00

As a follow up to my last post I thought I'd discuss the argument in question (or at least part of it). From what I can tell the entire thing began because there was some offense take to the combining of different products into a single entry. The particular example used was the Battletech PDF entry, which was a series of free PDFs based on the newest iteration of the Battletech rules. I'm at work right now, so I don't have the actual entries with me at the moment, but I'd be glad to list them when I get a chance if there is interest.

So, here's my perspective on the matter. Please keep in mind that, though I was a judge for this year's awards, I am currently not affiliated with the ENies beyond my status as a volunteer and perhaps a few final duties during GenCon itself (I am, for instance, working the booth for four hours). With any luck, and a little support, I'll be a judge again in the future, but for now all I have is opinion, and the reasoning behind the choices I personally made.

The crux of the issue is this: Several products were allowed to be combined into a single entry, usually at the request of the publisher who entered them. I haven't done any work in previous years, so I might be wrong, but as far as I know it was first brought up in relation to the Dungeon and Dragon magazines. Paizo wanted to know if they would be considered separately, or as a group. This was brought to the judges, and as a group we decided that it would be best to enter the issues together as a single entry. This later became a non-issue because Paizo decided not to enter the entire line, but it did set the stage for what came after.

Next came the Battletech PDFs. I saw the Battletech Quickstart rules and fell in love. I became a huge fan of the newest itteration of the rules, and so I thought it was a shoe-in for Best Free Product. I said as much, and was then told that Fanpro wanted to enter the PDF versions (which included several additional free books, character sheets, and the like) as a single product. The precedent had been set by the Paizo entries, and the rules already had a somewhat related clause (a publisher's website could be considered as a single entry under Free Product), so to me at least it seemed acceptable.

Warlords of the Accordlands is another example. Here we awarded the entire four book line a nomination under Best d20/OGL. Clearly they are separate products, but they fit together so seamlessly that I could easily see them as a single mega-product like Ptolus.

Now here's why I think that's alright:

The Battletech Quickstart was going to get my vote under Best Free Product, no doubt. It's possible that some of the other books in the line may have as well. The Warlords of the Accordlands World Atlas was going to get my vote under Best d20. The Master Codex may have as well. What would be better, to fill up the lists with similar products, or to combine related products into a single line.

How fair is that?

To put it another way, let's say D&D 3.5 (PHB, MM, & DMG) was up for nomination this year. Each book wouldn't even qualify under Best Game. That category requires a complete system, it's why d20 books don't qualify for that award and have their own. What they would do, however, is dominate the Best Supplement category, possibly garnering as many as three out of the five available nominations. By combining the books into a single line, it qualifies them to run under Best Game (where it really belongs), and frees up two slots for other products.

What publisher really wants their own line competing against itself? What voter wants to look at a category full of the same books? Personally I think that combining the line (unless the publisher specifically chooses not to) is the only reasonable choice, so long as enough of the line is represented.

If there was any oversight, I think it's that more lines weren't combined. I wouldn't want that in categories like Best Supplement or Product of the Year, which exist to give props to a single product, but I could certainly see it for things like Best Game, Best d20, or Best Electronic Product. Maybe even Best Setting.

Of course, it's not ideal in every situation. Certainly there will be times when a line will be stronger than a single product that it is competing against, but for the most part I think it would serve to make more room for individual products, not less. In my opinion comparing multiple books against a single book isn't a whole lot different than comparing a 700 page mega-product against a 96 page indie soft cover. You have to weigh the product's individual strengths to see how good it is, not compare it against something else.

If a product was going to win just because it was more complete, had better diversity, or presented more information, you'd be seeing a whole lot more Ptolus on those lists. The awards are about how good a product is, not how well it compares against something else.

Clarification

2007-07-18T09:22:00.000-06:00

I took the day off yesterday. I know it wasn't a good time, since people are working on their votes right now, but I decided to take a day to think.

If you don't frequent ENWolrd you probably don't know, but my post on Best Electronic Book caused a bit of a scuffle that ended up with two people banned, one of which was a sitting judge.

It got me thinking about what purpose the individual commentaries serve. I had intended to just share a few personal opinions, but it seems that my thoughts are being translated into some sort of official position on the part of the awards.

