That Cool Stock Part Challenge

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With The Game Crafter, there are many ways to customize your game via printing and laser cutting. But The Game Crafter shop also has nearly 3,000 stock components that are ready to go! In this contest, we challenge you to use one or more of TGC’s stock components as the centerpiece and inspiration for a new game. If you've ever wondered what kind of game could use a bunch of purple bunnies, fillable vials, feet, rocket dice, or those pretty pink ankylosauruses, now is your chance to create one!

Stock components include dice, character meeples, wooden pieces, 3D-printed minis, stackers, bags, rubber bands, clips, and so much more. If it's available in “Stock Components,” it is considered a stock part for this challenge. However, we’re suckers for clever component use. So we’re looking for games that incorporate items besides standard dice and cubes, and/or games that use basic items in innovative ways.

Whatever stock pieces you choose, your game should embed those pieces into the core of your game’s theme, mechanics, and player experience. The stock pieces shouldn't feel like basic prototype pieces, or be relegated to counters or currency—they should feel like they were made specifically for your game. In other words, the components should make the fun!

Popular component-centric games include:

• Games with stacking pieces, like Camel Up, Meeple Circus, Pack & Stack, or Men at Work
• Resource management games like Stone Age or Tokyo Tsukiji Market
• Dexterity games like Flick 'Em Up or Ice Cool
• Abstract games with thematic pawns, like Boop
• Rolling/flipping games like Breakdancing Meeples or Pass the Pigs
• Building games, like Catan, Ticket to Ride, or Emerge
• Games with a special component, like the vehicles in The Great American Mail Race, or Big City Builders
• Other games that use classic components in thematic ways, like the dice in Spots

Judges

The contest will be judged by Emily Willix (Owner and Founder of Small Furry Games) and Parker Simpson (Illustrator and Owner of Shiny Pigeon Games). We both love lightweight, casual games that anyone can enjoy, with fun, colorful themes and components. We look forward to seeing what fun you create!

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To qualify, your game must comply with all of the following rules:

• The game (rules, rulebook text, art, etc.) must be designed by humans. That is, the use of generative AI should be done very sparingly, if at all, in the creation of the game. Any use of AI tools should be clearly disclosed and/or described on your shop page. (We are human judges who want to lift up and support other human designers. So we don't think it's fair to spend our limited human time and energy judging AI-created content when we could be supporting creative human efforts.)
• Your game may use any theme, mechanism, and player count.
• The game should be teachable in 10 mins or less, and play in 45 mins or less.
• You may use any combination of custom-printed or stock parts available through TheGameCrafter.com. However, the game must use one or more stock components, and final judging will be focused heavily on how cleverly you make use of those unmodified stock components (not primarily on fancy art, custom punchouts, cards, stickers, etc.)
• The game must come in a box, tin, bag, or other container. The container does not need to be custom printed.
• The game must have a printed rulebook that includes the full rules. You may also provide links to other sources such as a how-to-play video, but players need to be able to learn how to play just by reading the rules that come with the game.
• All artwork must be your own, commissioned by you, licensed to you, or in the public domain, AND must have been created by a human. (We are asking for no AI-generated art for this contest.) Be sure to attribute your images when required.
• A PDF rules document must be downloadable from your game's shop page. Please title your rules file "Rules_[YourGameName].pdf" before upload.
• The total cost of your game must be $49.99 or less.
• The game must be publish-ready (as it relates to the TGC shop, not as it relates to being finished). This means it has a logo, backdrop, shop ad, action shots, description, and cool factors. (Check out an example shop page template here.) It must also have all images proofed.
• Though not explicitly required, a 2-minute overview video is highly encouraged on your shop page, as that’s the quickest way for the community to get an idea of how your game works.
• This must be a new game created for this contest. It cannot have existed on TGC prior to the start of the contest.
• All entries must be submitted through TGC's game editor, (Within your game, go to the “Test” tab and click “Enter a Contest”) no later than May 22, 2024 at 10pm US Central time. Please note that you can enter your game before the deadline and continue working on it up to the deadline.
• Games and their shop pages should not be changed after the contest deadline, until the finalists have been announced.
• Each designer may submit up to 3 entries to this contest. Each entry will be judged separately.

You retain all rights to your game, and are welcome to sell it in The Game Crafter shop during and after the contest, regardless of the outcome of the contest. Your game does not have to be available for sale to enter the contest.

The TGC community voting process will be used to determine 20 semi-finalists. Then judges will choose up to 7 finalists from among ALL the submissions—including games that might not have gained “semi-final” status in the community vote.

You can read more about TGC contests here: Game Design Contests - The Game Crafter

The winner shall receive all the following prizes:

• $350 of shop credit on thegamecrafter.com.
• Automatic Showcase status for their game on thegamecrafter.com.
• The possibility of judging a future contest.
• Induction into The Game Crafter Hall of Fame.

Semi-finalists, finalists, and the winner will all receive accolades for their achievements.

All those who submit qualifying games will receive written feedback and scoring, if they have allowed private messaging through The Game Crafter. (This can be turned on or off in your account settings.)

A community vote will determine 20 semi-finalists. Community voters are encouraged to look for submissions that stand out based on:

• Component Choice & Integration - Are the stock components deeply embedded in the theme, mechanisms, and overall player experience, such that they almost feel custom-made for this game? In other words, did the designer “understand the assignment”?
• Overall Gameplay - Does there seem to be a lot of fun, engagement, and replayability in the box? Is this a game YOU would jump at the opportunity to play?
• Theme - Is the theme innovative, intriguing, and illuminated by the mechanisms/components?
• Mechanics - Are the mechanics intuitive, fun, and illuminated by the theme/components?

Up to 7 finalists will be chosen from among ANY of the contest submissions (even if they are not voted as a semi-finalist by the community). Finalists will be playtested and ranked according to the following criteria:

• Component Choice & Integration (30%) - Are the stock components deeply embedded in the theme, mechanisms, and overall player experience, such that they almost feel custom-made for this game?
• Overall Gameplay (15%) - Is there a lot of fun, engagement, and replayability in the box?
• Theme (15%) - Is the theme new, interesting, and illuminated by the mechanisms/components?
• Mechanics (15%) - Are the mechanics intuitive, fun, and illuminated by the theme/components?
• Rules Clarity (10%) - Are the written rules easy to understand?
• Accessibility (5%) - Would this game appeal to (and be understood by) a wide range of players?
• Value (5%) - Is the game sized/priced right? Is it an easy buy for consumers?
• Extra Points (5%) - This is a catch-all for great shop pages, videos, art, collaborations, and other aspects of your entry.

A full rubric is available here.