I’ve mentioned the idea of a Battle of the Halji competition a few times as something to mark its 30th anniversary, next year. Well Chris and I (mostly Chris, actually) have finally finished getting all the files and competition rules sorted out, so the competition is live as of now.
So what do you need to do?
The first step is to mosey over to Chris’s site where all the relevant game files, competition rules and even a video unboxing are awaiting your delectation and delight.
We look forward to playing you’re entries 🙂
Quirkworthy 
I’ll be checking it out come lunchtime!
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Okay, I asked this question on BGG, but as the original post was deleted and I don’t think the poster had any direct affiliation with you…
Why is there a £9 entry fee? Is there a copy of the game involved? From what I can see, it looks like you requesting design ideas and charging to review them, with the only prize being a chat with the designer, and you will use any ideas you like. Is that the case, or did I miss something?
Hi estyles. That’s a good question: why is there an entry fee?
Well, there are a number of answers. In no particular order…
It’s a competition rather than a raffle. As a contest of skill, it takes some time to properly judge this, and that time comes out of the only resource I have to pay my bills: time. I strongly suspect that £9 will not cover the actual costs of dealing with each entry, but the fact that it was 30 x 30p amused me because of the 30th anniversary link.
As a point of reference, I visited my mum yesterday and she sometimes enters poetry competitions. These typically cost £5 per poem (up to 40-50 lines long). Now, reading through 2 short poems is way quicker and simpler than dealing with an entire game design, so £9 does not seem unreasonable to me.
There’s also the frequent suggestion that charging for something makes people take it more seriously. I think this is probably true, and so having some sort of entry fee helps with this. It means fewer people will enter, but then this isn’t a serious money-making scheme for us; it’s a bit of fun.
The intention is that people submit whole games, not just ideas. Ideas are not something that we are not in any shortage of, thank you. I’ve already got several hundred game ideas in notebooks.
A big part of the prize is getting published, so naturally we will use the work that the winner submits. That’s the point.
The “chat with the designer” could also be referred to as a free consultation – something I normally charge companies for. If someone is interested in getting into the games industry professionally and having more games published then they probably have questions. Having spent 30 years in the business in a wide variety of roles, I often have those answers.
Note that running this competition is actually more faff and hassle for me and Chris than not doing it. We have no need to plunder your ideas, it’s just that Chris and I thought it would be fun to include other people and give someone a chance to get their name in print. If you’re not interested in this then there’s no need to take part. There’s no compulsion.
So there is NOT a copy of the game involved? Just making sure.
The thing is, I am interested – but to do all the work to create a full-fledged game design and then pay some money, for no guaranteed gain + no actual prize even if I win… I think maybe I’ll just put my ruleset together and then post it to the Variants section of BGG. Same benefit to me without the cost.
If it was £9 (plus shipping, even) for a copy of the game, I would be more than happy to pay that.
Anyway, sorry to have bothered you about it – I’m not trying to convince you to change your mind or upset that you are running the contest however you wish to. Was just asking the question because I thought I might be missing something. I won’t be participating, but best of luck with the contest and the 30th anniversary release.
Not a bother at all. Happy to clarify. I even made the answer its own post 🙂
No, you don’t get a copy of the game for £9.
If you want to post a variant on BGG that would be cool. The more, the merrier. If you were trying to break into a career as a game designer I don’t think most publishers would look on that as being the same as winning a competition and being published. Very much your decision though.