Ares Publishers: Mission Viejo, California (June 23, 2014) – Ares Magazine launched the first in a series of game design contests today. The grand prize is $100, but if the judges select a design to run in the magazine, the designer will receive an additional $1000.
The contest runs for 30 days, ending on July 23. If more than eight designs are received, a runner-up will be selected to receive $25. The theme of the first contest is horror. “The game should actually be as scary as a board game can manage,” says Ares’ Editor-in-Chief Michael Anderson. “How designers pull that off is up to them.
Designers are free to use any format and components they choose, but Anderson notes that the purpose of the contests is to find games to publish in Ares. Extra credit will be given to designs that use the components of games that run in the magazine. Anderson says the next design contest is ready to launch after this one wraps up. “It will focus on games designed by women,” says Anderson, adding that he hopes to include a game from that contest in an upcoming issue of Ares that will feature female authors. “After that, we’re looking at quest-oriented games in the spirit of the classic Sinbad movies and then design themes running along the lines of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.”
Contest information, component guidelines, and the online entry form are on the website of Ares Magazine. To enter the contest, go to here.