That's not good, and it was never my intention.

I told another judge that I was thinking about stopping (the commentaries on categories, not the blog) but was told that I shouldn't. I'll get back to them tonight, but it's important that no one takes these posts as anything more than my perspective. If you have a question or concern please post it here, and I will try to clarify whatever I can.

I absolutely promise to answer any concern in a civil manner. I don't think anyone believes that there's absolutely no room for improvement.

Urgent!

2007-07-16T11:38:00.000-06:00

If you voted for the Enies already please go vote again. An error made the earlier votes invalid.

Go vote!

2007-07-16T08:02:00.000-06:00

This is it. The voting booth is up. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the products, and then go vote.

I'm off now to do it myself.

Best Game commentary

2007-07-16T03:42:00.001-06:00

I've been dreading doing this one, but I'm going to go ahead and get to it.

Best Game is an easy category. Best Game is tough as hell. Both statements are true.

I'm sure that I said Best Game came easily to me at some point along the way, and I meant it at the time, but in retrospect that is a dirty, rotten lie.

I love games. Game systems are perhaps my absolute favorite thing to read, and so most of these entries went right to the top of the list. That made it easy. What made it hard was finalizing the choices.

As a rule most games do things their own way. It makes them interesting to read, but can make them hard to judge against one another. How do you measure the extreme coolness of something like Spirit of the Century against the fabulousness of Burning Empires? How do you measure the high-flying wuxia of Qin against the two-fisted action of Hollow Earth? I'll let you know if I figure it out.

So, failing any kind of objective measure, you go with your gut. Best Game is about the whole package, but focusing more on game play than the little details, that's what Production Values and the Art categories are for. It's easy because, honestly, who doesn't have one or two favorite systems? It's hard because there is just so much that it takes to make a game tick. This is the category where I did by far most of my playtesting, and I still felt like I needed to give things a bit more of a go before I was done. It's... complex.

How complex? Half way through the process I decided I hated a game that I had been advocating for weeks. I still owe the other judges an apology. Every time I played it I fell a little bit more out of love.

Week by week my top list changed. I liked this game, but that game over there has this really cool mechanic... Here's a little secret. See how all the categories have an Honorable Mention? Look at Best Game. It has two. That's right. We simply couldn't narrow it down any further. The only other category allowed two is Product of the Year, and that's only because it represents such a wide assortment of products. Best Game has two because there was no way one more would drop in any kind of timely fashion.

In the end I managed to take a deep breath, compare my notes, and lget down to business. The final list I came up with was strong, and though it was missing some of my favorites, everything on there was a credit to the hobby.

Here's where we get to the dread part, and I know this'll cost me some of the kudos I've gotten from a long time reader, but I feel like I'm partially responsible for Spirit of the Century not quite gaining a nomination. Don't get me wrong, I gave it a much-deserved vote, but I never really backed it the way I should have. It's a great game, brilliant even, but to be honest, I liked Don't Rest Your Head better. It simply fit my personal style more, and I concentrated on it more early on instead of backing the horse with better legs.

I mentioned once before that Paul Tevis made me fall in love with a game. That game was Don't Rest Your Head. I read it the first time at the end of a long night, and thought, "Cool, a game about insomniacs with interesting powers." Then I set it aside. A few weeks later, while working on the Podcast category, I heard Paul talk about a game he participated in, and it sounded incredible. So I sat down and read the whole thing again. I was hooked.

Publishers, never doubt the power of the podcasting community. Have Games, Will travel has sold me an RPG and two board games (and I'm not a board gamer). Godzilla sold me on two more RPGs, and Gamer the Podcasting sold me one. By sold I mean I literally ran out and bought the books as soon as possible. It would probably have been more, but I have a very extensive collection already, and let's face it, I had just gotten 239 of the best products the industry has to offer sent to me.

Ok, so tangent aside, here are my thoughts on a few of my favorite picks that didn't make it. I don't have my books or notes with me, so bear with me if I forget something you want to hear about. Let me know, and I'll be glad to discuss it.

I'll start with Cold City because it was the only game I published a review on with a perfect score. I absolutely loved this book, but it just didn't garner enough support. If you care about my thoughts though, feel free to read my review here. I'd link it, but I can't access my blog at work.

