Finally - my pick for the 2010 ENnies Judges' Award

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

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

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

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?

This year

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.

Best Regalia

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

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

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.

Why I judge

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...

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

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

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.

Nominations are done

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.

I hate judging podcasts

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.

Best Game vs. Best d20/OGL, part II

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

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.

Reposting some old thoughts

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 :)

Podcasts

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.

Almost exactly a year

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.

GenCon report, and moving forward.

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.