2013 Canadian Game Design Award
The FallCon Gaming Society, along with its founding counterpart The Canadian Wargamers Group, has had a rich history of fostering the Gaming Hobby in Canada since 1985. The current members of the Society felt it was time to make a further contribution to the hobby by launching an annual Canadian Game Design Contest that would highlight and eventually foster homegrown Canadian talent in game design.
Past Winners:
2010: Roberta Taylor - Octopus’ Garden
2011: Matt Tolman - Undermining
2012: Paul Saxberg - Coven
And now it's YOUR TURN TO WIN! Here are the contest details.
2012 Prizes and Sponsors
- $200 Cash Prize from the FallCon Gaming Society
- $200 Cash Prize from Panda Game Manufacturing
- $500 Manufacturing Allowance with Panda Game Manufacturing (regardless of the publisher)
- $500 Cash Advance from Valley Games, upon signing a publishing contract with Valley Games.
The Prize support for 2013 has yet to be finalized.
Schedule
- Publishing of Competition Rules and Forms (December 12, 2012)
- Please refer to the full rules and eligibility section for more details.
- Deadline for Rule Set Submission (February 28, 2013)
- Each contest entry, is subject to a $25 administrative fee which can be sent via our Paypal account (paypal@fallcon.com). Once the entry fee is submitted, an online submission form will be completed via the following link (you will need to enter your Paypal Transaction ID) and a digital copy of the rule set will be sent via email to cgda@fallcon.com. Only the first 50 contest entries will be accepted, based on the Paypal Transaction timestamp.
- Semi-Finalists Announcement (April 2013)
- Up to 12 Semi-Finalists (there may be less depending on the number and quality of submissions) will be alerted by email by April 30, 2013. The selected designers have 2 weeks to send us 2 boxed prototypes of their design along with $25 for administration and return of the prototype.
- Finalists Announcement (August 2013)
- Up to 6 Finalists (there may be less depending on the number and quality of submissions) will be selected among those prototypes received.
- Jury Selection (September-October 2013)
- Winner Announcement (FallCon - Saturday September 29th, 2013)
- Winner will be declared live at FallCon 25.
Eligibility
- The contest is ONLY open to Canadian residents.
- A limit of two games per designer will be accepted.
- Co-designs are permitted but all designers will be subject to all of the rules and regulations.
- Game designers must use their real and full legal names, no pseudonyms allowed.
- FallCon Gaming Society members, jury members as well as their family are not allowed to participate.
- Contest entries must be original, unpublished designs (as of date of submission and up to April 1, 2013). Web and self-published designs will not be accepted.
- Participants are required to alert cgda@fallcon.com immediately of an anticipated publication date for their designs.
- Only standalone game designs will be accepted. Expansions to existing games will be rejected.
- Reworking of a previously submitted entry will be accepted as long as the game has not been submitted more than twice.
- Reworking of a previously submitted entry will be accepted as long as the changes to the design have been highlighted on submission of the rule set and prototype.
- Puzzles (including solitaire-only games) and brain-teasers are not eligible for this contest.
- Board or card games with play times within 120 minutes will be accepted.
- Participants whose designs make it to the semi-finalist stage will be required to submit two playable prototypes to the selection committee upon request (see below for further details).
- A $25 administration fee completes the eligibility of an entry.
Initial Ruleset Submission
Participants in the contest are required to submit the following prior to the February 28th deadline, for each entry:
- Payment of $25 to FallCon Gaming Society via paypal@fallcon.com.
- A completed online Submission Form.
- A full rule set (in .PDF, max 1MB file) including any images of the game in play situation. Additional player aids are accepted as well but not required. These files are to be sent via email to cgda@fallcon.com.
New for this year: You may submit an OPTIONAL video Designer's Perspective. This is NOT mandatory.
Here are the details:
1) The video can be a maximum of 2 minutes long.
2) You must provide a link to where you are hosting it, we will NOT host it.
3) The video is in addition to the Designer's Perspective to pitch your game, it is NOT for a detailed rules explanation.
Note: Failure to submit all required documents, fees and information will disqualify the entry from participation in this year's contest.