Next, I'll briefly mention Don't Rest Your Head. I already went over my unnatural love of this book, so I won't hit this in any kind of great detail, but it is so much more than I can convey with any kind of simple description. I'm a sucker for neat mechanics, and the system here is simple, but subtly powerful. Tough player choices result in a steady descent toward disaster. Players buy their own doom in the best tension-building mechanic I've ever seen. If you really want something badly enough you have these great little exhaustion dice to give you just the boost you need, but as the number of dice grows you have to wonder, "Is it worth it?" Ok, enough. Great setting, great system, crazy judge, you get the point.

Finally I'm going to touch on Burning Empires. There were a number of really great games entered that didn't get the nod, but this one stands out for so many reasons that I'm just going to take the easy way out and point out the the winner of the Origins award for this category didn't get a nomination from us. That doesn't mean we didn't like it. Far from it really. It was, after all, nominated in two categories, and it received votes in several more. This is one loss that surprised me as much as anyone else. It's a fantastic book, and I think it mostly just suffered at the hands of the other strong competition. I think that, with this being the most competitive category, it got lost as everyone tried to shore up support for their own favorite products. Perhaps more than in any other category this one felt to me like we all had a game or two that we really wanted to succeed, and anything that wasn't someone's absolute favorite just couldn't find room in the top 5. I'll likely touch on this subject again when I go over the Products of the Year, but this is a book very worthy of an award, it just couldn't get in among all the other worthy competition.

Best Electronic Book commentary

2007-07-16T01:54:00.001-06:00

First and foremost, Best Electronic Book is a weird category, and for me at least it was one of the hardest to judge. You get a lot of different products that qualify, and many of them are of completely different types. It's really like a mini Product of the Year category, none of the other categories even come close to this level of diversity.

The reason for this is that other categories all have a theme. For Best Writing I look at text, for Best Rules I look at mechanics, For Best Game or Best Supplement I look at playability. Best Electronic Book has to take all of that in consideration. In my opinion that makes it one of the hardest awards to get, and I really think it should be up there with Product of the Year as being representative of some of the best that gaming has to offer. It tends to get a bad rap because many are put together without the same production standards as many top of the line print books, and that serves to keep them from being exceptionally competitive in the other categories (though at least one came very close), but really these things have to compete on a lot more levels than the printed products in other categories. Never assume that just because a product is a PDF it doesn't have great production values. There are some extremely well laid-out and attractive PDFs out there. The strengths of PDFs are different, not worse..

So, what makes the cut and why? That's the tough part, and it relates a bit to what I said above, Most of the products that got my vote were basically competitive in as many categories as possible. Good production values, exceptional writing, interesting mechanics, etc. That unfortunately means that several products that may have really stood out in one or two areas tended to get overlooked in favor of those that had a bit more to offer across the board. It's the same argument I make for why Ptolus got nominated for Product of the Year, but not Best d20. It hits on so many different levels, but when it comes down to the more specific playability categories it falls just a tiny bit short of the products that don't try to be everything. That's not a universal truth, and it may not be what the other judges were looking for at all, but that's what I was going for in nearly every case.

Of course, the hardest thing to justify is that some products just didn't grab me. There are two books in particular that I'm thinking of by the same company that were beautifully made, with great art and good writing, but they seemed... a bit formless. I don't know any other way to put it. One made my personal first list, but I just couldn't find room for it in my short list because I never managed to define it. I know I'm being vague, but it's intentional. I'm not a reviewer. It's not my place to condemn entries. People submitted their products hoping that we would share the best of what they had to offer, not point out every little flaw. The judges already provided the only judgment we had to offer that really means anything.

That's not to say that everything that didn't make the final cut was flawed in some way. In fact, before I posted my final 5/7 I had the list narrowed down to 9 products, and I couldn't figure out how I was going to decide which to drop. In the end it was a combination of the other judges' lists and what few online discussions I could find that narrowed it down for me. I already said I wouldn't give out my actual votes, but because a couple of products were asked about specifically I'll talk about some of my favorites that didn't make it.

