HUGE OPPORTUNITY! Here's one you guys do not want to miss. My friends over at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair are hosting a contest with Rio Grande games. This means you have the chance to present your game to Rio Grande Games for consideration. Trust me when I say that this is a ridiculously huge opportunity. If you've ever wanted to be a game designer, or even if you just have a really rockin' game already designed, here is your chance.

Get Your Game Published
That's right. Win this contest and you have a real shot at getting your game published. It gets better. The contest is running at a limited number of cities - and we're one of them! Each of the cities involved will select one finalist. Finalists receive free admission to the Chicago Toy and Game Fair and a 30 minute time slot with Jay Tummelson to present and discuss their prototype. Travel and expenses are not provided. Prototypes cannot be submitted by proxy or by absentee with written/video/voice description; the designer must be present to explain their designs.

So what we need to do is figure out which of your games is going to Chicago for the finals. Here's how we'll do it:

1. Judgement Day will be the day your games will be tested. I don't have a date for this yet, but we'll have a group of experienced social gamers test the games and score them. The winner will go on to the big-time in Chicago. I believe the designers will be allowed to be present at this event (but you'll have to stay quiet).
2. Pre-Judgement Day. I'd like to have events at local game stores, where you guys can polish your designs and get some feedback on your rules. I'll make myself available for comments and suggestions regarding prototypes and rules. To be clear: I am not a gatekeeper. It doesn't matter if I like your game or not. What matters is if the judges like your game. It's completely up to you to decide what you do and don't do with your game.
3. We are going to have a registration process that is still being worked out. If we have too many game entries, we may be forced to have events narrowing down the field pre-judgement day. I'll let you know more about that as we progress.

What Kind of Games Are We Talking About?
We're talking about broadly accessible games, games that social gamers can play easily without fumbling over a lot of rules. It doesn't have to be a "euro" or "german" game, but think along these lines:

• easy to understand rules
• minimal objectionable content (sorry, zombie lovers)
• easy to set up

These are my suggestions, based on what Rio Grande typically publishes. You can break this mold if you want to, but remember that the judges are social gamers. People who like to sit down and play a game. As with everything, you need to play to your audience. If you're designing a game specifically for this contest, keep that in mind. If you're going with a game you've already designed, then ignore all that and just run with it. Who knows? You might have the next Carcasonne just waiting to be discovered.