Very quick update.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.