In Harm's Way is a fascinating game based on naval warfare in the Napoleonic era. It's fantastically written, and contains tome great evocative text from a period source, which I loved. It actually made my list as an alternate, but it dropped off because its narrow scope aimed at (and squarely hit) a single, very specific type of roleplayer. If it's your type of game I whole-heartily recommend it, but I just couldn't find room for it in the top 5.

Blood & Guts: In Her Majesty's Service 2 is one that I'm not entirely sure why it didn't make it. I wasn't the only one with it on my list, so I suspect it only lost out because the five that did make it were just too hard to displace.

E-RPG is one that fell victim to that lack of theme for this category that I spoke of earlier. Mechanics and writing aside, it's very straight forward and to the point, not allowing much room for things like art and layout concerns. That doesn't make it a bad book, but it can hurt it when stacked up against some of the other great entires.

Finally, there's the Echoes of Heaven, which is another one that came within a hair's breadth of garnering a nomination, and I can only guess that it didn't get it because of the other strong entries in this category. This is going to sound a bit like pandering, especially since the author himself asked me about it, but let me say that if I had to recommend one single line that didn't make the list, this would be it. This line does a whole lot right, and I can't believe I didn't mention it earlier in the blog. I would say that my favorite part is that it is written for four different systems, meaning those who hate one particular game don't have to do the conversions themselves, but that wouldn't be true. I loved the setting. Besides, this product doesn't really rely a lot on rules to make its impression. It's all about comprehensive description, interesting concepts, and great writing. This is a product that would have gotten a nomination any other year. In fact, had Battletech not entered its line as a single product, or had this line been entered together, I think it would have made it easily this year.

Really that's something I should have thought about under advice for publishers. If you have a strong line of products that all tie together well, enter them together and let them feed off each others' strengths. It might cost you the ability to get multiple nominations in the same category, but it really reinforces the strength of the combined entry.

Well, I guess that's about it. I've been writing this thing for three hours now, trying to remember everything without access to my CDs. If you ever want to know why I make a better judge than writer, there it is. I can read a 256 page sourcebook in 3 hours, but it would take me years at the rate I type to write one.

The entries that made the list deserve their slots. They're well-rounded, yet exceptional in their own way. That's not to say that everything that deserved an award made the list however. It just means that we were limited in our number of choices, and the things that are there mostly represent things that we couldn't imagine not making the list. Had I included Echoes of Heaven on my list and left off Nevermore or Shadowcrag I'd be here lamenting their loss just as loudly.

More advice to publishers (a little off topic)

2007-07-15T20:22:00.001-06:00

Hire Fred Hicks as your publicist.

Seriously, dude, that's awesome.

There is a lesson to be learned here. If the judges should be passionate about their choices, the publishers, writers, and fans should be doubly so. Let people know you are proud of your nomination, and be sure that they know it's important to you that they vote.

Your turn

2007-07-15T02:48:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I've sounded off about my thoughts, so before I return to the discussion of the nominees that I promised, I'd like to ask one quick favor of my readers.

I want you to give a little advice to whoever may be judging next year. How would you like to see it done? How could the process or system work better? Where did I or the other judges make mistakes? What did we get right?

Anything you have to give, give it. This is your chance to help make next year's awards even better. If I get significant response I'll merge it all together and post it on the judge recruitment threads.

Advice to potential judges

2007-07-15T02:37:00.001-06:00

So, I promised to try and post some advice for those people who are considering running for a judge position for the 2008 Ennies. I guess I'll do the best I can, and hope that some of the other (or previous) judges have better advice to give, or perhaps the voters and publisherscan explain what they're looking for.

I ran on a pretty simple platform. I promised to work hard, play the games I could, and blog about my thoughts. For me, it worked. I should say, it worked well. Much better than I expected.

Part of that I think came from a fuss during the elections where some people complained that the ENnies were too d20 centered (I wonder if they'd make that claim this year?). I think there was a push to "throw down the old guard" and "put upsome new blood", which really helped some of us who wouldn't have otherwise had a chance. Not that I really think it was founded, but I think it certainly played a role, since we ended up with three brand-new judges, and I know that at least Stuart and I got first and second place in the actual elections.

So, how does that help you?