Selection Criteria
Throughout the evaluation and selection process, the jury will apply the following criteria to evaluate the contest entries:| Criteria |
Weight |
Description |
|
| Presentation |
Low |
We don't expect a final product in terms of graphic design. Aim for functionality. In other words, does the presentation functionally impede or facilitate game play? |
|
| Theme |
Low |
Is the theme original/interesting? Does the theme come through in the rules and game play? Do the mechanics match the theme? |
|
| Mechanics |
High |
Mechanics will be evaluated based on novelty, game-driven arc, interesting decision points, efficiency and effectiveness. |
|
| Rules |
High - Phase 1 Medium - Phase 2+ |
Rules must be clear, unambiguous, easy to comprehend. Are the Setup, Player Turn and Scoring Descriptions clearly identified? Are the rules well organized? Are there sufficient examples and diagrams? Treat your ruleset as you would your resume. Using this analogy, you need a good resume (rules) to get a job interview (a request for prototype playtesting). |
|
| Overall Appreciation |
Medium - Phase 1 High - Phase 2+ |
General impression of cohesive whole. Judges will be tasked with answering the following questions: Does the game “work”? Is the game exciting/fun to play? Does this game make you want to play it again and again? Would you buy this game? How does this game rank compared to other entries? |
Rules Evaluation (Phase 1)
Initially all designs submitted (up to a maximum of 50) will be evaluated solely based upon a thorough reading of the rules by a number of Canadian judges all acting independently of each other. Each judge will make the evaluation based upon his own personal experience and expertise. The judges are game connoisseurs from all across Canada. They will receive the submissions via email.All submissions that do not become semi-finalists will receive a summary of the judge’s evaluations shortly after the semi-finalists are announced on the FallCon website (April 2013). The summary will be an anonymous compilation of the scores and the comments from all the judges.
Prototype Semi-Finalist Evaluation (Phase 2)
All semi-finalists designs (up to, but not necessarily a maximum of 12) will be evaluated by playing the submitted prototypes. The judges will once again be drawn from a broad pool of game connoisseurs from across Canada and will be using their own game groups to play the prototypes. The prototypes will be mailed around to the judges in a scheduled fashion. Each judge will play each of the prototypes.The judges are encouraged to share their opinions, thoughts and evaluations confidentially with other judges. This evaluation is very much open discussion to highlight the strengths of the design and identify any problems or issues with the design.
All semi-finalists that do not become finalists will receive a summary of the judges evaluations shortly after the finalists are announced on the FallCon website (August 2013). The summary will be an anonymous compilation of the scores and comments from all the judges from both Phase 1 and Phase 2 evaluations.
Finalist Evaluation (Phase 3)
All finalist designs (up to, but not necessarily a maximum of 6) will be evaluated by a round table panel of judges during a weekend of prototype playing in Calgary, Alberta. The finalist judges will have access to a summary of the evaluations done by the Rules and Semi-Finalists judges.All finalists will receive a summary of the judges evaluations the week following the winner announcement at FallCon. The summary will be an anonymous compilation of the scores and comments from all the judges in the rules, semi-finalists and finalist phases of evaluation.
All Finalists will be awarded free admission to FallCon Boardgame and Miniature Convention 2013.
Final Selection and Award Ceremony
The winner will be announced live at the 25th FallCon Boardgame and Miniatures Convention in Calgary, Alberta.The winner will receive:
- Cash Prize (from the original submission fees minus the administration costs of the Award).
- Use of the Canadian Game Design of the Year Award logo on future published game box.
- Exclusive custom made wall plaque.
- Free Admission to FallCon Boardgame and Miniature Convention 2014
The FallCon Gaming Society would appreciate a signed copy of any published winners to add to our game library.
Others Conditions
Should the Selection Committee discover rules breaking or entry ineligibility after an award has been given, the awarded designers are required to return all prizes to the FallCon Gaming Society and will cease from labeling their game with "FallCon Game Design Award Winner", "FallCon Game Design Award Finalist", or any other label associated with the contest.Participation in the contest entails agreement with the hereby presented rules. Any breach of the rules will lead to the game’s disqualification or the withdrawal of the prize.
FallCon cannot guarantee all of the prototypes will be returned to the designer, we are at the mercy of Canada Post and other forces majeure. It is our intent to return all the prototypes intact and complete to the designer within a reasonable time after the winner has been announced.
The FallCon Gaming Society is entitled to cancel or postpone the competition, in case of absolute necessity, without any right to compensation to any participants. Word.
