Editorial: Game Chef Announcement

Once more it is time for the annual Game Chef competition. The terms will be released shortly, which will begin a two week design period. In addition, there will be some theme ingredient released at the same time. Last year it was time limits for sessions. The year before was specific mechanical requirements. We'll have to wait a little longer before we find out what they are this year. This competition is an excellent opportunity to flex your game design muscles and to actually get a game finished.

But this year, we at RPG Theory Review have decided to do something a little more. We will be running a special prize for Game Chef 2007: Most Theoryful RPG. To be eligible you must participate in Game Chef, submitting a draft of your game to that contest. In addition, you must include a design notes section with or as an appendix to your game. Here you should explicitly state how you used RPG theory in your design.

We'll be looking for solid, innovative uses of theory in your design. However, we are not particular about what theory you used. Instead we want to see how seriously thinking about how people play RPGs improved your design.

After a judging period, we will select five Most Theoryful RPGs from the contest. The four runner-ups will recieve a short description and announcement, as a literature review. The winner will then have an in depth review as a follow-up literature review. The winner will alsoreceive a playtest to be conducted in the Summer, of their game chef entry or other RPG as requested. This will be a third party, in-depth playtest with a view to vetting the game for publication.

Thank you, and good luck to all the participants.