Well, be honest, but above all, be transparent. Let people know what you're thinking, and don't be afraid to hear what they have to say. Let them tell you if you're wrong or right, but don't let it dictate your choices.

Take a look at my post on the process to get an idea of how I handled actually reviewing products, then figure out how it would work for you, and how you'd do it better.

Fight for what you want. Believe it or not, the other judges are likely to be very reasonable people, and if you tell them you really want a nomination, they'll probably find room for it of there is room to be found.

Read reviews and actual play posts. Listen to what other people love about the product, and let it influence you. Not every game is for every person, but that doesn't make it a bad game.

Play the games. A lot of the products function a lot differently than you might think. Something that seems overly complicated in writing may play as smooth as silk. If you can't play, watch a game being played.

Get help. Something I forgot to mention during my discussion of the process was very important. I gave out a number of entries to my friends and members of my gaming group. After I got them back and read them, we compared notes. It's the next best thing to playing the game yourself or reading someone else's experiences. Talking things out with someone whose opinion you trust can really help you firm up your thoughts. More than one nominee got my vote because someone else convinced me that they deserved it.

Don't be defensive if people disagree with you. Voting comes down to opinion. That's it. When you ask for someone's opinion you're not always going to like what they have to say.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what I have to offer. The threads on RPGnet or ENWorld that take you here have my thoughts on things you should consider before throwing your hat in the ring, so I won't belabor the point. This is hard. Harder than you imagine, don't let the prospect of getting to read cool books fool you. Reading isn't even the hardest part. Still, it's very rewarding, and you get to meet some cool people along the way, so if you can, do it.

Oh, and don't take the free tickets to GenCon, buy your own. By the time you get a registration number everything will be booked, trust me :)

Advice to publishers

2007-07-15T02:06:00.001-06:00

When I was asked what publishers could do to help their entries, at first I thought that I didn't really have anything to offer. In retrospect, that isn't quite true.

I've talked about some of this stuff before, but bear with me as I try to collect my thoughts into one place. These are only really things that apply to me, and may not be overly useful depending on the tastes of whoever judges next year, but they may be of some value, so I'll offer what I have.

First and foremost, don't wait until May. I received about half of the entries within the last month or so of judging, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that some stuff started to bleed together in the final push. Early on in the process it was easy to take a day off or set something aside so I could cleanse my pallet, but in those later days I just had to muscle through things, and it's likely not a coincidence that many of the things I really fell in love with came in the first couple months of submissions. Early on you have time to research things, get a feel for them, read about the experiences of others... That gives you a chance to see what a game has to offer even if it isn't precisely your own tastes. At the end of the process you're lucky to have time to read the book and maybe a couple reviews. I know it's tempting to gather things together in one big shipment, and I'm sure it saves money that a lot of publishers simply can't waste, but I really can't stress the importance of getting your products out as soon as possible enough. It'll help you, and it'll lighten the load on those who come after you.

Also, if possible, think about letting the judges know what categories you think you might deserve. I know you turn your entries in to the board, but the judges see very little of that, and while the board does make it available, it's not always handy right when we're reading through the book. I know it might be time-consuming, and you simply may not be able to, but consider a letter of introduction. I received one or two, and I have to tell you, it's nice. Let the judges know what you think is cool about your product. Don't be shy about pointing out specific pictures you'd like them to consider in detail, or some neat mechanic that really enhances the feel of your game. A paragraph or two would be more than enough, and it could go a long ways toward getting a judge excited about the product before he or she ever cracks the cover.

Also, don't be afraid to communicate with judges, but make sure to keep it public. I was extremely pleased to see so much publisher/writer participation in my blog and the threads I post to on various forums, but you always get a little nervous about private emails or IMs. I received a couple of very generous (and well-intentioned) offers of materials to help my judgments, ranging from questions answered by authors right down to PDF copies of the entries or the core books of their line (if they weren't submitted) to make my life easier. These were actually appreciated, but I didn't think it would be right to accept any offer made in private, so I turned them down. The one that was offered to all judges, and in a public forum, I accepted, and I'm glad I did, because the PDF in question really enhanced my understanding of the materials in the entry.

I don't really believe that there's anyone out there who would actually stoop to attempted bribery, but it's not my beliefs that matter. It's all about the appearance of propriety.

