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2007-2008 Chess Variants Design Contest. Chess variant inventors gather round! We're doing it again! Exact nature of contest to be determined with YOUR help!![All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

Joe Joyce wrote on Sun, Aug 26, 2007 02:48 AM UTC:

I second the nomination of Greg. Thanks, Greg, for volunteering.

The reason for anonymity? To attempt to rule out personalities. The best judges in the world would be subconsciously biased toward friends and against those disliked. It's easier to be objective with anonymity, is all. It's certainly not required for objectivity, though. It's just easier. And it reduces after-the-fact emotions; it's much harder for someone to say relationships played a part in the judging. In my opinion, it's more professional and it reduces the possibilities of strange occurrences. 

With a little work, telltale styles can be pretty much eliminated. First, create a simple format, and a simple form to go with it. A board picture showing initial setup, standard piece icons and basic movement descriptions, a telegraphic [sparse] listing of rules, the minimum info required to play the game correctly is all the judge needs. The designer can follow games being played, and contact Jeremy if there's a problem.

Or not. ;-) Enjoy!