That said, don't let worry about baseless accusations keep you away either. Feel free to answer questions, or ask them yourself. Offer up a link or two to reviews that you think represent your product well, or maybe even an actual play post. If the judges think you're overstepping, I'm sure they'll let you know, but never be afraid to make someone's job easier. If there's not a blog or something like mine available next year, it might be a good idea for interested parties (fans as well as publishers and writers) to go to ENWorld and start a thread. That's where the judges deliberate, and I'm sure that they'll pop in if you let them know it's there.

Oh, and don't forget to let the judges know what you intend to submit if you're not going to be able to send it in right away. Sometimes the judges may already own a copy, or might be willing to look into doing a little advanced research at any rate. If one of the judges happens to be a reviewer that you trust, feel free to send them a copy to review ahead of time. Remember that publishers are not required to send a second copy out to a judge for review if they've already been comped a copy.

I guess that's about all I have to offer for now. I know Stuart and Liz check this blog, and strongly suspect the Kevin, Jeff, and Denise do as well, so perhaps they could add to what I have here if they get a chance. I'm sure it'll be different for everyone, and what I have to offer may not help at all, but I'm certain that it couldn't hurt.

2008 Judge Selection

2007-07-14T23:17:00.001-06:00

Well, if you pay much attention to the ENies you probably already know this, but starting Monday, July 16, the board will be accepting nominees for judges for next year's ENnie awards.

I'm very excited about this, and I've discussed it a bit before, but I'd really like to highlight it because I think it's a huge step forward for the process. The nominees will be posted July 30th, and voting will run August 6-12th. This will allow the new judges to be announced at GenCon, so who ever is elected can begin reviewing products right away.

As I've said before, one of the greatest barriers to fair judging is simply time. 240 books in 3 months allows for very little actual playtesting. An 11 month timeline will make careful, thoughtful review much more possible, and can only help the process.

This was absolutely necessary, and I've already seen a couple complaints about how quickly it follows last-year's nominations, but I really encourage the detractors to think it through. Change has to happen sometime, and it's going to be rough whenever it happens, so we might as well rip the bandaid off now. In the end the awards will be better for it. The time table is short, but it's the best possible solution. You've already seen the kind of choices this year's judges have made, so you can vote us out if you think we've lost touch with the community, and publishers can get any available products into the hands of judges as soon as possible, perhaps even taking time at the con itself to demo what they have and get things moving right away.

I love it.

That said, I've heard a lot of complimentary things lately, and while I'm not sure I deserve them all, I do appreciate them. So, here's my commercial:

I'd like to throw my hat in the ring again for next year, but assuming it works like last year, I'm going to need a nomination and a second. Last year I self-nominated, but I think doing so at this point is a bit too self-centered even for me. If you like what I've done here, if you want to see it happen again next year, and most importantly, if you like the way I voted, I'd appriciate someone popping into the nomination threads and dropping my name. Just as importantly, I'd like your vote when the time comes. I've seen it implied that my mobilization of people outside the online community last time was a little unfair (though, in my defense, they were all gamers), so I don't intend to do that again. That means I'm going to need all the help I can get. I'll participate in whatever election threads I can find, but apart from that I'm only going to ask my gaming group and my readers for their support. If I still get in, then I guess I deserved it.

That's it. No more bugging you about my nomination. I'm going to get back to my normal blog and try to actually get this thing done before the awards ceremony renders it unnecessary.

Sorry all.

2007-07-12T21:59:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates today, and probably tomorrow as well. I have been overcome with exhaustion and can't think well enough for even my normal less-than-coherent posts right now.

For a little perspective on this week:
Go to work: 7:30pm
Get home: 8am
Take my kids to VBS: 9:30 am
Get home: 1pm
Sleep: 2pm to 6pm.
Eat dinner, get dressed, back to work.

Lather, rinse, repeat for five days.

Today was my day off, and after I got home from VBS I passed out. I'm taking a day of rest, and tomorrow I need to get back to work on my poor, unappreciated gaming campaigns. I'll get back to blogging after that.

So, my apologies, particulary to any new potential judges who were referred here. If I get any free time I'll try to get something out before Saturday, but no promises.

Best Podcast commentary

2007-07-11T05:58:00.001-06:00

So, how do you judge a podcast?

That question came up pretty early in the deliberations. This is a brand-new category after all. One that didn't even exist until a good ways into the judging process.

I never asked, but I suspect that I may have been the only judge who listened to podcasts before I asked that the category be introduced. That probably made it a bit of an uphill battle for some of the judges. The time commitment involved here was huge. I was already in the process of catching up on several podcasts, and even still I was working on listening to them right up to the very end. There were 23 of these, and some have 100+ hours of content.

Not that it was unpleasant, mind you, it was just long.

So, how do you judge a podcast? Well, I think it starts with defining the things that make a podcast useful and enjoyable. Things like production values, value/utility of content, and sense of humor are very important here. It's a lot more like judging a fansite or art than the usual game book.

Still, there are no real guidelines here, and so we had to work it out as we went. If I do this again next year I think I'll ask the podcasters and their community what it is that's important to them.

Anywho, from here it was a matter of trying to find which shows best embody these traits. I tried to nominate a number of different shows, each strong in their own way. Fear the Boot for example has incredible production values, and is a heck of a lot of fun to listen to, while Sons of Kryos has some of the best gaming advice I've ever heard. I mentioned in an earlier post how much I enjoy the reviews Have Games, Will travel, and particularly how the very thorough early ones are directly responsible for selling me on a number of games, and helped to secure my support for a couple of nominees.

There are shows that didn't make it here that certainly had a place. Gamer the Podcasting didn't enter, but I always assumed they would have gotten my vote as well. Also, Dragon's Landing, which has been a center of the community didn't quite make it, which disappoints me a little. The list goes on and on.

Still, here more than anywhere I have no one to blame but myself. The other judges knew this was my baby, and they really stepped back and supported my choices. Four out of the top six are on the list directly because of my votes, so if you're unhappy with the choices, it's my fault.

I wonder if I can talk the board into asking Mick Bradley to present the award. From the outside looking in it seems that, if the podcasting community has a heart, it's that man, and I know he could entertain the crowd.

Anywho, I guess that's about all there is here. If anyone has any questions please leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm able. Also let me know what you think of these commentaries before I waste too much time writing things no one is reading.

Best Regalia commentary

2007-07-11T02:42:00.001-06:00

There was some discussion about commentary on specific products, and it got me thinking about how I would present such a thing. What I came up with starts here. My last article was designed as a starting place for the commentary to follow. I way of making the reader understand where I'm coming from, and a reference to how we came up with the choices we made.

I'm going to use a series of commentaries on the awards nominees to do much the same thing for individual products. I'll comment on the awards as a whole, and then if anyone ha any questions about a specific product beyond what is discussed I'll go into more detail separately.

I'm going to start with Regalia since I was asked about Murder in Marienburg specifically, and because it's honestly one of the easiest categories.

So, to start with, why is it so easy?

Well, it's a small category. I believe there were only 16 entries. Further, there's probably no other category whose nominees were so easily predictable. If I recall correctly, this is the only category where all five judges were so unanimous in their choices.

That's not to say there is anything wrong with the other entries, there were several really good entries, but those that were chosen were as close to a lock as you can get. A Murder in Marienburg, for instance, was the best of the Warhammer novels that were submitted, but few things could stack up against how much the judges fell in love with the Witch Hunter's Handbook and Liber Chaotica. Once they were determined to be Regalia (due to their lack of direct game content) they were all but assured nominations. The Order of the Stick comic was likewise a shoe-in. How many gamers don't love Rich Burlew's work? That only leaves two nominations left. Then you take a look at Classic Battletech, which doesn't qualify as a game since it's primarily played as a mini game, rather than an RPG, but does qualify for the awrds, since it enhances the Battletech RPG. That makes it Regalia, and it was so good it too was basically assured nomination.

So, with one slot left for all the various products we received the Art of Dragon Magazine, and one look at it should tell you why it got the nod. Years of the best that the industry's premier magazine has to offer, all contained in one, beautiful book.

There's no disrespect meant to the products that didn't get the nomination. In any other year, against any other competition, several of them would have been very deserving. This year however the competition was just too stiff.